Areas with high pollen concentration;

[Billup]

I need some advice. I bought my car CPO and noticed that my vents appear to be caked with the lovely pollen that falls from the spruce trees every year. I have tried things like a magic eraser and simple green, but it doesn't seem to be breaking down.

Does anyone have a remedy that could easily break down the caked on pollen on the vents without destroying the plastic or stripping off the painted lines marking open and closed vents?

[AtlantaDude]

Have you tried goo-gone? I've also used isopropyl alcohol to great affect. I hate pollen and how it builds up everywhere.

[Billup]

No I haven't tried goo-gone yet actually. Would it work better if I removed the vents and soaked them, or should I be able to paint it on and let it soak then wipe it off?

I mean it is caked on pretty good.

[cheshirecat79]

when you're talking about the vents, do you mean the interior a/c?

We get a ton of pollen also around this time, but I couldn't see it getting inside the cabin as you have a filter for that. (if I'm understanding right)

[Billup]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

when you're talking about the vents, do you mean the interior a/c?

We get a ton of pollen also around this time, but I couldn't see it getting inside the cabin as you have a filter for that. (if I'm understanding right)

Yeah, interior vents. I've never experienced this high of pollen concentration in Michigan, but here in NC it was heavy last year, and that was the only thing I could associate the color with, I very well could be wrong because I thought the cabin filters would have prevented it also.

See picture attached, its kind of hard to tell, but the discoloration is yellow-ish.

[bmw1racer]

^ Maybe you should check the pollen filter and see if it's there at all or clogged up.

And I wouldn't start with Goo-Gone: it might damage the plastic... Start with something mild and work your way up.

[cheshirecat79]

I was able to fix my vents that looked like that with Adams Super VRT. I even tried using a dremel with a soft pad to kinda resurface the fins- no go. The Super VRT was the only thing that brought the color back. Just keep applying until it stops disappearing- may take 3 or four applications.

For what its worth, many BMWs have that issue with discoloration. I think it's more an issue of the cold air moving across the vents and drying the plastic out, but I'm not certain.

[ShocknAwe]

Adams Super VRT huh? Thats a trim dressing isn't it? I just had my vents replaced, might pick up a bottle and use it as a preventative.

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Adams Super VRT huh? Thats a trim dressing isn't it? I just had my vents replaced, might pick up a bottle and use it as a preventative.

Sure is. Works on tires also but I prefer to use other products for that.

I just used a q-tip and applied a pretty good bit to the vents. The nice thing is that it's now about six months after application and the vents look to be permanently rid of that "dried out" look. A lot of dirt and nastiness came off of them also which I'm sure was half of the problem.

Makes me wonder if it might be something that can be attributed to the active charcoal in the OEM cabin filters that may be staining the vents. Probably not, but I've never seen discoloration like this in other vehicles.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

I was able to fix my vents that looked like that with Adams Super VRT. I even tried using a dremel with a soft pad to kinda resurface the fins- no go. The Super VRT was the only thing that brought the color back. Just keep applying until it stops disappearing- may take 3 or four applications.

For what its worth, many BMWs have that issue with discoloration. I think it's more an issue of the cold air moving across the vents and drying the plastic out, but I'm not certain.

This is great information, thank you very much for this!

I am going to purchase some tonight. I did think it would be a little odd that pollen could cause it to look like that, but it makes sense that it could just be the plastic drying out.

[ShocknAwe]

Honestly, it's probably what all the plastics are treated with, the chems off gas up onto the windshield and out of the plastics, eventually drying them out. I think then the dried out plastic has lots of crannies for the dirt to get stuck in, making it worse.