ericgoh

Hi folks,

Has anyone else experienced peeling of their rubberized interior parts? A number of parts in our 2003 C240 are peeling. The door handle trim pieces seem to be the worst. The black material is starting to get sticky and gummy and occasionally flakes off. Perhaps it's the hot Texas summers we have here.

Does anyone know of a fix? In the past, I've removed the "rubberized" coating from random plastic parts for electronics with a bit of solvent and rubbing to reveal clean hard plastic below. Has anyone tried that? Or, is it best to just order some new parts?

Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25787135@N06/6817369017/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25787135@N06/6817368147/

ncmudbug

I have a similar thing going on with my driver's side interior door latch surround. I didn't know it was a coating. I thought it was a solid molded piece. I was considering fine sandpaper and/or steel wool when/if I decided to do anything about it. Scraping it off sound like a lot of work!

ericgoh

Just in case anyone want to fix this issue, I just finished removing all the rubberized coating from the front door handle trim pieces and door pulls.

I removed all the pieces, using the door panel disassembly instructions found on the forum. Then I stripped the coating with isopropyl alcohol. I alternated soaking the parts, then rubbing with paper towels. It's a tedious process as the coating comes off layer by layer. Make sure to use gloves as this stuff is nasty. Eventually, I exposed hard plastic below. After reassembly, the parts look much better. The rear doors don't get much use so I don't need to tackle them right now.

Cheers!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25787135@N06/6825223623/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25787135@N06/6825217891/

ncmudbug

Nice work! I think they look better now!

Boom vang

add in those sticky knobs for the HVAC (pre 2005), that MB no longer stocks replacement knobs. I guess the buzz word was 'soft touch' plastic surfaces that everyone wants but does not stand the test of time

ericgoh

I forgot those dials are soft touch as well. Luckily mine are in good shape right now, but I guess they would be pretty easy to strip the rubberized coating off of.

Boom vang

since it is basically a slightly rubberized paint, I am surprised that one can not buy it. Incidentally it is not only MB that this stuff rubs off, I have a Logictech mouse (MX700) and had this wonderful soft touch feel, fast forward 5 years and most of it rubbed off leaving a spotty look between shiny black plastic and softtouch finish that is very similar to our door pulls in other areas and sticky in the in between stages. Maybe 3M or BASF can come up with a better coating

ericgoh

After a quick Google search, it looks like it's probably done with a Coextrusion process and not paint:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastics_extrusion#Coextrusion


Even if you could buy a paint, you'd still need to strip the original stuff to get a good result. Once you're done with the elbow grease of stripping it, you will not want anything on there again with a 5-10 year life. I also saw this issue on a late 90's Audi A8 so you're right, it's not just an MB thing. I bet there is a better solvent to get it off easier, but isopropyl alcohol worked and didn't seem to damage the base plastic.

alicefrerichs

I just finished removing all the rubberized coating from the front door handle trim pieces and door pulls

Glyn M Ruck

Some of these coatings are in fact a PVA based paint containing a plasticiser. Originally used to give Japanese TV sets etc. a metallic charcoal look.

ericgoh

Quite interesting Glyn. Seems like more labor for MB to paint instead of extrude, but I'm not in the plastics business. I tried working through the chemistry of PVA but I couldn't figure out the ideal solvent. Any ideas (for when I have to remove the rest when it starts to deteriorate)? I bet denatured alcohol would work a bit better than isopropyl alcohol.

Glyn M Ruck

The part is generally injection moulded or similar. Then sprayed for texture & colour.

PVA based paints use water as the solvent until dry after which they are waterproof.

Alcohol is probably the best solvent to remove without damaging the underlying plastic part. Most paint strippers I know will soften & damage the plastic as well. If it's ABS it will be more resistant to chemicals.

BF_JC230

I have used VOLICO.DE paint to match...sprays very well with a HVLP gun, easy clean up...and two years or so later - no issues.

Clean and prep as you would any auto grade job...