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So I noticed a scratch on the inside plastic panel to the rear door. Not sure how it got there... but I was hoping there was a fix. Does anyone know what I can use to buff it out?

Thank you.

 
Rep Power: 228

Won't buff out. Buffing is for clear coat, you cut away at the clear coat until it is all at the reduced level of the scratch; then buff/polish it back.

Try youtube, search for "heat gun plastic repair", be careful though, too much heat will dehydrate the plastic and leave a white haze. I think petroleum jelly could rehydrate the plastic, but I haven't tried that part yet.

 
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Damn there's nothing to fix it? It's a surface scratch. I own the 2019 civic and the door panels on the rear doors have a pattern that looks like weaves. Would the magic eraser work at all? It's a little abrasive no?

 
Rep Power: 228

The heat gun is really the best for plastic.

Hit it with the heat gun just until the scratch turns from white to the colour of the plastic. If you go further then you may end up with a flat/melted patch.

Generally a plastic scratch is a valley with a thin protruding white ridge on either side. We're trying to melt those white ridges away. But we're not trying to remove the valley, if you try to melt that out with a textured plastic it can go bad.

 
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I'll take a picture of the scratch and hopefully that'll help you guys assist me with what I need to do. This plastic has a pattern on it though... Not sure if the heat gun will ruin it

 
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Here's the scratch. As you can see there is texture to this plastic panel.

 
Rep Power: 228

Could try buffing, let me know if it works.

Maybe test a part of the panel which is hard to see.


-Wetsand a small test patch, by hand 2000 grit
-use polishing compound, polishing pad and a random orbital buffer

I would skip the cutting compound for this test, because if the test fails, you'll have a huge patch to deal with. The wetsand and polish should be soft enough to test with.


Good luck