458 Italia Mirror/Plastic Issues HELP

Go to (Dave rocks Sticky no more) on the chat site. The Stickies are a Ferrari Curse that is correctable. Depending on your level of skill remove these parts or pay a tech to remove them & send them to Dave for refinishing. With time this velvety finish that decays giving you the sticky mess. Dave refinishing is beautiful & permanent.

 

There is no way I would suggest this for a Ferrari..... but I have an old Boxster that had sticker door arm rests and cup holder faceplate. I used 91% isopropyl alcohol to completely remove the sticky residue. This resulted in a bare plastic finish that actually looks quite good. The process consumed lots of paper towels, a mildly abrasive scotch pad and considerable elbow grease.

 

Pete - as others have mentioned already, Dave at Sticky RX is the guy you want to get into contact with. They restore sticky parts for dealers, so I'm sure they can help you out.

What you are experiencing is encountered at different levels with many Ferraris, so at least you are not alone. I believe it relates to which component supplier the parts for your specific car came from, but again Dave at Sticky RX could maybe chime in and provide some additional insight. It seems that some cars get it worse than others. I would imagine there are a lot of contributing factors - everything from the climate the car sees, to how much UV light the car is exposed to and perhaps even how many chemicals (such as perfumes or colognes) the previous owners sitting in the car used on their bodies. All these factors probably continue to the breakdown in the surface layers of the finish on the parts.

On my 458, I always stored it inside and was careful not to park it outside in the sun too much. Neither my girlfriend, nor I, use any chemicals in our life, home or bodies. Even so, after owning my 458 for about 3 years, I noticed a very slight degrading on the A/C vents slats. It was very minor, but it was present. Never had any issues with any of the knobs or anything like that.

Now, on my 360, as I recall, there was some peeling of the window switches. I want to say I used a little WD40 and removed the peeling / film completely and then just left it as is from there.

Anyway, Dave can probably get you back on track. Or maybe try some WD40 or the alcohol trick and see how things turn out.

Ray

 

Thanks, Guys.

Hi Peter - you may want to check out this thread: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/458-sticky-refinishing.529386/

We are refinishing 458's like they are coming out of the wood work.

We do those mirrors a lot and I can tell you we are not a fan since the disassembly and reassembly is less than fun.

Peter you may also call or email me:

716-539-0200 x 355 or dave.lelonek@**********.com

 

Unfortunately it’s the price we pay for having cars in FL. Still better than dealing with rust issues where they salt the roads.

The problem is fixable.....

 

Get them professionally done via the blokes like Dave, the results look great from the photos I've seen. Using isopropyl alcohol may be one way to clean things up, however you may wish to be weary of which surface to use it on. I will eventually get 360 door handles done by Dave as the surface underneath looks to be silver aluminum. I did the isopropyl cleanup on my 360's window buttons however as they're black underneath and match the plastic radio more or less... Maybe I'll get them professionally done as well one day, however in my case it's the door unlock handles which are beginning to go to waste :\

 

Yes, I see you are in Albany area. I have a independent in Syracuse I can recommend or WideWorld Ferrari. I actually know a tech that may be willing to travel to you - let me check and get back with you.

 

Unfortunately your assumption regarding Fl with Humidity& Heat may hasten the stickies it by no means is the cause as when living in CO my 03 Modena was hit by the Stickies that involved every coated part. Never used any ROH products etc. when cleaning. Ferrari should have corrected this problem area many, many years ago & unfortunately has neglected this quality control item plain & simple. It's ridiculous that texture takes presidence over quality in this area for decades.