How to remove a scratch on plastic in a car: an ingenious trick

If you use your car regularly, its interior plastic surfaces will eventually become covered with scratches. They appear especially quickly if you are a family man and go shopping, take your children somewhere, or travel with pets. The marks on the plastic that appear in this case make the interior look old and worn. This can not only spoil the mood during the trip but also affect the value of the car if you decide to resell it.

Fortunately, there is a way to remove these scratches and marks on the plastic parts of the interior. OBOZ.UA tells you more.

Types of scratches on plastic

In fact, before you take action, you should pay attention to the type of plastic damage. It can be caused in different ways and by different objects. Usually, there are four types of damage.

Scuffs

They occur when an object (shoes, bag, metal parts of clothing, etc.) damages the plastic surface during friction. Scuff marks are most commonly seen on car sills, plastic panels between the seat and the door, and on the interior panels of doors. Usually, these are shallow damage that appears on the surface.

Scratches.

This damage is caused in a similar way, but it is deeper. Scratches often occur when objects with sharp edges, such as pocket knives or screwdrivers, accidentally rub against the plastic surfaces of the vehicle.

Chips

Everyday use of plastic parts can cause small particles to chip off. This is more common in older cars with worn plastic trim. Chips are the most difficult to repair. Especially because you need to collect and preserve all the fragments that have fallen off the part before carrying out the work. It will be almost impossible to find similar-looking pieces of plastic to replace them.

Cracks

Depending on the density and quality of the plastic, the car's interior plastic can become brittle and crack in places of increased stress. For example, in areas that are exposed to direct sunlight. Some cracks are hard to see, so you need to carefully inspect the interior plastic surfaces of the car from time to time for them.

How to remove scratches with heat

To sand out shallow plastic damage, you can use a construction hair dryer or other sufficiently powerful heat source. You can use it to rub the scratch with fine sandpaper.

Start by cleaning the plastic surface. Spray a little car interior cleaner on a microfiber towel and wipe the surface in a circular motion. Then wipe the cleaned area dry with another towel.

When the plastic surface is clean and dry, turn on the heat gun to the recommended temperature and heat the scratched area of the plastic panel. Continue moving the heat gun up and down the area at a constant speed to ensure even heat exposure. Do not heat the surface of the plastic for too long - this can melt or permanently damage it. If the surface begins to lose its texture, stop immediately.

After the heated area has cooled and hardened, use fine sandpaper to sand off any irregularities to obtain a smooth and even surface. After that, clean the area again to get rid of any small particles.

If this life hack doesn't work, you can always use special scratch removers sold in car shops. They should be used strictly according to the instructions.

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