How do you remove "soft touch" from trim?

I

imported_dfazekas

New member
I have a client whose interior trim is covered in this stuff and he wants it off. Some of it is failing (that came off easily), but the rest of it is proving to be a pain to remove. Just wondering if anyone has ever removed this coating before and what I could do to speed up the process.



Thanks
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
I searched google for soft touch and got a bunch of beauty products, mind telling us what it is?
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That might not be the actual name of it. That's just what I've heard it referred to before. Its the coating that a lot of manufacturers have used that feels grabby or rubbery on interior trim pieces. Usually around door handles or radio controls, etc. If its not properly cared for it turns into a really sticky, nasty substance.



wascallyrabbit said:
a good degreaser/apc might do it.
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That's what i used for the pieces that had already failed (or turned sticky). Worked just fine for that, but didn't go very far when it came to the pieces that had not.
 
I'm thinking you'll need a solvent of some sort to break the coating down, but what you could use that wouldn't also damage the plastic under the coating I can't say. I've never gotten that sort of request before, removing it before it has started to deteriorate already.
 
Exactly what I was thinking, Charlie.



I haven't had a request to do this sort of thing before either. It started out with him asking me to just remove the parts that had deteriorated, then asking if I could do the rest too.



I can, its just taking FOREVER, and I know there has to be a more effective/efficient way to do it.
 
sounds similar to the stuff my in-laws durango had on the dash. it was sticky and collected dust like crazy and everything the tried could get rid of it. i just used a hd degreaser mixed at what i use for exterior use. if that not working i like the steam idea over a solvent, but you just use what even you have.
 
Have you tried using alcohol and maybe some q-tips? Not sure if that would work or not. Just be careful, I have heard people removing this and the color underneath is grey when they thought it would be the same black. if you have already done some then you shouldnt have that problem
 
JohnZ3MC said:
I wonder if the 'soft touch interior trim' is really alcantara suede?

Edit:

If so, here's a great link about cleaning etc. Thanks to TOGWT:

http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-detailing/137169-alcantara%AE-cleaning-care.html#post1455020
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What he's talking about is a sprayed-on coating on the hard plastic surfaces of the dash, console, door panels, etc. that they do at the factory so when you touch the plastic it doesn't feel hard/brittle. It's got a grippy/rubberized feel to it, not like suede/alcantara.
 
I ended up just removing the bits that had deteriorated and telling the owner it'd be best to leave the rest for now. There does appear to be a market for removing this stuff though, so I'm going to have to do some experimenting and see what I can come up with.
 
dubber said:
my guess is that its a 06-07 volkswagen?
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No actually. Ferrari 575. Same stuff though. Basically, I was looking for a way to do something kind of like what the guys at sticky no more do. The recoating/screen printing is the easy part. Getting that stuff off is a #$%&*!@#%#@!



Still playing around with the process though...
 
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