Getting scratches out of plastic?

[seany87]

I have an EP3 Civic, the previous owners must have carried loose bricks or something around the boot by the looks of it, so the boot plastic panels have plenty of marks and scratches, which upsets my OCD greatly.

I know I can scavenge bits from cars that are being broken but its a fair bit of work swapping all the bits, plus it will cost a good amount for all the parts I need. I want to avoid this if I can.

With the panels I have theres nothing to lose by trying to get rid of the marks myself first.
So whats the best way? Sanding the marks with fine paper then heating the plastic with a heat gun?
Sanding then spraying with black paint? Just using a heat gun? Boot polish?!

Maybe there are repair kits out there that you have tried, if so let me know!

[belleair302]

Sanding would be the best solution.

[Doctor Volt]

I agree with belleair302

Whatever you decide to do, dont use paint unless the panels look really bad after sanding, there is a very good chance that the paint will come off or get knocked off then things will be worse than now

There must be a proper paint for the job but once you get into buying specialist paints you could probably buy second hand panels for the same cost

Fine sanding is the way forward in my opinion

You may get lucky with a trim specialist posting here with the best method

[belleair302]

It will be a long slow process of very fine sanding to not remove the overall surface and finish. Even after dressing it may well not look OEM, but so long as the scratches re not gouges you should be OK. Just work slowly and not too course a paper.

[tortop45]

Got any pictures to show us the scratches......

[seany87]

Sorry about the delayed reply but these are what I am up against

[Concerned cat]

Bad! The only way you can cover those is with a dressing: Armourall, tyre dressing, etc. This will look naff & shiny & will wear off after time. The only other option I would try is black boot polish.

[blitzracing]

You could try cellulose thinners very carefully as a last ditch thing to do- it will cause the plastic to go sticky very quickly as it dissolves the surface, so try just a small amount on a clean rag and just quickly wipe of over one of the scratches, as it has the effect of resealing the surface. Get too much on there or let the rag dry out it will trash the grain you have, so go very carefully until you get the hang of it.