GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I love my vibe so much. It's a 2003 and use to belong to my dad until I got my license and needed a car to get to and from school and work. Since it's been through the years and has to deal with some overly energetic frends, the black plastic coating on the buttons is wearing off and you can see the light coming through the spots. It's becomming more apparent lately, and I was wondering if there was anyway to make them look like new again? Without a sharpie, of course. It's a six disk changer without a navigator if that makes adifference.And use simple terms, I'm not very car-savy

Welcome to the site PaddedPushUpBra,I have a single disc CD player from my 2008 Vibe that I could sell you, I have no use for it and I would let it go at a good price. No marks and the finish is in tact. Exchanging the radio out would be fairly simple.

Would putting a completely new radio in be the only option?

Quote, originally posted by PaddedPushUpBras »Would putting a completely new radio in be the only option?I am not aware of anyone ever refinishing their buttons; other members have had issues with their radios doing the same thing. They had the radio replaced under warranty or put in a different radio. Since your Vibe is a 2003, it is out of warranty and that option is not available. $40.00 plus shipping and it is yours. I am not looking to make a killing nor do I need the cd player/radio.

Alright, thanks for your help. I was hoping it was something a little more simple to fix, so I guess I'll just deal with it for now

Quote, originally posted by PaddedPushUpBras »Alright, thanks for your help. I was hoping it was something a little more simple to fix, so I guess I'll just deal with it for now OK then.

Welcome to genvibeQuote, originally posted by PaddedPushUpBras » the black plastic coating on the buttons is wearing off and you can see the light coming through the spotsThere not much you can do to make them look new again. I don't think a sharpie will cover it thick enough to block the light. I'd probably get a some black paint and a tiny brush and retouch them. Won't be perfect though (at least not with my humble painting skills)

Take a look at this:http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/094799.html

I would say at this point your best bet is some trial and error. Get some paint, and try to see if you can salvage them..... worst case, it dosn't work, and you pay $40 and have a basically new stereo, and learned something new.That's the fun part about owning a car, never be scared to try something, or dive right in. Best way to learn, and there is ALWAYS a way to fix it..... it's just a matter of finding it, or finding out who knows.

Welcome!I'm just going to repeat everybody else. I haven't heard of anybody refinishing the radio buttons, but somebody has to be the guinea pig. The only thing I could suggest is to replace the whole stereo or live with what there is.

Quote, originally posted by cerulean »Take a look at this:http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/094799.htmlIt looks like he lost the bit about having hte button labels light up. I guess you could get that by clearing off the paint, painting them white, then applying rub on labels, painting them black, peeling off the rub on letters to reveal the white paint under them, then clear coat it for durability.

That was a pretty cool refinishing project.