Cleaning gauge plastic?

I have no idea what I did but somehow I managed to splash something on my gauges and also on the radio face and now my clear plastic has spots on it. It looks like water spots only they don't rub off and I'm not sure how to go about cleaning them without making things worse. I don't know what got on there, possibly leather cleaning spray when I was cleaning my seats off or maybe the VLR vinyl cleaner I was using.

Thoughts I've had to try are maybe polishing it with cleaner polish or even some super fine 2000 grit sand paper and trying something like what you do when your headlights get cloudy. The problem is there isn't really any way to experiment on an unseen spot.

 

Yeah, you must have got the vinyl cleaner on them. If it is small but annoying I would just let it be, if it is large and obstructive, then try sanding and plastic polish. I wouldn't risk making it worse though if it is just small.

 

It's small but still annoying, like looking through the windshield when it's lightly raining without using the wipers. I might try it on a top corner of one of the gauges first, was just looking for some other ideas I hadn't thought of.

Completely unrelated note, love the title under your sig. New season of always sunny!

 

brillianize

 

We use to use Novus plastic polish on our motorcycle helmet face shields, wonder if that would work.

 

Good stuff!

 

I've never used either one of those, I'll have to check advance and autozone and see what they have. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try taking a picture and see if I can show what my gauges look like.

 

+1

 

Don't polish unless the plastic is scratched.

You can use LCD screen cleaner on both the gauge plastic and the radio display. For example: http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Screen-Cleaning-Anti-Fog-Microfiber/dp/B000BKQNGE

 

Since it won't come off w/ cleaners like Windex (you did try that, right?), then another cleaner probably won't work, either. Novus won't hurt it if it isn't scratched. If it hurt areas that weren't scratched, then what about the areas surrounding the scratched part? No need to worry about Novus...

 

If I remember correctly there is a novus 1,2 and 3, with the novus 1 being the least abrasive. We never had issues with it scratching the plastic. You could always test a small area first.

 

Windex has alcohol in it right? Don't use it unless you know the plastic is alcohol-safe (not all LCD screens are, not sure about the gauge plastic).

 

I tried windex after first trying dish detergent and water, neither worked at all. It's not scratched, it's drops of whatever liquid I must have gotten on it. It's damn annoying, the inside up until now was spotless.

 

I remember the time my truck went from flawless to a normal truck. It sucked, but 1000 Knicks, scratches, dings, stains, etc. it is now like every other car or truck in the world, and no big deal.

 

i ended up replacing mine because of the same issue. not expensive and easy to do

 

I've used Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Plastic Cleaner and BlueMagic Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner and Light Scratch Remover with great results. The main thing is to only use mico-fiber towels... anything else will scratch the shit out of it.

 

McQuires Plast-x....will get it right off.

 

Did you do a write up on that? I'd be interested in how hard it was to do. Hazy/scratched up gauges are a pet peeve, so it's cool to know that they are somewhat user replaceable.

 

nooooo, Ammonia and alcohol will damage the plastic.

Im telling you Brillianize is what you want. I think home depot has it. I know tap plastic does. you could always go to tap plastics and see what they recommend too.

 

That stuff works great, but if it doesn't work use the 3m headlight restoration kit. It works even better to clear plastic, I can almost promise you it'll work. I dropped carb cleaner on a LED work light (clear plastic lense) and with it and the Plast-x been cleaning and it's looking clear again. I can post a picture if you like to show how it was and what it's looking like.