Interior plastics - caution required?

carbore

Member
Hi, I might give my A2 its first big clean since purchase and working through all the mechanical issues. Its a Jan 2001 car got a beige interior and Jade steering wheel.

Most of the beige plastic feels "tacky" to the touch.

If I go at it with a normal car interior cleaner, microfiber towel and maybe a gentle steam cleaner is this likley to do anything nasty to the plastics like strip off a top layer? I can see wear around the switches whihc ill live with, but dont want to make things worse in general by overzelous cleaning. I have seen/read things about the plastics beign overpainted and this paint going off/failing hence the questions.

Thanks.
 
Just be gentle. This shi*** surface finish is plague all over VAG cars from this era. Once it starts its most likely to peel more and look bad :confused:

Maybe when it become too much, repaint it with something like Volico Color leather & interior paint...
 
I stripped the interior on my A2 a few weeks ago, the painted surfaces were totally beyond saving.
I ended up taking all the soft touch tacky finish off with methylated spirits, it looks so much better and I can clean it without worrying if the finish will come off in my cloth
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Coming up nice. The "trick" when using solvents is fresh air and rags in equal quantities. Protect your hands with heavy duty gloves (marigolds) and toss the rags straight out.
 
One thing to consider is applying some sort of sealer to the plastics afterwards. The light interiors (platinum and twist) can be badly affected by sunlight, so if you can get a uv resistant product then it will keep the dirt out of the grain and at least slow the discolouration sun causes.
 
I found a "touch" paint finish and mentioned it on here a while ago, I am using it on another brand of car at the moment and will report back
 
Just to reinvigorate this thread - Akoya’s soft touch trim around the handbrake in particular is so bad I just bought a bottle of meths to give this a go!
 
Have to say that meths seems to work well, doesn't seem to damage the plastic! Hard work though, small areas at a time seem to works best.

Happy grafting.
 
Have to say that meths seems to work well, doesn't seem to damage the plastic! Hard work though, small areas at a time seem to works best.

Happy grafting.
Hello Simon,

have you used the spirit without the dye? I checked internet and it seems that all this spirit that i found is dyed.

If you found without the dye, what brand is that?


Many thanks,

Andre
 
Hello Simon,

have you used the spirit without the dye? I checked internet and it seems that all this spirit that i found is dyed.

If you found without the dye, what brand is that?


Many thanks,

Andre
IMS is the industrial version (industrial methylated spirit)
the dye is added to deter it being drunk!
 
I’ve just bought a bottle in readiness to give Akita’s handbrake trim a going over and perhaps the rear cup holder too. Hope I don’t have to dismantle either if I’m careful.
Morning David,

If you're only looking to remove the failing coat of paint from the Rear Cup Holder then the dismantle process shouldn't be necessary.

As you already know, most of the A2's interior plastics are fortunately the correct colour below the soft touch paintwork. Please do be careful to not get any of the meth soaked paint into the door opening mechanism as it might cause issue and be detrimental to the smooth opening of the 2 doors. Also if you're liberal with the meth product then you could wash away the grease within the gears of the mechanism.

If for some reason you do need to dismantle, I can assure you it is a 5 minute process. You'll be surprised how much grime can accumulate inside over the years.

As Simon says above, good luck. Here to help if need be.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
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