Interior Panels Rubber Coating

Eddie 70 · April 17, 2016

Yesterday we washed our vehicles. Cleaned them top to bottom. When i finished up on the outside, I was going to start on the inside. I got my Meguire's Detailer out and sprayed the rag and started at the top and worked my way down. I got to the area just below the armrest on the drivers side door panel and very quickly noticed there was a big hole appearing in the finish of the door panel. There WAS a rubber coating on the hard plastic areas of the door panel. I had a hole in the finish about the about the size of a dollar bill torn in half and it looked like poo!. I just loaded the rag with more Meguires and finished removing the rubber coating on that one particular piece. Anyone else run into this on these trucks?

Never use this stuff on the hard plastic areas of your truck. It was not good for mine. Now I need to come up with something else besides a damp rag to clean and protect with.

EaZ8 · April 17, 2016

about 10 or 12 yrs ago i worked at a factory that made parts for GM cars called inject tech (forget how they spelled it).

we were making interior panels and sunroof trim and air lines for the brief time i was there.

there was a massive batch of panels that were made that the plastic tint came out wrong so they decided to paint them the right color which was a horrible idea. the parts were shipped out and as far as i know they were used.

they should have thrown them in the grinder and re used the plastic for solid black parts but i guess they made too many and didnt want to loose the labor pay on them.

what im getting at here is kinda 2 fold...

go back to the dealer and complain, leave out the part about the cleaning product and say soap and water.

and

GM doesnt make their own parts, so it kinda sucks that some factory worker messed up and the shift manager made a bad choice for a quick and cheap fix rather than what they should have done.

Silverado Steve · April 17, 2016

I had the same issue with my upper glove box. It specifically says in my owners manual to only clean with a damp rag and no cleaner of any type. Took it to my local dealer to get the part replaced and after plenty of complaining they replaced it on a good will repair. The dealer reiterated do not use any type of interior cleaner/detailer on the interior trim or discoloration will happen. This was two years ago and I've continued to use turtle wax ice interior cleaner without issue. Perhaps it's as someone said earlier, sone trim pieces are painted and some are not.

Thomcat · April 17, 2016

Damp rag only, sometimes I cheat and use Windex.

Learned early on late 90s Chrysler products not to use any harsh chemical cleaners on door panels. Seems their supplier made door panels in one color, ebony, and sprayed on the other grey or gold colored finishes......rubbed too hard with a cleaner and made a mess and had to respray the panel.

hpd562 · April 17, 2016

Been using Mothers VLR for several years now. No issues, looks and smells great.

HondaHawkGT · April 17, 2016

Same here. Mothers VLR is great and makes the truck smell good. It won't change the color of plastics like Armorall too. Mothers Back-to-Black works nice on the black exterior trim and weather stripping too.

waumo1 · April 17, 2016

OP - any chance this door panel was replaced/repainted before you got the truck? I hardly think that interior detailer should remove a factory interior finish easily. Surely GM is not making that bad of interior panels.

Jeff5347 · April 18, 2016

I just bought mothers vlr. Can you use it on the pad on the doors....the vertical and arm rest? These 2

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Jeff5347 · April 18, 2016

One thing I noticed on this... My wife makes leather journal holders. She gets real hides of leather ( black, tan, brown,ect)... I tried the vlr on her black leather and it dulled it right up and made it kinda tacky. She says that the "leather" in my truck is not "real" leather. Not really sure now. Seeing as she deals with leather I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe we have..."pleather"?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

fondupot · April 18, 2016

I use Chemical Guys Nonsense on interior door panels and what not. Does what it needs, and is safe on panels, leather, carpet etc.

sdog4127 · April 18, 2016

I use wizards products. Mist-n-shine (all surfaces), mystic spray wax (paint, glass and chrome),or vinyl shine (plastic and all black trim/tires), Works awesome, smells great. Gives the clean brand-new look to plastic and vinyl. Leaves a stock satin finish looks like showroom/brand new on dash and door panels , not greasy and glossy like armor-all type products. I have never had any trouble with rubberized coatings on plastic or painted plastic deteriorating. I usually dilute mist-n-shine 50% with water to clean dash, Windows and all interior surfaces. Full strength must-n-shine is amazing on paint and I use it to wipe down after a car wash. Looks and feels like I just waxed it! The shine on paint is amazing. The vinyl shine works great to restore black rubber and plastic trim. It leaves a clean, brand-new satin look and does not feel greasy nor attract dust. All wizards products I have used have been excellent. Makes detailing cars easy and look like you have spent hours detailing!!

Just some input from my experience.

Good luck!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hpd562 · April 18, 2016

I just bought mothers vlr. Can you use it on the pad on the doors....the vertical and arm rest? These 2

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I use it on all surfaces. Only stuff I've tried that I like. Not shiny or oily, no residue. Leaves factory looking finish.

'01LS1 · April 18, 2016

One thing I noticed on this... My wife makes leather journal holders. She gets real hides of leather ( black, tan, brown,ect)... I tried the vlr on her black leather and it dulled it right up and made it kinda tacky. She says that the "leather" in my truck is not "real" leather. Not really sure now. Seeing as she deals with leather I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe we have..."pleather"?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Your wife is correct, the avg leather seat is not leather at all.

To the op, use Meguiars stuff here as well w/o issue. Would think this issue would go back to GM for warranty?

Silver ice 6.2 · April 18, 2016

Yesterday we washed our vehicles. Cleaned them top to bottom. When i finished up on the outside, I was going to start on the inside. I got my Meguire's Detailer out and sprayed the rag and started at the top and worked my way down. I got to the area just below the armrest on the drivers side door panel and very quickly noticed there was a big hole appearing in the finish of the door panel. There WAS a rubber coating on the hard plastic areas of the door panel. I had a hole in the finish about the about the size of a dollar bill torn in half and it looked like poo!. I just loaded the rag with more Meguires and finished removing the rubber coating on that one particular piece. Anyone else run into this on these trucks?

Never use this stuff on the hard plastic areas of your truck. It was not good for mine. Now I need to come up with something else besides a damp rag to clean and protect with.

I use the same exact thing as you. No issues what so ever. It's not the mcguires

Eddie 70 · April 18, 2016

I just bought mothers vlr. Can you use it on the pad on the doors....the vertical and arm rest? These 2

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Jeff, I used the Meguires on the parts you have arrows to and everything was fine. The part just below where you would rest your elbow is what peeled off when I was using the Meguires on mine.