Hey HOLY Small world batman! i remember you from the TLK Fandom times!

hmmm...if your gonna clean a car use car products as (except for armorall) as they are safer then house products...but i'm just stating whats already happened...


yea either find a matching paint ...OR go to a junkyard local or online and buy a used replacement...as the new XB is now out the parts of the older model would go down in price...if you wanted a new one

hell even look online for someone selling their door panels..

and hello again to a fellow former TLK'er .....been a while..nice to see you've got a box too

 

and your fix was .... drumroll please? ....

 

Well since I'm a chain smoker i did it in the air vents to try and cut that dead cat at the meat market on a hot summer day smell that gets in there so it really only ruined some of the insides of the vents. I was eventually able to rub out some of it with some soap and water but some damage still remains. the damage only seemed to be superficial on the very top of the plastic. I don't know how to get it out of that coral reef pattern that the door panels are made out of. Sanding and some paint might work, but I would suggest trying to remove it with soap and water and allot of elbow grease at first. Obviously try this on an inconspicuous spot before you start taking about the blow torch

If i can shine my work boots with armorall, maybe there is hope.

 

There are a couple of things i would try before i went the sandpaper route.

1) try some Simple Green straight and a cloth.
2) try a soft toothbrush and some P-Nut Butter. This works great on removing wax buildup off of black and dark exterior plastics. The Pnut Butter acts like a light compound, while the PNut oil cleans and polishes.
3) try some heat. By that ( if it were me only cause i have some expeirence ) use a small torch and a light flame. See what happens when you add some heat to the spots. NOT DIRECT FLAME .. KEEP THE FLAME MOVING AND ONLY HEAT IT A LITTLE. NOT TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN SEE SMOKE OR SMELL PLASTIC BURNING.

The cheapest i can find new door panels for is here door panels

I also saw a set on Ebay for a couple hundred bucks. I cant find the old link, but the auction was for 4 new interior panels.

 

are you for real about p-nut butter getting wax off the black trim pieces...thats crazy

 

Next time you have some discolored black trim from waxing your ride ... give it a try. Just like brushing your teeth. When your done just wash it off and the waxy residue is gone. I learned this from a fellow tuner almost a decade ago, ive tried it on several occassions and it works everytime.

 

I've read all these replies and have to speak up now....
Have you tried?...
1. rubbing alcohol 90%
2. carb cleaner. it removes that vinyl dye stuff without harming the plastic.
3. Just clearcoating them and see if the color comes back. If it doesn't work the clear is easy to remove with the rubbing alcohol.
If those do not help you can always try searching for a wrecked xB in your area by using www.car-part.com and pick up a set of replacement door panels for cheap. Hope it works out for ya!

 

I don't trust that armor all orange, I've had it ruin the dashboard inside another car with a white stain, it must of interacted with something, who knows.

As for preventing mildew, drying the interior and keeping it dry with the AC will be enough. I've had mine get alot wetter than I would like. After drying, some AC, a hot day in the sun and more AC and it was fine.

 

That and just using a wet vac and towels to dry it out. But I wasn't gonna say anything.

 

Holy crap.. yeah that's the intarwebs for ya. ^_^


I was just trying to kill mold and mildew is all! No car specific products for that..

 

Yes, but mold and mildew take awhile to form. The doors would have dried long before that would have occurred.
We all make mistakes. Hopefully this one isn't too costly. Good luck and happy hunting.

 

There is also a product on the market called DampRid. I have seen it at HomeDepot and just recently at WallyWorld. The little pellets pull the moisture out of the air and crystalize it in a catch can at the bottom. Works very well.

 

Yes, that damp rid works great for when you are storing a vehicle. It helps keep the interior fresh smelling.

 

You probably washed out the plastizer from the plastic - if you can get some silicon oil try some of that on it - I use it on the grill work at the base of the windshield and it turns it really black and the silicone oil is clear.

 

After trying nearly every cleaner I had, I decided to go this route.. and holy crap it WORKED. O.O Scrubbed it into all that texture and wiped it off with warm water + soap. Looks like new! :D Peanut butter FTW!

 

dang, and here I thought you were gonna break down and have your door panels painted

 

Glad to hear the good news. It's funny how some of the most off the wall crap fixes stuff.

 

OK... so if i read this right the PNut butter worked? Thats great! Another soul saved by a toothbrush and some Jiffy ... not chunky.LOL

 

i always have fabreeze in my car its same and smells so dang good good luck man

 

You're extremely lucky man! The basic rule of thumb is "If its flammable, its going to ruin plastic"