looking to "refurbish this piece" on my
Cayman
, it has taken a lot of abuse. See picture
Ugh! I can't help with how to remove it for refinishing, since I don't yet have a
Cayman
. But I can say that this is yet another reason for me to avoid buying one with a tan or beige interior. Black probably hides those scuffs better.
From the service manual, you first partly unclip the two ends from the side trim panels by pulling the ends down. Then the panel should come out straight toward the front of the car: it's held in place by four metal spring clips that slot into the rear metal panel. You'll probably have to use a trim removal tool and pry pretty hard, but it should pop forward.
thanks I will give it a go , and Arne , I am going to figure out how to strip and then prep to paint it back with plastic paint in a black
Yup, you have to feel the point of tension and sensibly but forcefully pull it away, after removing all the trim pieces around it. It's quite a job.
Someone tried to remove mine and cracked the piece of plastic holding the clips, then replaced it without gluing which gave my car a rattle at redline. Imagine how long it took to figure out?
anyone have a picture of where the clips would be - that would be helpful
I don't have the picture handy but from what I recall there are four, they run left to right evenly spaced across basically the middle of the part.
Here. This is how the part looks from the inside. You also see one of the clips which broke off, aka the rattle-maker.
Take the part to Home Depot. They can match color for paint. You can but a sample for about $5.
Get the Eggshell gloss one.
Having owned P cars with tan and grey interiors and having faced similar situations (scratched center console, dash and other trim pieces painted in the soft-touch paint), you have two challenges. The 1st is to find matching paint. Your best bet is to get a paint shop to match the color in satin or matte or go the Home Depot route Van914 suggested. The 2nd challenge is to remove the soft-touch paint preferably without damaging the plastic surface underneath. I've preferred to not use mechanical means in the past as not to leave heavy scratches on the plastic, which would require priming and sanding after. Believe it or not, among all the products I've tried with soft-touch painted pieces, cheap brake fluid works great to attack that type of paint without damaging the plastic underneath. Lightly sanding the soft-touch paint before helps it work faster. It should take 30-45 mins to lift the soft-touch paint up. Repeat as needed. To paint, first use plastic adhesion promoter like Duplicolor or Bulldog brand and paint. My .02 and hope it helps.
Fred Larracuente
Paint stores that specialize in auto paints will have the exact match in a spray can. I refinished all the plastic bits in a
Boxster
a few years ago. Easy and product lasted as long as the car did...
thanks all, I did get it out with help of the pictures
I actually went with a satin black since is was a close match to the two plastic covers of the rear lights and a lot of other bits are black. I also realized you don't really see it unless you open the hatch. I think it came out pretty good . Thanks for the advice. here are the before and after
