Clearing up swirls on dash/speedo plastic?

Another vote here for Screen Protech. Had it on my Tacoma and it was awesome.

edit: wrong forum ‍♂️

 

You need a baby diaper for polishing. Cheap Microfiber towels scratch. I used some fine plastic polish and a baby diaper and its crystal clear.

 

The polish definitely helped mine, but the deeper scratches are still there.

I can live with it....

 

ScreenProtech hides the scratches well. You still have to be careful when cleaning though as it too can scratch.

 

It doesn’t bother me until the sun shines on it and it looks like crap.

 

Anything that you will do to try to remove the scratches will make the scratches worse.

You have two options, learning to deal with it or buying a new one.

The plastic is incredibly prone to scratching and attracting dust and sucking dust behind the instrument lens.

It gets worse when somebody at a dealership or car wash doesn’t realize this and cleans it and when you get the truck back when the light shines on it you can’t even see the instruments anymore.

edit: there are apparently part numbers for the silver one and black one, I ordered the black one but got the silver one. The dealership said the black one wasn’t available and they were just shipping the silver one if you ordered the black one. I don’t know if this is true.

 

Screen Protech vote again here too. Dont bother with polishing agents, thats a huge mess with less than desirable results.

Slap a screen protech on and 97% of all the scratches will be gone after that. 5-10 min install. screenprotech dot com

 

Can it be easily removed if needed?

 

I would say probably not, it bonds pretty solidly. Think phone screen protector with better adhesive once it cures. You'd probably need some heat & some patience if you ever really wanted to get it off.

I think replacing the actual clear plastic cover of the dash is something you can get from he dealer stand alone for $50 or something if you royally screwed up the installation somehow.

That said, its a very forgiving install. Spray plenty of soapy water, squegee, and take your time. You can peel it back indefinitely to remove hair, dust, or bubbles while its curing as long as you keep spraying the soapy application bottle solution on it

 

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, how do you replace the OEM screen? Is it difficult?

 

It’s easy, but it is a bit of a pain in the ass.

You have to pull off all the dashtrim pieces surrounding it.

Then you have to unscrew the entire instrument cluster.

Then you have to unplug the instrument cluster.

Then you have to unscrew the lens from the back of the instrument cluster.

And you have to install the new lens, screw it in, but leave the screen protector on.

Then you put everything back and when you make sure it works, then you remove the screen protector.

Then you put all the trim pieces back.

It’s a 15 to 20 minute job, I recommend you wear gloves so you don’t scratch or foul the new lens you just installed.

 

OP, Listen to this guy

Screen Protech...works Perfectly....it hid all my scratches...You get 2 sets just in case you mess up 1st attempt..

Use a water bottle with a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Spray the dash 1st the the backside of the Screen Protech..line it up then use a credit card or flat service to remove air bubbles.

I promise when it dries you'll not see a scratch that's visible.

The Screen Protech doesn't scratch .atleast mine doesnt