Ok, get your mind out of the gutter.

So we are cleaning the inside of our 997 and she is wiping some of the ***** with a Meguiars moist cleaning cloth. Everything was fine until she touched the up and down style buttons for the auto temp/fan. As soon as she touched them the paint started spreading. See attached pic.

It's a mess.

I tried cleaning it off with a variety of things up to and including paint thinner but the spreaded paint would not budge.

Any ideas on either cleaning it off, or do I just gently go back over the top of it with a flat black paint and Q-tip?

 

Oops! While I don't have any advice, I'd like to thank you for the heads up on not using that product on the interior. One of the few complaints I have about Porsche is their choice of interior materials, which in my opinion, comes nowhere near the quality the brand represents.

I'll bet your wife really feels badly about this. I recommend flowers to let her know you don't hold it against her.

 

No much you can do except for replacing the toggles. Good luck.

 

That's probably the best solution but I have no idea what's involved in that. Could it be a DIY project?

 

Common problem in early 997's. The 'rubberized' coating does not have longevity and is susceptible to skin oil and/or cleaning fluids. You can repaint the ***** but it requires removal. Do a search on this forum or some of the others for threads on this topic and a company (name escapes me now) that refinishes *****.

 

i don t have that style ***** but is it possible the cleaner is depositing a residue over the rubber type **** causing it look that way? I am shocked that a cleaner like that would remove paint. IMO new paint will never stick doing it the way you suggest.

 

this

and then send her to the dealership to get you new toggles

 

I gathered it's the wife's vehicle

 

he said 'our' rather than 'her' or 'his' so i assumed they share it

either way, it was my attempt an humor

 

My car (07 997.1 S) had that same issue (skin peeling off a little but not as a bad as yours) when I bought it. The dealer agreed to replace it under CPO and it took less than 10mins to do it. Although I didn't see them replace it, my guess is you pop the side covers around it and then you can easily pop the unit out. You can find the part on eBay for cheap.

 

Before taking it to the dealer or spend more on a professional remake, try using a black sharpie and color over them. See how they look, then you can decide for yourself if you need new toggle switches.

 

When I bought my 997 from Ocala Porsche under CPO it had this, they replaced the entire air conditioning control unit http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...997ELECTRONICS I doubt they would have spent $600 unless it was completely necessary.

 

As long as you're considering replacing them anyway, either of these ideas is worth a try. But before you do either of these, why don't you take that Q-tip and some more of the Meguiars fluid...and just finish the job that you started? In your photo, the toggles look like they're silver or chrome under the paint. If they were completely silver/chrome, would they really look that bad or even out of place? The PCM trim is already silver, so...

 

Don't use a black sharpie. It will look more dark purple than black. Go to the local art supply store and buy a true black permanent marker, preferably flat black. There are "Michael's" stores near here that sell them.

 

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ow-refesh.html

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/997/264553-refinished-climate-control-buttons.html