Alright, this is rather disappointing. You know the plastic in the gauge rings on the dash? Yeah, apparently, you can't clean those without them looking like someone removed them and dragged them across the asphalt. Probably about the most scratch-sensitive acrylic plastic is found in the Fit, no joke. I cleaned mine with some water and a towel and it looks like hell now when the sun hits it just slightly.....like as if I dipped the towel in the dirt before I decided to clean it. I am very meticulous about these things and would only do what's best for the car. Didn't use ANY chemicals, just water, but apparently it's just best to leave them dusty. Does anybody know a good repair method or something I could do to fix this? I even thought about getting a whole new bezel/cluster piece which is $66 which sucks ass. Brand new car, no need of this B.S. for real. But any info regarding that would be great, thanks everyone.

 

I agree it is disappointing. Not sure if there is any fix for it. I have been afraid to touch my dial faces based on other threads I have read here...plain water is good, and maybe microfiber cloth used lightly. Good luck, I know it is distressing.

 

That sucks, sorry to hear about that.

Not sure of any fix either. Maybe you could see if it would be covered under warranty. A long shot I know, but worth a try at least. Good luck.

 

"paint it" with Future acrylic floor wax using a small model brush. It will fill those scratches. May need 2 or 3 coats.

 

heatgun maybe

 

I would try some super fine polish and a micro fiber cloth.

 

Yeah, I have been afrade to clean them as well. What's worse is they tip the wrong way. In the other two cars I have had the plastic tipped forward, so there was never a need to clean it since it never got dirty.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone! The microfiber cloth does work the best although when I get it fixed I won't even use that just cause I know how bad it gets being touched with anything. It's hard to except the level of how scratched it really is. Very disappointing. So what kind of polish is this? or floor wax for that matter? Keep 'em coming people, these scratches are going to eat away at me!

 

I haven't tried it on the Fit, but I've had good luck with Novus plastic polish on other plastic stuff (and guitar finishes, which even if lacquer, are, after all, "plastic"). You can get it at most cycle shops (we use it to remove scratches in plastic windshields),

I carry a makeup brush in the glovebox, and use that to remove dust and lint from the instrument lenses. Less likely to scratch than rubbing with a cloth.

 

Plexus plastic cleaner. And the right cloth, which ever that is.

 

I know how the small things can really be the most irritating.

I've used a micro fiber towel lightly NO water and its worked fine. However I may just try a can of dust off in the future to just blow the dust out of ther without having any direct contact with the surface.

 

There were some posts back in '09 about replacing the part. Apparently the part itself is inexpensive, although I don't recall how much work is involved in removal and installation. But if you did so you could start over using something like canned air to blow the dust off, rather than wiping. For my part, I'm just living with it.

 

yeah i missed mines upp to lol one bad lol i guess a stapler was on my micro cloth and me all faded did not notice adn ya u knw the result that was the 5th day i own my car lol : /

 

Plastic polish should work. If you decide to start anew and replace the part, perhaps you can cover it with that plastic film stuff used to cover touch screen devices and such. That way, you can clean the plastic film off and if it ever gets scratched, just replace the film.

I remember this issue being brought up before and quite a few folks responded with the canned air method.

 

Before I cleaned it the first time, I noticed my cluster had fine scratches. I can only assume it happened at delivery. I live with it.

I've read on the Meguiar's forum where folks have had good results with PlastX: http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotiv...leaner-polish/

 

Lots of awesome ideas, I think I will ask the dealer about getting a new piece when I get my oil changed.

 

Yeah it looks just like mine! Too bad they look that way.

 

Meguiars makes a PlasticX cleaner that I use on my Mugen visors and it always works on them. I would try a small area first using microfiber cloth. I use a sheep wool brush to run over the gauges to just pull off the dust. Yup they are super easy to scratch.

 

Great information Cat!

 

I've found that not just the gauge cluster, but the whole interior of the car shows dust and lint a little too well. I'm hoping it will be less of a problem once I get my window tint on and there's less sunlight in the car.