How To: Remove scratches from your gauge cluster

[walked_u_hard]

When i bought my car the previous owner had wiped the dash with armor all and the gauge's clear covers which is beyond me. So i was left with this cloudy looking gauge cover. Call me crazy but, it annoys the hell out of me. Its all about the details, and its something you look at every time your in the car.

So it's time to clean the gauge's up. I've done this on a few cars now, and every time it works like a charm. Even if your gauges are fairly new this is something that will take them back to 100% new.

Im not going to clutter this up with bezel/dash removal instructions, so if your not sure how to remove the gauge bezel in your year car search for it in the forums.

Tools Needed:

1 Elbow grease
1 Bottle of dreams (mothers powerball aluminum polish)
1 Micro fiber towel
A few Plackers (sounds stupid but they remove polish from the tight spaces)

- If the first application doesnt clean up your gauges apply additional coats until satisfied.

You can tell after doing this the cluster is smooth and clear. If this works for you post the results.
:beer:

 

[force feed]

Thats badass. Im def gonna try this

 

[05satinGT]

I'm so glad you posted this. Mine are the same way and it drives me freaking insane. Can't wait to try this out :beer:

 

[WeakSauz]

wtf the before pics look like the previous owner skeeted on the gauges

looks great now though, will be doing this

 

['03snkbt]

Thx for posting this.....gives me something else to do now!!

 

[hittinboost]

Great...thanks for sharing!

 

[CobraBob]

Great job, and great info. How long did it take you to clean those up?

 

[gamatt]

Nice work!

I have done the same just using Meguiars M205 polish and an tiny microfiber pad on a Dremel, saved some elbow grease that way.

 

[05satinGT]

Would this work? Because I already have some in my cabinet

 

[soccerman002]

Would this work? Because I already have some in my cabinet

That should work fine, I've used it on windows to remove hard water spots.

 

[Sweet '96 Cobra]

Iv'e also used baby oil on gauges in the past with great results. It wont clean them much but it will hide all those annoying scratches on the gauge lens's.

 

[Bruha]

Useful indeed. Thanks.

 

[mig4236]

I've used rubbing compound before, and that works too.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[walked_u_hard]

Great job, and great info. How long did it take you to clean those up?

Thanks, once the gauge cluster was out... 10 minutes.

Nice work!

I have done the same just using Meguiars M205 polish and an tiny microfiber pad on a Dremel, saved some elbow grease that way.

Id advise against using a dremel for most people because it is easy to use the wrong attachment and burn the plastic making it worse than before, there is no going back after that.

Iv'e also used baby oil on gauges in the past with great results. It wont clean them much but it will hide all those annoying scratches on the gauge lens's.

Interesting... i actually used a clay bar on these as well LOL. Its not necessary to go that extreme though, i was bored.

I've used rubbing compound before, and that works too.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

If you have the right compound, more power to ya! The Mothers power ball polish is a very fine grit liquid compound, that will NOT introduce scratches.






Side note: This also works on Tail Lights and Headlights too, basically any harder plastic. You can use the actual power ball for larger plastic surfaces. Im gonna try my radio's screen next. ill post pix if it works.

Also, if you dont have this exact liquid polish i would try a small hidden area first, and see what happens.

 

[Socal Mach]

Side note: This also works on Tail Lights and Headlights too, basically any harder plastic. You can use the actual power ball for larger plastic surfaces. Im gonna try my radio's screen next. ill post pix if it works.

Brasso works very well and it takes no time at all to complete, I use it on my headlights.

 

[gamatt]

Id advise against using a dremel for most people because it is easy to use the wrong attachment and burn the plastic making it worse than before, there is no going back after that.

True, do not use the white cotton polishing wheel-type of thing, I don't see how you could evenly spread the pressure around to come out with a smooth surface.

Below is what I used, it's just like polishing the paint on the car with a larger machine, of course you'll need a velcro attachment for your dremel. The microfiber separated from the foam when I tried to clean them, so they are pretty much one time use. They also cleared up scratches on the radio bezel.

WINDEX MICROFIBER 12 COUNT CLEANING & POLISHING PAD REFILLS PRO DETAILER NEW 184119000677 | eBay

 

[DDogsrt461BLK]

Use this shit, works 100% better then what you guys are using.

 

[mr2cam]

I use to use 3M platic scratch remover on my MR2. I actually used some of that on my cell phone with a buffer on medium speed, worked great!

 

[walked_u_hard]

Use this shit, works 100% better then what you guys are using.

oke:
Im not going to argue, but considering that my cluster now looks just as good as the day it came off the trailer from ford... no.

im sure it works just as good, but alot of people will have the mothers polish already... especially if they own CCW's rofl.

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

Use this shit, works 100% better then what you guys are using.

this is what I use, everything from headlights to the inside plastic cover. I use a DA whenever I can as it makes a great difference when using the right pad and speed.