The Why of sticky interior parts?

My '91 348 interior plastic parts and finish are in great shape except for the passenger door release. When I was shopping cars, I came across a 355 that had the dreaded and apparently all too common melting interior. I was wondering [as I stand in front of my car with cleaning materials in hand] if perhaps the problem is with some sort of common cleaning agent that has been used on them, or hand lotion, suntan oil, etc. Or is the problem more a 355 issue? Anyone solved the mystery?

 

It's my understanding that Armorall and other silicone-based products cause the black trim items to get gummy. I don't know this for a fact, but that's what I've heard.

 

I don't know what brands do and what brands don't, but it is DEFINITELY cleaning that does it.

Just use a clean damp cloth or chamois to clean the interior plastic.

 

GM has used various types of plastic in thier cars, from the 60's on. when i would get a muscle car with gooey interior, the parts usually could be saved by using Spic & Span and warm water to clean the parts. once they have gotten to this point, you can vever clean them with ANY chemicals. as was suggested, clean damp cloth should be just fine. the heat seems to make this affect on the plastics and the silicone products worse.

 

What's amazing is that this problem started in early 90's, and Ferrari didn't fix it sooner! I think just hot humid weather will melt it.

 

Hi,
I use cleaning products from Griot's Garage [www.griotsgarage.com]. They pride themselves on non-silicone containing products which is widely used by owners of fine cars such as yours. They have, specifically, something called "Interior Cleaner", which should meet your need very well. Good luck.

 

Hi,


....in my opinion, one of the best non-silicone/UV protectant products is 303 Protectant.........www.303products.com

Anthony

 

I had the same problem on the A/C vents, center console, and triangl;e metal mirror mount locations in the 348 I bought. It was recommended to use 3M General Purpose cleaner (available through Griot's). No local stores carried it. I used Goof Off 2 and Qtips to clean all the goo off the parts. It took about 3 hours start to finish, with no parts removal. That was about three months ago and the plastic still looks as though it is from a brand new car. Many people suggest repainting the parts with flat black spray paint, but I think the 'cleaned' plastic looks and feels fine.
BT

 

The rubberised silica based finishes soften when silicone based cleaning agents are used, in the same way paint softens when you add paint thinners
The owners manual does say to clean it using soapy water...............

 

Thank you all!! I've never been a fan of Armorall, but I do like using Windex on most non porous surfaces. Seems that this should be an urgent warning to all if your car hasn't already been messed up. Thanks again.

 

Just need to confirm - do all 348s, 355s suffer from the melting-interior syndrome, or only some? All the cars here suffer from it, so I suspected it was due to the constant heat and humidity here. I don't think all of them were cleaned with silicone-based products. Has Ferrari issued any clarification?

The early (and perhaps later) Mercedes SLKs had the same problem.

 

I've used Plasti-kote with great success to duplicate the original rubbery finish. Available at Harbor Freight

 

Just curious, how heavy does plasti-kote leave it on, heavy or light? What kind of texture is left?

 

If you're talking about the interior door handles and console panels, it was because M-B cheaped out and used thin rubberized coating over black soft plastic parts. My '98 had a red interior and the red flaked off the handle. Not sure if this is the same chemical problem 348/355's have, because I only used a water-dampened cloth to clean my SLK interior.

The new SLKs seem to more nicely done inside.

 

Another note in general, read the back of ALL of your cleaning products and dressings (vinyl, rubber, tire etc...) for the key words, "petroleum distillates". Throw those products away immediately.

 

Plasti-kote finish can be heavy or light depending on how many coats you put on. It duplicates the factory finish VERY well.

 

Incidentally, I have found that easy-off oven cleaner removes the old finish quickly and easily.

 

Never used any kind of cleaner other than water dampened cotton cloth, but both 355 and 550 rubber coating melted.

I think heat, humidity, and air pollution is enough to melt the material. Glad they don't use it on the 430 anymore.

 

Windex is NOT a good idea.

It's ammonia based. Ammonia is a very aggressive solvent, will break down most organics & many metallic compounds with repeated applications. The AmmoniaD in Windex isn't as aggressive as straight ammonia, but it's not something to use freely either.

it will destroy the conductors of rear window defrosters, & degrade the optical coatings on sunroof windows, sunglasses, binocular lenses, etc.

 

Cleaning solvents although could cause it, has nothing to do with why.


The plastic that Ferrari used does not contain any UV blockers or protection. Clean a part with solvent, stick it in the bedroom closet and it will remain the same for years, nice and clean. Clean the same part stick it outside for 1 hour here in florida and you will notice that it quickly becomes tacky. This is why clear coats protect it, because 99.9% have UV protection in them.

Plastics with UV protection if left in the sun will oxidize causing the plastic to turn white, plastics without UV protection added will typically melt

 

Verell is right, you don't want to use any harsh solvents or other chemicals.
I have a magazine article where they visit http://www.justdashes.com/
and the owner says he believes that the solvents exacerbate the removal of the plasticizers in the material. There is already enough damage from UV and the expansion and contraction of the materials due to temperature. Of course there is the question of the original quality of the pigment/binder/resin used in these cars in the first place.

 

Again its not the solvents, other wise thinner wouldnt clean it, it would just excellerate the problem. Its all about UV. You can soak these plastic parts in windex and silicon solvent you wanted, itwont do a thing to it, I have casted these parts using silicon release agents, nothing happens. The only damage is from UV<----, from there solvents will effect the UV portions more so, but its not the solvents its the UV burn portions of the plastic. Stop the UV buring you stop the problem, If you dont any any portion burned from UV, windows, armoral, silicon, gas will not effect it

 

Been using that stuff for a few years and love it....

 

Some years ago I bought plastic deadblow hammers. These were molded out of red-orange plastic and worked very well. However, I began to notice that they became slippery over time, and eventually were always sticky. I thought at first I had spilled some oil on them and cleaned them with soap and water. Naturally, these were tools, so I never used Armor-all or similar products on them. They kept getting sticky and eventually started to fall apart. One day they were ust in pieces in my toolbox! They just disintegrated into chunks.

I also had AlpineStar motorcycle boots. I stopped riding for a few years, then bought a Ducati so looked for the old boots. Same problem. The plastic bits had gotten sticky and some parts became so weak they just broke off. Of course, I never used silicones on the boots, probably never cleaned them, and throuh the years in storage, they were in a dark closet, so no UV.

Seems very similar to the Ferrrai plastic problem, except Ferraris cost s much more ....

A pundit commented that manufacturers, facing the scourge of disposable plastic bottles that last hundreds of years, have been experimenting with biodegradeable plastic. It's just that they biodegrade too quickly!

I don't know if that's true or it's just some production problem, but heat and high humidity might contribute (the problem is widespread in Ferraris in Asia), and of course UV won't help. I am curious to know whether Ferraris in the temperate regions suffer the same fate. If not, it's heat and humidity.

 

I am feeling the pain right now of the Italian maple syrup. Over $1500.00 so far and I still have to replace the steering column housing... Arrrggg...

We should make this "sticky" thread a "sticky"!