Sudden discoloration on interior door panel

Hi folks,

2001 w/ 80,000 miles if this matters.

The scene: I'm checking and airing my tires in the driveway with my window down.
A light mist of rain begins and I finish up. I get in the car and after wiping away some
drops of rain on the upper part of the inside door panel, I look down and notice light dots
of discoloration right around where the buttons are for window controls and for locking the
car. So, while wondering why there's discoloration, I grab a clean hand towel, wet it,
and proceed to try to wipe away whatever created the spots and after it dried, I of course,
had just made it worse. The raindrops had basically created light grey spots on the darker
grey around the control buttons and now all I've done is just wet a larger area of it and it's
all scuffed-textured light grey. It was just water! Anyway, there's probably a good explanation
that you guys could provide.

So, my question is: can I use some kind of proper cleaner to get the darker grey back
or am I actually reduced to getting a new interior door panel?

thanks,

Rod

 

No sir, it's, I believe, a heavy plastic.

 

I was thinking that. Of course, I'm going to try testing it first on a tiny area to see what happens.
I still don't understand why just water would do this. Maybe it has something to do with the age
of the panel? Puzzling.

 

I found a picture online and did a screen grab of the area of the panel.
That darker grey area is the area that suddenly had little grey rainwater spots
and now has scuffed grey because of added water.

 

Thanks for your responses.
Yes, I searched earlier for an inside door panel replacement
and found an eBayer called Lakeside Toyota. I saved the page
and went out looking for answers.

The car needed washing anyway and so the "before" guy at the car wash
said they'll try some solution and protectant. Still no change. I talked to the "after" guy
and he shook his head and said that I may want to consider some company called
"Flying Colors" - never heard of them, but he said they have reps all over the country
who come to your place and they actually dye the piece to its original color.
OK, I wrote that down to check later.

Meanwhile, I stop at my local "Auto Zone" and the guy there said he had the same
problem with the dash on his truck. He recommended "Armor All." I told him that I
just came back from the car wash and that's what they used. He said, "No, you've
gotta work at it - not just run a cloth over it....gotta do it then let it dry, then do it again..."
He mentioned using a sponge or paper towel.

OK, so I get home and I'm using a rough weave towel - 4 or 5 times over 10-15 minutes
on driver and passenger sides and letting it dry. It's not doing a thing. So, I get a kitchen sponge
that has that rough green side and start back in with the protectant. After 2 or 3 more tries,
I'm seeing improvement after it dries - getting excited - about 2 or 3 more tries and it's all
the same color as it should be - not that patchy look like you see in some kinds of
industrial-looking grey garage floors? It worked! So, I don't know if it was the protectant
or if I just lightly, but continuously, took a layer off the top! - ha!

We'll see in the morning if it's held up.
I'll keep your suggestions in mind if it hasn't,
...but I've checked twice after an hour and it still looks good.

thanks again for your suggestions,

Rod

 

Yes, it's just that darkest area smack dab in the middle of the picture above
(with the window buttons, lock buttons, and the place you put your hand to close the door).
I just took a break from writing this and checked again and it still looks great.
The passenger side may need one more go at it tomorrow 'cause it looks just
a little scuffy. Anyway, I'm keeping the windows shut from now on whenever there's
even a light mist. Hope this answers a future question from another surprised person.