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Careful with your piano black rear light surrounds!

5K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  hunttriumph1500 
#1 · (Edited)
I've already got 2 hairline scratches on the center panel. It seems to be really soft plastic. I'm going to pick up some scratch-x today and hope it fills
 
#3 ·
Wash with copious amounts of water & suds. I would not clean dust off the plastic with spray detailer.
 
#5 ·
I'm hoping some scratchx will help to fill and hide it. It's a very light hairline but I know its there :(
 
#10 ·
Thanks. the panel is so reflective it is hard to photograph, but you can see it running up my forearm. 2 parallel hairlines above the right half of the "O"

It's barely noticeable, except of course to me.

 
#15 ·
I'm sorry to see this, i wondered about that when i first saw the design
 
#18 · (Edited)
Separate but related thing that bugs me about this part:
In the middle of the letter 'O' in the word "Dodge' - there's an injection molding pin or post gate or something that isn't totally cleaned up. It's like it should have been filed away, but they just snapped the pin off and said done. I thought it was a chip at first and then I saw the same little circles at other points along the front of that black part. Very minor, but annoying.
 
#20 ·
. . . then I saw the same little circles at other points along the front of that black part. . .
Yea, wax gets stuck in those little circles too.
 
#21 ·
And in the sun I see I have a few more imperfections. I think looking at this panel the wrong way will mar it. I think unless you coat it on day one, swirls here are just going to be a part of life.
 
#22 ·
My center black panel on my new scat pack has scratches everywhere on it already. Don't even know how it happened unless it was from the mit or the mircrofiber drying towl. I wash those separate in woollite though and are completely lint free before I dry the car but there is no way to prevent those micro scratches everywhere. It's just bound to happen. Wouldn't even worry about it honestly.
 
#26 ·
I used Meguiars Plastx on mine today; it really did the job well. See the photos below for yourself.




I did it by hand with a cotton cloth for applying and a microfiber towel for buffing out, but any soft cotton cloth would work. Just make sure you clean it very properly before you start. Might not be exactly like new but pretty good. I just wish I had clear applied or a protective film applied when the car was new as these scratches have come from basically no-where.
 
#27 ·
Looks great!!! My question is, will the scratches stay filled in or will you have to keep re-applying this stuff after so many washes or rain storms pass over it? Both of my 2015s had a ton of scratches on that panel right from the dealership brand new. Really bugs me.
 
#30 ·
#33 ·
Look at the new Mustangs, a huge slab of it back there looks like. No scratches on mine...yet. A Guy
 
#34 ·
it appears to be clear gloss plastic over the black base the entire tail lamp is molded over the various red and clear lenses and the black mask.

Plastic polish works well to get the fine scratches that turn up on this part.
 
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