Soft touch dash materials - scratch repairs

[JHZR2]

Let me say for the record that I HATE soft touch materials on dashes. Whatever imbecile thought they were fancy and upscale because they could press a fingernail into a dashboard a 16th of an inch should have their fingernails pulled out. For the two times that you might actually touch the dashboard top surface, to have all the plasticizers, toxins and risk of damage hardly seems worth it.

Now it's not just the soft touch developers and distributors that I dislike, Im also an imbecile. Driving my 04 saab, which looks like new inside, and I had to get some copper pipe. Bought the lengths at HD, put a cloth on my dash, carefully got the pipes in through the trunk, via the back seat, over the center console, to the windshield. The ends sat on the dash.

Well apparently the cloth I used wasn't thick enough, and the pipe had a barb of some kind, which on some movement put a scratch into the soft touch dash material.

It's about three inches long and very noticeable. Right in the enter of the p/s dash. Not deep enough that any substrate is visible, but certainly noticeable. You would feel it with your fingernail.

I've seen pictures of those permatex kits' product. Not good. I've seen a lot of repairs where after repair, the dash was painted. No thanks.

So, any other good approaches? I keep my cars for the long run, and are very careful with dashes - none of my cars have any cracks or blemishes, even the 30+ year old ones.

I'm really disgusted, but hoping there is something or someone who can do it. I'd rather not use anything that would cause other damage in the long run (like petroleum products, Vaseline, etc), nor do I want to use a paint which will have its own susceptibility. I've heard heat gun, but I think that's more oriented towards harder vinyls and plastics.

If it wasn't relatively small, I'd probably be off to get the dash pad replaced. But this seems like a candidate for repair. Just don't know what/who is best, or what approach is smartest to use.

Recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[SatinSilver]

Picture? Maybe lay a nice dash mat over it. Just an idea. Maybe there's something on www.autogeek.net that can help. Check the reviews for the product if there are any. Some sort of leather/vinyl repair kit. Check youtube for some diy's.

 

[JHZR2]

I've seen those kits, and their results online in various forums, etc. yuck.

Repairs that paint the dash afterwards look blended, but how does that do for longevity?!? A few applications of 303 or equivalent and it might be peeling.

 

[SatinSilver]

I think at this point my goal would be to minimize the blemish as much as possible. I don't like the idea of spraying entire sections either. So I'd buy a can of interior dye from Autozone/Advance etc. Match it up as close as possible. Spray some on a plastic coffee can lid then dip an artists paint brush( with a super fine tip from Michaels/craft store for a buck or two)/toothpick into it. Fill the abrasions on the dash with the dye.

It will look 10x better than it does now. If you let it go too long and don't fix it, those tiny holes may start to open up and get worse. I'd rather deal with this than a paint scratch on the exterior that can rust.

 

[Garak]

There should be some sort of professional in your area that does that. I know a guy here who does that, which does you absolutely no good, particularly since he's independent and part of no chain. It may take some fumbling through the yellow pages, but I would wager that there is someone in your locale that is very, very good at this. If it's not deep, such a person should be able to fix it very, very easily and seamlessly, as it were.

Check upholstery shops and detailers for leads on whom such a person might be in your area.

 

[05LGTLtd]

Know any used car dealers? They will know who can repair a scratched dash in your area.

 

[JHZR2]

Not really but it's a good lead!

 

[threeputtpar]

If it's anything like the soft touch garbage that Audi used in the mid 2000s, the only real way to fix it is to replace the panel with a new or undamaged used one.

I have that stuff on the radio, climate controls, and the headlight switch. The three most fondled parts in the interior besides the steering wheel were coated with paint that never had a chance of staying on the panel. Genius.