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View Full Version : Scratched Trim Bezel, Help!

limey163
04-01-2011, 05:12 PM
Last weekend I painted the instrument clusters red and it came out beautiful, until I decided to paint the left and right trim bezels. They came out nice until I tried putting them in, the paint chipped off in some areas, so i repainted and it made it worst. Dont know why but I took a 400 grit sandpaper to the bezel..BAD idea...it scratched it up and basically "tore" the material. I dont want to spend money replacing them, so i was thinking of getting the red paint off with some Acetone... then possibly repaint it in black or leave them ugly. Poor worksmanship on my part.

Should I go ahead with the Acetone and remove the red then repaint it, or leave as is after the paint is removed? I will try to get some pictures up for a better visual.
fnkngrv
04-01-2011, 05:21 PM
post up which bezels they are. there are a few resources that could be pretty cost effective and less of a PITA in the long run believe it or not.
tk1971
04-01-2011, 05:27 PM
Acetone will dissolve the plastic. Don't do it. Sand it down and repaint. Use only fine sand paper or sanding paste.

See this:

http://www.search-autoparts.com/searchautoparts/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=371504

Excerpt: "Avoid using coarse and aggressive paper: P-320 or even P-400 is far too aggressive for soft plastic surfaces. If you choose to use paper, it should be P-800 to P-1000. A better method, though, is to use a gray abrasive pad with sanding paste. (Red abrasive pads are too aggressive for soft plastic.) "
auxmike
04-01-2011, 07:16 PM
Hot tip; don't play with interior bits.
Remember, someday you may want to trade in or sell that car.....
How 'bout some pics?
limey163
04-02-2011, 11:34 AM
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7883/photo03280756.jpg (http://img651.imageshack.us/i/photo03280756.jpg/)
Heres a picture, if you notice the left bezel is the one i tried using sandpaper on. I think it was too rough for the plastic.

Aux I have years and years of payments ahead of me for this car, I just want to enjoy what Im paying for is all :).

Tk: thanks for the tip. I will try to go to advanced auto parts today and get that.