Fix for peeling soft touch plastic around the cup holders

[highbrowed]

Anyone have a pic of the underside of a removed center console? I am thinking of removing the cup holders if possible and wrapping with vinyl. My soft touch plastics look like ****.

EDIT: See pictures below. The cup holder section is plastic riveted to the center console. I ended up using a standard kitchen sponge, some dish soap, and a lot of elbow grease to remove the rubber coating. The plastic hiding beneath looks good as new!

[1and1]

I have this one from when I disassembled & cleaned my center console, maybe it'll help...

[deesea]

I'm very much in the same boat - thinking I may just bite the bullet and get a new centre console.

I'm going to experiment with some plastikote on the steering wheel trim first though, if it's a solid option I might try masking off the centre console (removed) and spraying it with plastikote.

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by deesea

I'm very much in the same boat - thinking I may just bite the bullet and get a new centre console.

I'm going to experiment with some plastikote on the steering wheel trim first though, if it's a solid option I might try masking off the centre console (removed) and spraying it with plastikote.

I covered my steering wheel trim with matte black vinyl 5 years ago and it looks good as new. I suggest using vinyl wrap instead of plastikote if you want a permanent solution.

[highbrowed]

Well I pulled the center console today and unfortunately the soft touch plastic portion is affixed with plastic rivets and is not easily removable. I think I am going to try drilling the rivets out so the cup holders and oddments tray can be easily removed.

I realize I can just buy a new center console, but it's just going to happen again if I do. I'd rather cover in vinyl and never have to worry about it again.

Here's a pic of the underside of the center console in case anyone needs it in the future.



You can see where the cup holders are attached with the plastic rivets.

[highbrowed]

Well guys, here was my fix:



I was able to scrape all of the rubber off without having to remove the cup holder portion from the center console. The plastic beneath looks like brand new again.

Before:






After:

[dtla1]

But what about that nice soft touch plastic everyone loves?

[1and1]

Yeah..., erm...., well,
gotta say, at least on my tablet, that looks kinda awesome

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Yeah..., erm...., well,
gotta say, at least on my tablet, that looks kinda awesome

Thanks. Its night and day. The peeling cup holders were a total eyesore.

[Fakemike]

Good to know, I have the same problem

[jkoral]

Had the same problem on both my E46 center consoles. My kids think I'm nuts for not drinking in the car and not using the cup holders!

[ShocknAwe]

Did the same thing. That soft touch stuff actually attracts more dirt. Kudos!

[Dekdo]

wow nice job! im going to give this a try eventually.

[jaydieu]

Originally Posted by highbrowed

Thanks. Its night and day. The peeling cup holders were a total eyesore.

did you just use the sponge side or used both?

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by jaydieu

did you just use the sponge side or used both?

I used the green side mostly

[TM9030]

Thank you.

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by TM9030

Thank you.

[Thunderguts]

Nice! I may just have to try this. I was thinking about getting a new console, but it will just happen again...

[golfer23rm]

Originally Posted by highbrowed

did you remove the console to do it? or just did it in the car?

[AlfaHeadHunter]

This idea took about 30 minutes from start to finish without removing anything. The finish product looks amazing. I used a dry sponge and cleaned up the loose particles with a damp cloth. Thx

[Dekdo]

Originally Posted by AlfaHeadHunter

This idea took about 30 minutes from start to finish without removing anything. The finish product looks amazing. I used a dry sponge and cleaned up the loose particles with a damp cloth. Thx

Edit: Done. Works well, I did the steering wheel face plate too.