Hi everyone . . .

It's been about 1 1/2 years since I bought my used 2004 Crossfire coupe here in Dubai. It was used, but had been sitting in a lot for god knows how long--it only had 320 miles on it when I bought it. The Chrysler service center here would accept no warranty responsibility no matter how hard I pressed on the issue.

Anyway, 12,000 miles later, I still love the car, but have been through a number of situations--some of them self-created: fallen headliner, seized up/locked ignition, damaged only key and had to buy obscenely expensive replacement key, etc.

I have two problems I'd like to try to solve now. One was caused by the fallen headliner replacement, the other caused by my stupidity.

1) Resurfacing the dashboard eyelid (see photos). When the dealer service people brought some guy in to replace the fallen headliner, he damaged the crap out of my dashboard. I know what you are thinking, but remember this is the Middle East, not America--I'm gonna get no satisfaction. Besides, that area had already started to blister from one day being parked in the 130 degree sun (couldn't find shaded parking that day).

Anyway, I'm wondering what the options are for resurfacing that area. I've read through almost all the topics in the interiors forum. It seems that most people are focused on the center console (silver) area. Personally, I don't have a problem with the stock silver. I'm not a huge fan of the carbon fiber look or the faux wood look.

It seems like the options I've seen are:

a) Carbon fiber (or faux carbon fiber)
b) Faux wood flat surfacing stuff
c) painting and clear coating

Are there any other options? I actually kind of like the rubbery matte surface that is on the oem surface. If I paint is there anything that can come close to it?


2) Sticky window switch. In one of my genius-type moments, I managed to spill some Fanta soda onto the center console where the window switch is. I guess some of it got underneath (though I didn't see it), because I noticed a few days later that the switch was not operating as crisply as it used to. The switch on the other side in good condition releases back to the default position immediately after you let go of the switch. The screwed up switch takes some time to gradually release back to the off position--so the window continues to travel a bit longer than it should.

So, I guess the question is, can I remove the switch and clean it? Or am I screwed like after spilling soda onto a keyboard? It really seems like the keyboard situation where you have to buy a new keyboard when the keys stop operating (no matter how much you clean). I'm very scared about that happening to my window switch. If it does, can it be replaced?

Guess that's it for my sad tales of woe. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

Well, for the dash, I would tape EVERYTHING off, sand (roughen) it up and paint it.

The switch you should be able to remove from the console and clean in an ultrasonic cleaner (for jewelry) for 10 minutes in a mild detergent solution and get good results. Dry with compressed air and let sit overnight in that famous dry heat. You should be able to find one in Dubai.

At least that is what I would do...

 

Thanks for the reply. Do you think it would be very hard to remove the dash piece to paint it? Seems like painting it in place would be tough in such close quarters.

I'll look into the cleaner. Do you know if I can remove the switch without removing the center console panels first?

 

I think (don't KNOW) that the dash piece is not separate. I know it would be a PITA, but newspaper is cheap. At least here!

The switches must be removed from underneath. Search for "center console removal" or such. It was brought up recently in a thread about Storage Bin. Try that too...

 

Thanks . . . will do.

I do try to search first--then ask questions. I know it gets annoying when people keep asking the same thing over and over again.