Door card painted plastic

[Steveo]

Good morning Gentlemen
Does anyone know how to remove the coating that is on the silver painted surfaces on the door cards?
Mine look like they need a good clean but the cards are cleaned every week.
I don't want to damage the paint or fabric so I thought it best to ask the experts
Regards
Steve

[GiveMeABreak]

Steve - be very careful! If you are referring to the paint on the trim on the internal door handles, depending on your trim, these may be painted with a very thin coat of paint.

I have the full cream leather seats and door cards and all the plastic trim is painted in the same colour as the outside body colour. Sadly, the coat PSA applied is very easily damaged and wear usually from passengers with rings when they grip the door handles (not saying my driving is like a white knuckle ride or anything ).

So a few years ago I decided to take all the trims off and repaint them.

I bought some custom spray paint a load of primer and spent the best part of a week preparing, priming and repainting them.

The problem is the actual trim itself is very brittle and can easily snap off if not careful. These very thin trim pieces are horrendously expensive (£30-£40) each for the door handle inserts unpainted). So I gave mine plenty of coats and plenty of protective lacquer, but the priming was a hell of a job as the primer kept bubbling due to the smallest amount of grease even though they were really well-prepared.

It sounds like you are suggesting that the clear coat is peeling off in places? If so, you may be able to de-grease it in situ and apply a controlled amount of clear lacquer where needed to cover it over without taking the door cards and trim off.

[Steveo]

Cheers Marc what would you use to clean the coating it looks grubby!
It looks like the lacquer has gone discoloured and wants a good clean but as mentioned it is clean
Regards
Steve

[GiveMeABreak]

The only thing recommended is a mild warm detergent - anything solvent based is going to strip it off. You could try some trim restorer, but again something that is going to be gentle on painted surfaces.

I stripped mine down (it was flaking anyway) with water and some very fine wet and dry as I was starting from scratch of course.

[Strop]

Would love to see some pics Marc. Thinking of doing this on mine. Door trim and centre console area.

Laurie

[GiveMeABreak]

I don't think I took any pics of the job at the time as I was more interested in releasing the trim without breaking them and whilst preparing and priming / painting, it wasn't ideal for taking photos as you can appreciate.

But as soon as it stops bucketing it down here, I's certainly takes some pics of the finished and refitted trims for you if that helps.