1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Your Prius' interior paint is vulnerable! READ!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by darkecho, Aug 18, 2006.

  1. darkecho

    darkecho New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2006
    60
    1
    0
    well... I guess I should have followed the age-old rule "test in an inconspicuous area" but I didnt.

    My sister blew up a bottle of hairspray in my prius one day and I finally got around to trying to clean it off.. I tried water and vinegar to no avail, so I finally got to rubbing alcohol which took the spots off of the door panels right quick... however, once I moved on to the painted plastic trim peices, I was horrified when I realized that I was just rubbing off the paint!!!!
    here is a picture of the damage.

    [​IMG]

    DO NOT USE RUBBING ALCOHOL ON PAINTED INTERIOR PEICES!!

    it will eat into the cheap paint that Toyota used to paint the trim and rub it right off!


    I dnt think there is anything that I can do to fix the damage Ive done (and I have never had a good experience with painting car parts, so I lost out here, but hopefully nobody else will make the same mistake I did!

    My recommendation, if you have a stain on any of the metallic grey plastic interior peices, and have a solvent/cleaner to clean them with, pull off the section of the center console (the one I have shown in the picutre, it comes off very easily, pull from the front of it and it will loosen, then pull up) I suggest testing your cleaner on the inside of it, there is paint where no one will ever see it. Test it there before cleaning the actual paint on the outside, otherwise you might have a bad suprise like I did :( :( :( :(

    BTW, the picture doesnt show the damage for what it is, if you cant tell in the reflection, I was using my cellphone, so quality is bad... but the foggy looking area is where the paint was rubbed off to reveal the dull grey unfinished plastic look beneath... it looks horrible sitting next to me in the car :angry: :(
     
    Sezy likes this.
  2. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2005
    3,862
    18
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    OUCH!! :(

    Yes, that's something to avoid if possible. I understand that if you're in the habit of driving with your elbow out the door and have suntan lotion on, you can damage the interior paint by the window.
     
  3. Marlin

    Marlin New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2005
    1,407
    10
    0
    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Here's another one for you. Sunscreen, sweat, and elbows resting on the painted window trim will result in soft paint that will flake off.

    At least on 2005 Priuses. My father's 2006 has soft textured plastic trim instead of the painted rust brown colored trim my 2005 has.
     
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    ouch, sorry to hear that :( isopropyl alcohol can be used as a paint thinner on certain types of paint... guess the trim panels are painted with one of those certain types of paint.
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    wow, there's a lotta painted plastic parts.
     
  6. Jack Straw

    Jack Straw New Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2004
    137
    0
    0
  7. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    4,089
    468
    0
    Location:
    Bahstahn
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    You could take the pieces off, use said solvents to rough up the
    surfaces a little, and then *repaint* them with something more
    robust and give your interior a totally different vibe!
    .
    _H*
     
  8. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2005
    3,862
    18
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Aug 18 2006, 05:27 PM) [snapback]305643[/snapback]</div>
    I had that in mind when I've seen pictures of the faux wood trim. Maybe not the wood trim, but the carbon fiber look.
     
  9. NuShrike

    NuShrike Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
    1,378
    7
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Aug 18 2006, 12:26 PM) [snapback]305508[/snapback]</div>
    And the poor mousepad/keyboard area of your iBook, or MacBook Pro.... heh.
     
  10. darkecho

    darkecho New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2006
    60
    1
    0
    Yeah its permanent damage.... I tested rubbing alcohol again on the inside of that peice and it had the same damaging effect...

    so dont use alcohol on your interior plastic peices...

    now what about those purpleish areas? like the door panel and the glovebox? I used alcohol on them and it didnt seem to have any negative effect but I dont want to use rubbing alcohol anywhere anymore...


    also, somehow the hairpsray splatter got onto the headsup display, is that display made of plastic or glasS? (the instrument cluster) cause I need to clean off the spots somehow....

    thanks everyone! hope everyone learns from my mistake!
     
  11. DaveG

    DaveG Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2004
    806
    6
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darkecho @ Aug 19 2006, 01:09 AM) [snapback]305788[/snapback]</div>
    It's got a clear plastic covering.

    My suggestion would be to use something very mild - I use some pre-moistened eyeglass cleaner packets that I picked up at Costco. I keep a few packs in my Prius for cleaning the MFD, and getting fingerprints off of the dash area (they're made for glass and plastic eyeglass lenses, so they're pretty safe).

    It's a very mild cleaner that should be safe for the plastic there (it probably would've worked OK on the inteior plastic as well).

    Dave
     
  12. brandon

    brandon Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2004
    771
    9
    0
    Location:
    Manhattan, KS
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveG @ Aug 19 2006, 03:23 AM) [snapback]305790[/snapback]</div>
    I do not know... your eyeglass lenses don't have paint on or around them, and those packets do still contain a solvent, even it watered down, that could damage surrounding surfaces. I'd be really careful if you're using these to clean the heads-up area.
     
  13. darkecho

    darkecho New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2006
    60
    1
    0
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brandon @ Aug 19 2006, 11:05 AM) [snapback]305849[/snapback]</div>

    is Simple green too strong of a solvent for the HU display?

    I need to clean it with something...
     
  14. dkenglish7

    dkenglish7 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2005
    22
    1
    0
    Location:
    Oakland, CA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darkecho @ Aug 19 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]305876[/snapback]</div>
    I've successfully used Simple Green all over my 2005's interior. But for the MFD, my wife found a can of "Windex for Electronics" which works great. Have also used it to clean the LCD of the laptop where I'm typing this on many occasions.
     
  15. brandon

    brandon Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2004
    771
    9
    0
    Location:
    Manhattan, KS
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    From page 268 of your Owner's Manual:

    The pH of the Simple Green concentrate is 9.5. My thought is that you should be fine if you dilute it (30:1), but I haven't personally tried this, and you'll certainly want to avoid contact w/ parts of the interior which you don't wish to clean.

    Note of caution: The Simple Green manufacturers advise, "Do not use on leather, suede, pearls, opals, plastic vehicle instrument panels, or non-washable surfaces."
     
  16. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,563
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I use Simple Green around the house, and it works well as a degreaser. But I wouldn't use it on the car, especially the MFD screen, and definitely not full strength. Have you tried a little vinegar in warm water? A microfibre cloth or a special tissue for eyeglasses might work, too.
     
  17. tmgrl3

    tmgrl3 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2006
    315
    1
    0
    BTW.....handydandyquickclean for spots on clothes going into laundry...

    is

    Hairspray....It will remove just about anything from clothing....so

    maybe it wasn't just the rubbing alcohol....the hairspray may have done a powerful number on the paint as well.

    terri
     
  18. Sezy

    Sezy Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2013
    428
    226
    37
    Location:
    Saint Charles, Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I had some stick on air freshner kinda leak and now there is like a drip. Might paint two vents to match and cover it. The car is white so I may do it white,black or blue.
     
  19. Sezy

    Sezy Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2013
    428
    226
    37
    Location:
    Saint Charles, Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited