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Steering column plastic trim refurb

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DM72C20

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I did some work on the steering column plastic trim in the last couple days. There are two pieces above and below the column that are of course prone to the stickiness that plagues these cars. The plastic is PC ABS and seemed to be much harder to remove the stickiness compared with the buttons and smaller surfaces.

It isn’t too difficult to pull them off. The lower piece has two 4mm Allen screws and an 8mm nut that hold it on. The column adjustment switch can then be unplugged to remove the whole part. The upper piece can be carefully pried upward and then two Philips screws can be removed. The vinyl/leather is wedged into a sleeve and can be pried or pulled to take the assembly off.
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
After removing the parts, I tried every single chemical I had on hand to get the sticky off.

70% isopropyl alcohol
99% isopropyl alcohol
Goo Gone
Borax and hot water
Xylene
Toluene
Acetone
Lacquer thinner
Oil just for the heck of it

The acetone and lacquer thinner did work to soften the coating, but ate into the base plastic. I tested on the bottom piece in case of negative effects. Nothing else worked in a reasonable way. So I decided to sand it all off using an orbital sander and 320 grit paper. There is some kind of basecoat and the top sticky layer.

After sanding all the layers off, I proceeded to wet sand up to 2000 grit to give it a really smooth surface. I then applied a coat of wax for an even sheen and buffed it by hand. I could have sprayed some new topcoat on, but I was pleased with the look and feel of the waxed surface. I also don’t know what to expect from a new coating, so this seemed like a good solution.

The 70% alcohol seems to do the trick on the buttons, but it barely had any effect on these parts.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
I did spend a lot more time than I had hoped to deal with these parts, but most of it was fussing around trying to strip the old sticky finish. Had I known it wasn’t going to come off, I would have started sanding right away and had them both done in a couple hours. Perhaps I could have ordered new parts from the dealer, but I have no faith that replacement parts would not get sticky in the future.
 
#5 ·
DM72C20 said:
After removing the parts, I tried every single chemical I had on hand to get the sticky off.

70% isopropyl alcohol
99% isopropyl alcohol
Goo Gone
Borax and hot water
Xylene
Toluene
Acetone
Lacquer thinner
Oil just for the heck of it

The acetone and lacquer thinner did work to soften the coating, but ate into the base plastic. I tested on the bottom piece in case of negative effects. Nothing else worked in a reasonable way. So I decided to sand it all off using an orbital sander and 320 grit paper. There is some kind of basecoat and the top sticky layer.

After sanding all the layers off, I proceeded to wet sand up to 2000 grit to give it a really smooth surface. I then applied a coat of wax for an even sheen and buffed it by hand. I could have sprayed some new topcoat on, but I was pleased with the look and feel of the waxed surface. I also don’t know what to expect from a new coating, so this seemed like a good solution.

The 70% alcohol seems to do the trick on the buttons, but it barely had any effect on these parts.
Click to expand...
IThank you for the important information for I to have some stickiness to remove.
 
#6 ·
While most of my parts are a total mess (see my last post in "unsticky/plastidip" thread for pics) my steering column is pretty decent. It's got a very slight tacky feel to it, but it's not melted gooey like everything else in the car.

I'm wondering what the true cause of this coatings failure is? If it was just sun/heat then every surface should be the same. Or just places the sun can get would be gooey. But that's not what I see on mine. I'm almost wondering if it's cleaners like Armor All that eat it up?

But even if that was the case, what gets bad on my car, and what isn't, doesn't follow in any known scenario I can think of. The sunroof switch is just as sticky as my door trim. But the steering wheel trim, and the middle trim around the shifter, while tacky, isn't a gooey mess like 90% of the other surfaces.

Meh... It is what it is I guess.
 
#7 ·
Just remember if you are spraying plastic, get spray meant for plastic. With black, I usually paint flat black, let it dry a few days to be sure it's cured. Then follow up with a clear coat, not a glossy one. Just satin or matte clear coat. This gave me best finish
 
#8 ·
Image

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#10 ·
I'm struggling with these two pieces myself right now. Agree these are the hardest parts to remove the coating from in the entire car. Sanding seems to make the surface even worse for some reason, a textured sticky mess. I'm going for oven cleaner next. Will post here if it did anything.
 
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#11 ·
Easy off oven cleaner spray removes the stubborn sticky stuff. Well it kind of broke it down then I scraped it off with a plastic razor blade. It also discolored the black plastic and made it milky or cloudy. I planned to paint it anyway but I surely wouldn’t use it on any buttons or items you dont plan to paint.
 
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#12 ·
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Not to hijack the thread but exact same topic. After oven cleaner a few times sanded with 600 grit. Two layers of SEM plasticizer and 3 of SEM landau black. Looks decent. Not concours but better than it was and not tacky/dusty/lint covered.
Image

Image
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
Cepat said:
View attachment 157346
Not to hijack the thread but exact same topic. After oven cleaner a few times sanded with 600 grit. Two layers of SEM plasticizer and 3 of SEM landau black. Looks decent. Not concours but better than it was and not tacky/dusty/lint covered.
View attachment 157345
View attachment 157344
Click to expand...
Looks great! My polished and waxed job still looks good and is silky smooth though might attract a bit of dust. I’m just happy that I can stick the key in without touching anything sticky!
 
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DM72C20
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