After a few months of ownership the one thing I've noticed that I dislike in my Malibu LTZ w/cocoa/cashmere interior is that it seems like any little tick on the plastic on the door or dashboard really stands out. We have kids coming in from soccer who ding the door with their feet, any dirt traces are easy to see. Now, it could be that I'm ultra-anal about our "new" car, but I never noticed this as much on our older Olds Intrigue (grey interior).

I clean those up with simple green/etc., but now I have a new problem. I hastily put a food cooler in the front seat sell, wedged it between the seat and the dash. Doing so caused 3 'scuff marks' on the dash. They aren't like visible cuts I can see but just streaks that are a lighter color than the dash, so they really stand out.

Any ideas how to remove? I can certainly live with it, and I can no longer yell at only the kids for dinging up our new car. :D

Mr Clean Magic Eraser works wonders.

I also use this cleaner (http://www.tropi-care.com/Leather_Vinyl_Cleaner_p/tc-10.htm) and this protectant (http://www.tropi-care.com/Tropi_Care_Leather_Vinyl_Dressing_p/tc-14.htm) to help protect the dash.

Mr Clean Magic Eraser works wonders.

I also use this cleaner (http://www.tropi-care.com/Leather_Vinyl_Cleaner_p/tc-10.htm) and this protectant (http://www.tropi-care.com/Tropi_Care_Leather_Vinyl_Dressing_p/tc-14.htm) to help protect the dash.

Thanks..I'll start with mr. Clean Magic Eraser...

Ive found that the darker plastic is really easy to scratch.. I cently moved and I have some scratches in that area to on the dark color and Nothing ive done will get rid of them.. Its actually scratched in my case

same here and it bothers me soooo much, I have scratches by the door handles, and the glove compartment and with this material it becomes VERY visible to the point it drives me insane!! I haven't found anything that can remove those scuff marks or scratches and the only option I have is getting it sprayed over but im not sure I want to do that if there is some kind of other solution????

same here and it bothers me soooo much, I have scratches by the door handles, and the glove compartment and with this material it becomes VERY visible to the point it drives me insane!! I haven't found anything that can remove those scuff marks or scratches and the only option I have is getting it sprayed over but im not sure I want to do that if there is some kind of other solution????


I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels the same way..I'm constantly looking at the darker trim for new scuff marks..I have not tried Mr. Clean yet. A GM employee told me that putting Armor All on it would help, and actually suggested putting that on the dash because of chemicals that can be released by the plastic when exposed to heat that are toxic. I guess the Armor All prevents that from happening.

Armor All BLOWS. Even the new reformulated stuff just sucks on GM dashes. I dont know why but it leaves a horrible feel and a weird sticky feeling.

The stuff I use does none of that and it even lasts for about 5X as long.

Armor All BLOWS. Even the new reformulated stuff just sucks on GM dashes. I dont know why but it leaves a horrible feel and a weird sticky feeling.

The stuff I use does none of that and it even lasts for about 5X as long.

Well please share, what is it that you use?

Armor All BLOWS. Even the new reformulated stuff just sucks on GM dashes. I dont know why but it leaves a horrible feel and a weird sticky feeling.

The stuff I use does none of that and it even lasts for about 5X as long.

Yeah..fill us in..you have me hanging on the edge of my seat.

I tried the Magic Erasor, it didn't help. When I put the Armor All on it does make it somewhat shiny but the marks are much less visible. I think there is a Meguirs chemical that's supposed to be pretty good but can't remember the name.

I use Meguiars Gold Class Vinyl/Rubber protectant on my Cocoa/Cashmere interior :D
http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.asp?T1=MEG+G10624

Yeah..fill us in..you have me hanging on the edge of my seat.

I tried the Magic Erasor, it didn't help. When I put the Armor All on it does make it somewhat shiny but the marks are much less visible. I think there is a Meguirs chemical that's supposed to be pretty good but can't remember the name.

Well please share, what is it that you use?

Mr Clean Magic Eraser works wonders.

I also use this cleaner (http://www.tropi-care.com/Leather_Vinyl_Cleaner_p/tc-10.htm) and this protectant (http://www.tropi-care.com/Tropi_Care_Leather_Vinyl_Dressing_p/tc-14.htm) to help protect the dash.

Guys, the 2nd post in this thread has what I use.

I seem to have trouble with scuff marks in my interior also. Especially, on the door where the metal part of seat belt bangs against it. It doeesn't seem to take much to scuff up this interior. My last car did not have one scuff mark on it in the 13 years I owned it! I have used different cleaners on it none seem to hide it very well. I have very light gray interior.

Another problem I have noticed for the first time since I owned my malibu is the staining or fading of my blue jeans on my leather seats as I slide in and out of the car.:( Since my leather seats are a light gray, it is noticeable. I have used some leather cleaner on it, but I can still tell that some of the jean color remains. I have also noticed a little bit on the suede part of the seats too. I'm kinda of picky about things like this and I don't like it. What to do?? Any advice on this?

Kat,

You need a very good high quality leather cleaner AND conditioner. I personally use www.tropi-care.com products as they are great quality yet you dont pay for the name. Contact him and ask what he recommends.

Thank you! I will look into that. :)

My son dragged his backpack into the front seat and introduced two new scuff marks on the dash. They really show up with the cocoa (darker) interior...it is driving me nuts. I'm thinking the only way to "fix" is to replace the dash (bad) or maybe some kind of shoe polish or some coloring.

Ok,

Just an idea, would a heat treatment in the form of a heat gun and rubbing/polish, be an option in those cases?

08 LS, Orion

Ok,

Just an idea, would a heat treatment in the form of a heat gun and rubbing/polish, be an option in those cases?

08 LS, Orion

Funny you should say this - we had to get some collision work done, a 19 year old backed right into the trunk of our 09 Malibu :mad:

I asked the collision shop about the scuff marks - and that is exactly what they said would work. Apparently you use a heat gun to warm the surface and it melts just enough to all blend back together. I don't have a heat gun, however, and I would be nervous about doing this myself. :D

After reading this thread I feel better... I thought I was the only one who freaked out about interior scuffs... I will have to try that Meguiars protectant to see how that works. I have the Ebony interior so kids dirty foot prints show up in the darndest places. Not alot of deep scratches yet. Thanks for the tips :)

I have the ebony interior, and have used a ,believe it or not crayon, to cover up the scuffs, not a permanent fix, but seems to work okay, works the same as a furniture blemish pencil.
;)

with the scuffs, anything you do to make it less noticable works -- yes even a crayon!

But Plexus might work well for interior scuffs else novus makes a full line of very good polishes for this kind of thing. The main risk with heat guns on OUR interiors it the texture... you could go from a scuff to a 2" by 2" "bald"/flat spot. No duobt that would be worse than just some wear and tear type of thing.