Clean Piano Black Plastic

Piano black plastic is often used on the dashboards of vehicles and along the edges of car doors. It's got a sleek look, but this type of plastic scuffs and scratches easily, which can be pretty frustrating. Fortunately, you can clean and polish it with the right tools and a bit of elbow grease.

Steps

Cleaning Interior Plastic

1. Use a wipe or soft brush to dust off interior plastic. Take a clean, circular brush and wipe off any obvious specks of dust or dirt on the surface of the plastic. Brush along the surface with light, short motions so the plastic is as clear as possible.
   • Always use a clean brush for this. If you don’t have 1 on hand, look for circular brushes online!
2. Wipe down interior surfaces with a cloth or brush and special spray. Take a cleaning spray designed for plastic interiors or trims and spritz it on the surface of your soft brush or microfiber cloth. Clean off the plastic in sweeping, circular motions to give it a more thorough clean.
   • If you’re cleaning some interior plastic, be sure to brush or wipe down any nearby buttons.
   • pH-neutral sprays are great for this kind of cleaning job. You can find them online, or in a car supply shop.
3. Mask the edges around the black plastic. Cut away long strips of masking tape and secure it along the sides, corners, and edges of your piano black plastic. You can also use painter’s tape to protect the edges of your trim or interior.
   • The masking tape helps prevent polish from spreading to sections of the car.
4. Rub wax or sealant into your plastic for an extra layer of protection. Dip a microfiber applicator into a small container of cream or ceramic hybrid wax. Coat a small, golf ball-sized portion of microfiber with wax and buff it onto the surface of your interior plastic.
5. Let the wax sit in place for 3-5 minutes and wipe it away. Set a timer for several minutes so the wax has time to set into the plastic. Once time is up, use a clean microfiber cloth to wipe off any excess wax from the plastic’s surface.
6. Polish the plastic with a small, handheld polisher and M105. Install a {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} microfiber cutting pad onto your polisher, then squeeze a pea-sized amount of M105. Move the polisher back and forth slowly on the surface so the plastic is buffed evenly.{{greenbox:Tip: Whenever you apply polish to interior plastic, consider using a can or stream of compressed air to clean out any excess product from the pad’s surface. This prevents your handheld polisher from being as abrasive on the interior plastic. You can also use compressed air to clean out the pad between uses.}}
7. Switch to a new microfiber cutting pad with a small amount of M205. Pour a pea-sized amount of polish on the surface of your pad. Move the pad in slow, back and forth motions until you’ve buffed the entire surface.
8. Buff the interior plastic with a red foam pad and M105. Switch out your microfiber pad for a clean foam pad. Move the foam pad slowly along the interior plastic to add an extra layer of polish to the surface. Repeat this process once to give your plastic a more thorough polishing.
   • Red and black foam pads have slightly different textures, which help to buff your plastic more thoroughly.
9. Polish the surface with a black foam pad and M205. Install a new, black foam pad into your polisher, which has a slightly different texture from the red pad. Work the pad over the interior plastic in slow movements. Once you’ve buffed the entire surface, squeeze another pea-sized amount of polish onto the pad and repeat the process.
10. Remove any tape from the surface. Once you’ve finished polishing the interior plastic, peel away the tape slowly and carefully from the edge. Continue this process until you’ve removed all the tape surrounding your interior piano black plastic.

Washing and Polishing Exterior Plastic

1. Clean your exterior trim with diluted all-purpose cleaner. Pour {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of a gentle- or medium-strength cleaner into a bucket, then add in {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of cool water. Dip a soft brush or scrubbing sponge into the mixture and wipe down the piano black trim on your vehicle. Once you’ve washed off the entire surface, let the trim air-dry or wipe it down with a soft buffing cloth.
2. Line your exterior trim with strips of masking tape. Cut long strips of masking or painter’s tape and secure it along the edges of your piano black plastic trim. Make sure that you’re only covering the edges, and that the surface of the plastic trim is completely clear.
3. Protect your plastic with a special treatment spray. Spritz on a dressing protectant spray over the surface of your trim. You can purchase this at an auto supply shop, where it comes in low-gloss or high-gloss varieties. Note that high-gloss products will make your plastic look shiny, while low-gloss sprays add a more subtle finish.
4. Buff a small amount of car polish onto the surface with a wool pad. Stick a fluffy, medium-strength wool pad in your polisher and squeeze 3 pea-sized mounds of polish along the surface. Dab the polish onto the exposed plastic, then turn the polisher on to a medium spin speed. Slowly work the polisher up and down the plastic, applying light pressure as you go.
   • This might take a few minutes to do.
5. Clean off the plastic with a polishing cloth. Wipe up and down the plastic to get rid of any leftover polish residue. Once you’ve wiped down the entire trim, set the cloth aside.
   • Always use a polishing cloth when wiping off any type of piano black plastic, or you could leave unwanted marks on the surface.
6. Rub finishing car polish onto the surface with a foam pad. Replace the wool pad with a flat foam polishing pad, which will help buff the surface of your piano black plastic. Squeeze 2 pea-sized mounds of finishing polish onto the surface of the pad, then turn the polisher onto a slower speed setting. Move the polisher in quick, vertical motions to give a more effective polishing job. Continue for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the surface looks completely polished.
   • You can find polishing pads online, or in a car supply shop.
7. Remove all of the surrounding tape. Peel away the tape from the edges of the trim that you just polished. If you masked other sections of your vehicle, you can leave this tape intact.
8. Brush off any extra compound with a clean buffing cloth. Focus on these edges, working the cloth in long, gradual motions along the sides of the plastic. Continue wiping until the surface looks completely smooth.
9. Use a buffing cloth and car cleaning spray to wipe down the surface. Spritz a polishing or clarifying spray along the surface of the plastic trim. Buff the cleaner into the plastic with a microfiber cloth, wiping down the trim in long, vertical motions as you go.
   • Contact a detailed or other car professional to see if they can vinyl wrap any exterior black plastic or add a ceramic coating!

Tips

• Use a bright flashlight to examine the surface of the plastic for scratches. If you still notice scuffing on the trim, you can try buffing the surface with dark polish again!
• It might be easier to use a compressed air hose when cleaning out your polishing pads.

Things You’ll Need

Cleaning Interior Plastic

• Circular brush
• Cleaning spray
• Microfiber cloth
• Wax or sealant
• Masking or painter’s tape
• Handheld polisher
• Microfiber cutting pads
• Black and red foam pads
• M105
• M205
• Compressed air

Washing and Polishing Exterior Plastic

• Bucket
• All-purpose cleaner
• Water
• Sponge
• Polishing cloth
• Protectant spray
• Painter’s or masking tape
• Car polish
• Handheld polisher
• Wool pad
• Foam pad
• Cleaning spray

References

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