Just because you care for your car, doesn’t mean that others will.
If you have passengers constantly climbing in and out of your car, odds are one of them has put their feet on your dashboard or perhaps a door card as they were exiting the car.
As a result, you now have an annoying scuff mark that stands out every time you look at the panel and no matter what you do, it doesn’t seem to be going away.
The reason for this is because of the impact of the shoe hitting the plastic forces dirt deep into the grain.
Unfortunately, sometimes a microfiber towel and dashboard cleaner isn’t enough. When the dirt is embedded in the plastic, you’ll need an abrasive to dig in and destroy the stains.
This is where Mr.Clean Magic Eraser pads come in use.
Necessary Equipment
It doesn’t take much to remove scuff marks from the plastic car interior. In fact, you may have most of the products laying around the house.
I recommend a scrub brush and trim cleaner because you should always clean the area before-hand. This way you can see what scuffs are remaining and tackle them effectively.
If the panel is already clean, you’ll only need a magic eraser, some water to lubricate it and a towel to wipe down the area afterward.
How-To Use A Magic Sponge To Remove Scuff Marks
Using a magic eraser pad is fairly straight forward, but I’ve still read of people struggling and not getting results.
Follow the steps below:
- Clean the desired area properly using a scrub brush & cleaning product.
- Grab your magic eraser pad and lubricate it with water or trim cleaner.
- Rub the pad back and forth over the scuff marked areas until you can no longer see scuff marks
- Once satisfied, wipe away any remaining residue with a clean microfiber towel cloth.
- Clean the area once again and apply a trim dressing or spray wax of your choice.
As you can see, it’s super simple.
You don’t even need to do step 5 if you don’t want to, though the detailer in me recommends it.
Always, always, always make sure to use a lubrication when using a magic eraser pad. It’s on the product instructions to wet it beforehand, if not, you risk creating scratches, scuffs, and other undesirable effects.
I also cannot stress enough that this method is for textured plastic. Don’t use it on high gloss polished areas or chrome, doing so will only create further issues, such as paint fading.
Why It Works
Magic sponges are made up of a material known as melamine foam.
Melamine Foam is an effective abrasive cleaner. Its polymeric substance works similarly to a fine sandpaper, working its way into the tiny grooves and pitted areas of a plastic panel.
This means that when rubbing with a slightly dampened, lubricated eraser pad, you are able to remove otherwise “impossible” scuffs from your door cards and dashboard.
Magic erasers are also great for removing child-related markings from the interior of your car.
If your child has used crayon to draw on parts of your car, or rubbed their greasy hands over your door card, the magic erasers will remove them with ease.
The only downside of magic erasers is the fact that they’ll scratch surfaces if they’re not sufficiently hard.