I have some of the grey buttons I took off my dash suck as the rear hatch button, the defrost button and the fog lights button and after the years they almost have a greenish tint into them from all the dirt instead of the nice grey they used to be. I was wondering what's something good to clean the button with that won't hurt the original paint over it or cause any damage?




Here I just took out the emblem piece inside to clean it however necessary so water doesn't build up inside there.

 

For the dirt and crud, I'd try a 50% IPA solution or diluted APC and some Q-tips. If those are indeed painted, defnitely don't scrub trying to get the dirt off. I'm not sure what, if anything, will bring back the color as it's likely oxidized and faded from many years of use. Perhaps someone else has a recommendation.

 

It's not dirt. It's UV and/or ozone interaction with the plastic. Vintage plastic toys do the same thing. I've seen threads on toy forums where people have used chemical concoctions to turn yellowed plastic back to the original white. Google would probably turn something up... Or just embrace the patina, because everyone elses are greenish brown too.

 

One of many search results - http://www.retrofixes.com/2013/10/ho...-plastics.html

If you give it a try, report back with results.

 

Similar to what I was thinking...but I have NO IDEA if it's a good thing or not--proceed with caution.


http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/how-t...riginal-color/