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Much worse things in life and just trying to get some expertise/recs. Couldnt find this answer in search. Took delivery of my C4GTS earlier this year and soon after went on to get it tinted. Probably had it for about a month since the tint was completed. Didnt fully look over the car at that time. Took it to get detailed over the weekend he noticed what appears to be a slice in the driver side seat back plastic. If I had to guess I would say its from a blade they used to cut the tint film but not sure. No one has ever been in the back and I have never looked in the back so even possible it was there at delivery back cant imagine so.
I dont really care how it happened and needless to say, and understandably so, the tiny small business is not taking liability since its been a month since I had it done and put about 700 miles on it since then.
What I really want to know is (and I honestly I dont even care if it cant be fixed since Ill never look at it) is can it be fixed, p dealer or indy, can I just but the full gray plastic seat back somewhere? 18 way btw.
Last edited by OncPorsche; Mar 18, 2024 at 09:26 AM.
google how to fix scratches in plastic. many different approaches to a potential fix. But basically, what I would try to do is heat it up a bit (with a hair dryer) and use some kind of abrasive, like a rubbing compound first by hand with a microfiber applicator and see if you can buff it out. Thinking there is that the heat will help the plastic become 'moldable' so you can blend it in. if doing the rubbing compound by hand does it part of the way and you need more power, the next step would be to use a random orbital. Then when you're all done, finish it off with a plastic trim/tire treatment and do the whole seat. I use 303 aerospace protectant because it has a nice matte finish, vs the glossy stuff, but your preference may vary.
of course, i would first contort myself and try the rubbing compound on a low, inconspicuous area to make sure it doesn't totally change the finish.
you could also use sandpaper (try like 2000-3000 grit) and wet sand it, but i'm not sure how easy that would be to buff out the sandpaper scratches completely.
Last edited by achilleas101; Mar 18, 2024 at 09:46 AM.
I think this 'scratch' is way to deep to have any success with rubbing compound. I did a somewhat similar repair on the seat back of my 991.2 Turbo and it is invisible...but not a quick process. It began by getting a paint formula camera shot of the seatback, getting the formula mixed, a careful application of filler to get it level, and then applying and blending it with an airbrush. I wish I had better news, but I'm pretty confident you will need to do the same process.
A restoration shop should be able to use liquid plastic or plastic fill to repair. It likely will not be 100% perfect, but pretty close. There is some DYI type solutions, however since we as the normal persons do not do this a lot, having someone that has done this on a daily/weekly basis is the best route to match the fill compound, do the light sanding/buffing, etc. It is much easier to repair smooth surfaces (I cannot recall if our seatbacks are smooth or slightly textured). So you might have a bit of inconsistency just do to not being able to match the texture of the seat back.
I think this 'scratch' is way to deep to have any success with rubbing compound. I did a somewhat similar repair on the seat back of my 991.2 Turbo and it is invisible...but not a quick process. It began by getting a paint formula camera shot of the seatback, getting the formula mixed, a careful application of filler to get it level, and then applying and blending it with an airbrush. I wish I had better news, but I'm pretty confident you will need to do the same process.
+1
that scratch is way too deep and if youd like it perfect, it needs to be repaired and entire seat back painted to have the same even satin sheen
look into just replacing the seat back sometimes cheaper than repairing
call parts dept and give them your vin and theyll give you pricing if the part is available
if youre in SoCal, send me PM we can take care of this for you 👌
__________________ Specializing in Porsche/Ferrari since 1995
thanks for all the responses, not a chance in hell i trust myself with this and could only make it worse; going to just check into replacing the seat back and if not ill be in between a resto vs just dealing with it since ill never see it and unlikely to decrease value though it will still p me off. I'll update at some point. Somehow I feel like this is going to cost me 3k.
For a quick fix, try sanding down the rough edges and fill it with a color matching crayon then heat it up to blend it in. Back in my car audio days, we did this to fix interior scratches.
thanks for all the responses, not a chance in hell i trust myself with this and could only make it worse; going to just check into replacing the seat back and if not ill be in between a resto vs just dealing with it since ill never see it and unlikely to decrease value though it will still p me off. I'll update at some point. Somehow I feel like this is going to cost me 3k.
If you plan to replace the seat back, may as well try to get it fixed first.
nothing to lose at this point.
If you plan to replace the seat back, may as well try to get it fixed first.
nothing to lose at this point.
this is a great point. looks like about 2k installed, so not too bad actually; honestly I might just live with it - bigger things in life to deal with all around and I'll never have to look at it
google how to fix scratches in plastic. many different approaches to a potential fix. But basically, what I would try to do is heat it up a bit (with a hair dryer) and use some kind of abrasive, like a rubbing compound first by hand with a microfiber applicator and see if you can buff it out. Thinking there is that the heat will help the plastic become 'moldable' so you can blend it in. if doing the rubbing compound by hand does it part of the way and you need more power, the next step would be to use a random orbital. Then when you're all done, finish it off with a plastic trim/tire treatment and do the whole seat. I use 303 aerospace protectant because it has a nice matte finish, vs the glossy stuff, but your preference may vary.
of course, i would first contort myself and try the rubbing compound on a low, inconspicuous area to make sure it doesn't totally change the finish.
you could also use sandpaper (try like 2000-3000 grit) and wet sand it, but i'm not sure how easy that would be to buff out the sandpaper scratches completely.
OMG, please don't do this or you will end up with a way worse looking back seat then you have now. I work with plastics in my day to day quite a bit and would leave a slice gouge that deep to a pro like Moe above or replace the back shell if possible if it ands up bothering you.
OMG, please don't do this or you will end up with a way worse looking back seat then you have now. I work with plastics in my day to day quite a bit and would leave a slice gouge that deep to a pro like Moe above or replace the back shell if possible if it ands up bothering you.
+1 stuff like this better handled by a pro if youre time is worth something
if youre DIYer and dont mind getting a new part anyway, then sure, have fun and learn something
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Seat back damage
