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[murse]

Hi, as promised here in the newbie section here is my first question - if there is already a FAQ I have missed sorry but couldn't find it!

Previously I have had a couple of mid-nineties meggys and one of the best bits was the really durable interiors - both mine were sold on with 100k plus miles and looked as good as new.  Having bought a facelift I have been disappointed with the poor durability of the rubber coated surfaces - back of the car looks great but both front door armrests, handles and top pop-out pockets look like a cat has sharpened it's claws all over them.

Does anyone know if this section of the door card can be obtained new from Vauxhall and the rough cost?  Finding replacement used cards in anything like decent condition has proved impossible (all black with leather insert and plastiwood) and they really let the car down as everything else is okay.  If not is there any way of either refurbishing or removing the finish?

Any advice much appreciated  

[Gaffers]

speak to Markey Mark, he regularly breaks vehicles and is a trusted source for parts on here  

[feeutfo]

been meaning to ask about this, my door handle/ rubber covered plastic bit is well marked but better than some ive seen, plus its same as baige interior so it pics out all the muck out of your hands, not good with all the diy, so i was thinking on the lines of a new one in the dark grey of the window switch panel, as a second hand one is bound to be marked. But  on the other hand a new one will mark just as easy the old, so maybe better to remove the rubber altogether somehow... :-/

[Albatross]

My swith panels and flappy panel cupoard doors are in really good nick (almost unmarked) as are the back doors.

I have found a solution that works perfeclty for me (and I am mildly OCD about my car). It is a bit painstaking, but gently scraping the rubberised coating off with a strong thumbnail and then polishing up the hard plastic underneath makes it come up a treat.

Sometime soon (when I have reassembled my driver's door after fixing the window) I'll post pictures of the "before and after" because I haven't done the passenger side yet.

It really does work, I would advise taking the switch panel out though just to save you scraping it whilst you're working.

Incidentally I have done this on the panel that surrounds the auto gear stalk too and it looks much better.

[murse]

I must admit just scraping the stuff off completely had occurred to me - will report back with progress!  Anything in particular you would recommend for polishing it up?

[Albatross]

I found that a lightly oiled rag works well in removing the residue. Don't use Acetone, it marks the leatherette.

As my driver's door card is sitting here beside me in teh living room (long sage of a broken window mechanism) I've just taken a couple of pictures to show you how it looks once it is done.

I haven't taken it off the cupboard hatch or the door handle area. My window switches are still connected to the car right now and I didn't do those either. I was lucky that the only scratched up area I had was around the pull handle. I haven't done the rectangular inside of the handle well yet, but I intend to when I get half an hour.



The difference in colour which shows up in the pictures is only visible in these pictures, you can't tell when you look at the card. It is an effect of the flash. You can see that the leatherette looks different on the vertical and the horizontal when they are actually made of the same material. The same effect there too; trust me.