I just did some research and apparently you can use a heat gun to get out these scratches....might be worth trying before you paint. The instructions I saw were to wave the gun over the surface about 12 inches away and apparently it will heat up the plastic and make the color variation go away. You might still have a small nick but it wont look white. Anyhow, worth a try I guess.

 

I want to hear more about this 303. How does it work, and how well does it protect? Is it like armorall?

 

The part of the 'dash' i'm referring to is the two grey pieces that go from the top of the stereo, down each side to the shifter. I lifted off the very top piece (above the stereo) and you can see where it bolts in...it looks like a separate piece...

I may try the heat gun, if the scratches were not white I could live with it...

 

Do you touch the flame to the plastic?? Surely not. How far away does the lighter need to be from the panel?

 

Um, be careful with this. Kinda messed up my passenger door - and it was a bit windy too. Try an "Aim n flame" - the candle lighter stick things - they're easier to control if you're going to attempt this.

I held it too long and made the plastic "smooth" - I ended up replacing the door panel because I wasn't happy with the results.

 

in which you would most likely scratch something else

 

Does the OP have pics of the scratches in question?

I'd be curious to see where they are/what they look like.

I replaced the center console lid and the passenger door panel as those were the two worst places that were scratched. I'm just going to be careful and keep a good coating of Armor All or 303 on all the interior pieces from now on.

I know that the general sentiment across the board is that the plastics are made of an inferior material and scratch very easily. I never had to be so anal in my 97 Cherokee. In fact, I was so rough on that interior (I was in high school and my first 3 years of college) that I didn't even think about scratching something - and then whenever I'd clean it up, it always looked brand new again.

Unfortunately that's not that case with my year and half old JK.

I hate to say "It's a Jeep thing" because for shoddy workmanship, we shouldn't have to make an excuse for something that should be a non-issue. It IS a Jeep for chrissakes - It should be nothing for it to get muddy and dirty, hose it off and good as new. I can only imagine what my interior would look like if I had a dog.

 

I use plastic can paint to fix an old blazer that I had, it worked like magic, and it wasn't hard to aply, I'm prety sure they have the matching color for the jk. on the other hand, if you say those pieces are removable, just take them out an paint them. I don't know how crafty you're, it doesn't sound hard to fix at all.

 

i gave up on caring. whatever happens happens. i could split my console in two, crack the dash, and gouge the kick panel and i wouldn't bat an eye. it's not even worth worrying about anymore. the cheap ass plastic is just gunna keep getting messed up unless it's coated or replaced with something sufficient. and to be honest with you, i haven't seen many homemade bedliner jobs that are tolerable. some are just flat-out nauseating. i guess my whole outlook became "if you can't fix it fairly easily or affordably, just accept it for what it is"

 

Yeah I have a dog, and he goes everywhere with me. I can imagine what it's going to look like. Not pretty from the sounds of things.