Hi all...

over the weekend I got some little scratches/gouges in the piece of gray plastic that runs down the left side of the dash (from the top of the stereo down to the shifter). They are not very deep, but are annoying (esp. since ive only had the JK about 3 weeks . I want to fix it, I was thinking about replacing the piece, but I figured I would try to repair it first, but I dont know where to start...any suggestions??

I was thinking about taking the piece off and spraying it with some kind of bed liner (I would obviously do both L & R sides). Ive never used any type of liner, do they make it in a spray and will it stick to plastic??

Thanks!

 

You might be able to find some paint or nail polish that matches and slowly fill in the scratches.Sometimes a toothpick will work to get into the scratch.It's worth a try before you buy a new one.

 

heat gun maybe and try to mold it into shape

 

I know this does not currently help you, but I have found that using 303 protectant on all of the plastic surfaces will help keep them from getting stratched up.

 

If you go the bed liner route, post up pictures. I know it will stick to plastic as several have done it to the stock flares and bumpers.

 

x2 on the pics. you've definitely intrigued me. only problem i can see is the god-awful smell that stuff gives off. goin to take some serious airing out. if it turns out well i might wait till spring to try it so i can leave it with the top down for a while to air out

 

What type of spray on bed liner is there?

I saw another site mention duplicolor (I think) and they also made some type of adhesion 'primer'

Also, anyone know what that part of the dash goes for at the stealer?

 

There is now a wide variety of colors and textured spray paints just for plastic, got mine at home depot. Just use some fine sandpaper to get out any scratches first.

 

I think that part is actually part of the dash....not a seperate component. A new dash panel is $175 from the stealer, and would require a fair amount of work to install.

 

Keep in mind that painting plastic (or anything for that matter) if you have used any sort of vinyl treatment (armorall, plexus, etc) that you will need a prep solvent of some type to remove the waxes and silicone for good adhesion.

The major rattle can suppliers each now have a "plastic specific" paint that bonds well with the plastic. I used SEM for years in my airplane plastics and it would barely scratch with a pocket knife, but I used their SEM Plastiprep solvent (not sure they still sell it). No sanding that way as it softens the surface enough for adhesion.

Keep in mind to mask well, as you will have overspray on everything else (windshield comes to mind) that will be a bear to get off. In sitro painting is always quite challenging. I have used drop clothes before to isolate the part I was painting....kind of a mini paint booth inside of the project (in this case airplane).