A small guide on what I did to buff up my instrument cluster
Reason - The wife used wet wipes to "clean" leaving scratches as you can see. She has been warned to go nowhere near the paintwork!
What you'll need:
T20 Torx Screw Driver
Strong Fingers
Buffing pad and drill
Fine polishing compound
Divorce Lawyer (optional)
URL's to the images / youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOcEA_U ... e=youtu.be
https://i.ibb.co/9rnfgWN/clocks1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/9s6xd2T/clocks2.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/2gvW8P0/clocks3.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/GnBWzD0/clocks4.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/djNVC1h/clocks5.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/NN57wmB/clocks6.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/fvrHy8J/clocks7.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/89bb2G7/clocks8.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/5TGXLPb/clocks9.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/fYZyTVy/clocks10.jpg
Here is my wife's handy work - not so easily seen in the next 2 photo's
Lower steering wheel to get access to the first dashboard piece which simply pulls out
Now to remove the outer plastic cover of the instrument cluster - easily prised off with fingers, gaps highlighted by red arrows
Remove the 2 x T20 torx screws highlighted in red. Careful not to drop them!
Blue arrows show the gaps in which you need to anchor your fingers behind in order to pull the cluster out from the dashboard. It requires a good amount of pressure as they are held in by a number of fairly thick push-fit pillars. None broke for me. Start on one side first - when you get one side out, lay it flush as possible without pushing back in to get the correct angle to pull towards you.
The cable that connects the cluster to the car is short but anchored in via a swivel catch
Socket on the rear of the cluster
The plug itself. The purple piece swings down after pressing the black retention piece. The reverse assists it reconnecting - only installs one way around so no need to mark its orientation.
A reminder of my wife's handy work
Elbow grease never yields the results of a buffing pad (unless your lousy at it). Note the buffing pad is off-center to prevent swirling. To learn more about buffing and techniques there are plenty of guides on youtube.
You can purchase the velcro backing pad and several pads like I did off eBay / amazon for around £10 - £13 depending on how many pads you want included. Meguir's is a fantastic polishing compound and I have used it several times on plastics and various paints. It's a light cutting compound and ideal for this job. If you don't have this then any fine or finishing compound / glaze / mirror glaze will do the job.
I used approx a small pea sized amount of paste and spread it about - necessary to stop it spinning off everywhere when you fire up the drill. When it dries dampen the mop with water and continue to buff. The paste dries rather than dissolves as some may have you believe. Dampening the pad makes it last for ages as you will see. This applies to all pastes whether heavy cut or mirror finish.
Youtube video I made showing the method I used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOcEA_U ... e=youtu.be
I polished for about 8-10 minutes, stopping to dampen the mop when needed. Wipe off with a clean microfibre cloth.
Another reminder of my wife's handy work
Looking good
Another reminder of my wife's handy work
Happy with that
Didn't see the dust when taking the photo but you can see the finish.
Installation is much easier than removal and is simply a reversal of steps.
Instrument cluster scratch removal / buff up
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- Passat model: B8 GT DSG 230bhp
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Instrument cluster scratch removal / buff up
Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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http://www.ukpassats.co.uk/phpbb/viewto ... 33&t=94125 DRL & Fog LED upgrade
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