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Faded or Scratched Interior Trim: What You Can Fix and What You Can't

By The Interior Pro · 25 years of hands-on car interior repair, reconditioning and detailing · Updated

The Pro's Verdict
DIY it

Faded, chalky plastic and light scuffs come back with a good clean and a trim restorer. Deep gouges, peeling coatings and anything near the pillars are a different job.

Typical cost
$10 to $40 DIY, $100 to $600 per panel at a shop
Time
30 to 60 minutes
DIY difficulty
Easy

Faded plastic trim makes a clean car look ten years older than it is.

Interior plastic whitens and goes chalky from sun and from years of harsh cleaners. Scuffs come from shoes, bags and keys, and the door-panel kick areas take the worst of it. If it’s faded or lightly scuffed, you can bring it back. Deep gouges, cracked panels and loose trim are a different story.

Fix it yourself, or pay a shop?

Fix it yourself when the plastic is faded, chalky or lightly scuffed.

  1. Clean it with an interior cleaner and a soft brush. Dirt hides how good the plastic really looks.
  2. Let it dry completely.
  3. Apply a matte trim restorer with an applicator. Test a hidden spot first.
  4. Wipe off the extra and give it time to cure.

I’d pick a matte restorer over a shiny one every time. Shiny products look great for a day, then show every fingerprint and attract dust.

A loose or rattling panel usually means a broken clip. Door panels come off easily on most cars, and a clip assortment with nylon trim tools costs a few dollars. Never use a screwdriver, which cracks the plastic. Leave dash and pillar trim alone, though. That’s where airbags live.

Pay a shop when the plastic is deeply gouged, cracked or warped, when a soft-touch coating is peeling or sticky, or when the problem is on a pillar or dash. A shop can refinish a panel for roughly $100 to $300, or replace it for $150 to $600. A used panel from a salvage yard is often cheaper than repairing a bad one, if you can match the color.

You may not need a restorer at all if the plastic is just dirty. Clean it first and see what you’ve got.

What I’d buy

Will it get worse if I wait?

Slowly. Faded plastic gets chalkier and harder to bring back each year, and scuffs hold dirt. Light fading is easy now. After a few more summers it’s a bigger job.

Keep it from happening again

Use a matte UV protectant on the trim a few times a year, park in the shade, and use a sunshade. The sun and dash article has the full routine.

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General information, not professional advice. Costs are examples. See our Terms of Use.