TheRealBoxster

Here in NJ we have lot mosquitoes. The other day I put spray on my legs and then did some yard work. Later I went for a drive. I'm pretty tall 6'4- my legs hits the silver column " vinyl" cover. The next morning I went out to the car to go to work. I noticed that there was a hole the size of a quater. The silver was worm away dowen to the black plastic underneath.The sourounding are is also very soft and can easily be rubbed off. What should I do?

Sorry for no pics. I'm new to the site and havent figured everything out.

jatt

try buyin the plastic new. or see if ur dealer will replace it out, tell them that the plastic is cheap and it started wearing off because your leg was rubbing on it

OldYeller

The real question is---what does your leg look like??? That must be some powerful stuff. Was there any warnings on the spray itself??? You might have some recourse through the spray manufacturer.

Box-ster

Bug spray with Deet in it melts plastic. Not good for car parts, cameras and other expensive stuff!!! I don't know what to tell you about the melted stuff other then replacing it. In the future, try bug sprays with natural instead of chemical ingredients.

blitz_xb

you could get a C/F dash kit or repaint it same color or another

jay_man2

I had the same thing happen in a Honda Pilot with sunscreen on my legs. It really botched the silver paint on the console trim from my right near resting against it. Luckily, that piece was easy to remove and only $20 to replace.

chadfo

It's time for some interior painting. Find a color you like, remove the trim pieces that are silver and paint them.

Example:

xBHAWK

Chadfo says:
Hey there CHADFO....

Looks like a solution for me too. I want to eliminate or reduce the ghosting in the windshield at night. I want to paint the silver bazel accents flat black.

Did you use painter's tape to get those lines so straight?
What paint did you use?
Or can you link me to a DIY bazel paint thread?

I want to see what speedometer you are sporting... is that stock?

(And how do you make that quote thing work?)

chadfo

Hey xBHAWK,
I removed all the silver pieces to paint them. I did use painter's tape and newspaper to protect the middle section.

I used color matched paint from www.paintscratch.com. It doesn't look like it because of the flash but that is Camouflage. It's not cheap but I wanted it to match. There are varying opinions about what brand of paint is best to use but I say find some you've had good experience with. There's no sense in paying a premium for flat black.

I did a quick search for a DIY but didn't have any luck. The basic steps are 1. remove the parts from the car, 2. tape off what you don't want painted, 3. sand the part with 300 grit sandpaper, 4. clean the parts with alcohol to make sure there's nothing that will prevent the primer from sticking, 5. spray the parts with primer and let dry per directions on the can, 6. if needed, sand primer to get smooth finish, 7. paint with color and let dry.

Since you want flat black you can actually stop at the primer if you can find black primer.

The speedometer in the pic is stock. I painted my parts long before I ever thought of making speedos.

Bigbear

Same thing happened in my old xB. My friend had bug spray on and it ate through the paint on that silver thing.

Iride_xB04

check and make sure that it is the spray, it must have been something else thats realy wierd

TheRealBoxster

Thank you for all your advice- still deciding

thegoatlord

this is yet another reason why i never wear shorts.

:D

and paint it to match the exterior

firesquare

^^^

I Agree.

I know how NJ is with those mosquitoes.

Here in NC, the State insect is the Mosquito. They get you through your jeans!!!

__________________

Short_Bus

that is crazy....didn't know bug spray did that

chadfo

Ha ha ha. In SC it's the state bird.

pooder

It's the spray. My wife left some bug spray with DEET in her tackle box and it ate the cover of the box she keeps the leetle hooks in. After it was damaged, she left it sitting outside, hoping that it would solidify and be useful again, but it never set up. Bug spray is NASTY stuff . . . and I'm not spraying it on ME again . . . .

x-ray_Bravo

If I need to use insect repellant, I use Repel Lemon Eucalyptus (link here). It's safer than deet, works just as well against mosquitoes, and smells better, in my opinion. (informative link here) (more informative link here)

TheRealBoxster

Lemon Eucalyptus sounds much better than deet. Thanks for the info

x-ray_Bravo

You're very welcome! Let us know how it works for you!