GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Has anyone had this experience.Someone at the car wash or when detailed by outsiders a cleaner is used to wipe off the instrument panel (speedo, tach, ect..) and what is left is a haze or swirl that is there to stay because the cleaner used has etched the plastic in some way. My last car had this happen to it and I fixed it myself with a low abrasion buffing compound made specifically for a collection of hard plastics, lexan. Loaned the bottle out and never got back and cannot remember the name. Any body had this problem and how did you fix and with what product.

I have the same problem and haven't managed to completely fix it yet, and it's been more than a year. I did manage to make a slight improvement with a lexan polish, though I don't think it had an abrasive...it was liquidy like alcohol. I don't know what it was called though; it was my dad's and I found it in the garage. It still has some of the haze on there though, unfortunately. I think it's fading a little with time, too.

I've seen polishes for plastic lenses for sale in parts stores before. Might want to try one of those.Correcting chemical etching of plastics can be tricky, you kinda have to know what kind of plastic you are working with because their chemical structures can be quite different and what works on one might totally mess up another. I have no clue what kind of plastic the dash lenses are made of in the Vibe.

Plexus

Quote, originally posted by markbenbear »Has anyone had this experience.Someone at the car wash or when detailed by outsiders a cleaner is used to wipe off the instrument panel (speedo, tach, ect..) and what is left is a haze or swirl that is there to stay because the cleaner used has etched the plastic in some way. My last car had this happen to it and I fixed it myself with a low abrasion buffing compound made specifically for a collection of hard plastics, lexan. Loaned the bottle out and never got back and cannot remember the name. Any body had this problem and how did you fix and with what product. NEVER EVER use a paper-based wipe on the gauge covers, either. It will scratch them.

by paper-based do you mean paper towel vs. microfiber?