So it appears there is a slightly darker coating on the metal because when I went to try to blend the scratch it just got a lot lighter. (This worked on some lighter scratches elsewhere) Is it just that I need to apply some clear coat or is there more to it than that? Thanks!



Yeah, that little guy right above the passenger climate ****

 

Well, there isn't a way to blend it but you could do a brushed effect on the whole piece. I did that on the shift **** trim. Scuff it all in the same direction with a scotchbrite and then clearcoat it for extra protection.

But then you'd have to do all the trim to match...

You can also just buy a new faceplate. I've seen them on eBay for cheap.

 

Here is a trick (not legal) if you have your warranty (elite exteneded)

you know there like a plastic chrome accents on the dash right? just scratch them until they start to peel off.

Bring it to dealer and they will switch the whole dash for you.

I did and they ordered the bottom dash piece for me ($1429) however, i did not damage it, it really just started to peel off itself on the ashtray chrome accent.

 

Is this piece plastic? The brushed finish came right off when I tried to very lightly blend a scratch. I could try some clear coat, but it looks like they used some sort of tinted clear coat as it is a lot darker then the area I tried to blend.

I'll keep an eye on e-bay, but this piece seems pretty fragile. I'll also check my employee price as Infiniti is part of our dealer group.

 

Pretty sure the trim is actual aluminum. My trim is wood though, so i dunno 100%. It probably does have some clear coat on it so you'll never get it to match the rest of the dash if you try and redo it.

But yeah your best bet is just buy a new / used part. I saw the whole assembly on eBay for as low as $40.

 

I've used cleaner wax to remove many of the surface scratches on the aluminum trim. This looks a little deeper than a surface scratch. I think it is aluminum, so you may be able to take some never dull and polish the abrasion so that the entire area shines and you will not notice it as much.

 

After using airplane stripper on the shifter trim ring to remove the factory shift pattern I learned that that piece is metal and it is the clearcoat I removed. As a last ditch effort I will try stripping off the clearcoat on the dash trim to see how it looks. I will probably have to do the same thing to the ashtray and surround to make it look right, but if it looks ok it will save me $230 for a new piece or I chance it on e-bay to get a used piece and hope the scratches are not too big in person.