Okay here's the deal - went to clean the dash of my F150 (haven't done that yet, I acquired the truck this past July.) The previous owners apparently had one of those non-slip mats on the dash (I suppose to hold a small thermous or something) which over time got baked into the dash from the sun. There were all kinds of little white marks that showed the pattern of the non-slip mat where it had gotten baked into the dash. I tried Armor All, Oxi Clean, Glass Cleaner, and Scratch Out, none of them worked. So then I tried some good old Goof Off and believe it or not that got the white stuff off! But now I have these weird black colored stains that, when I used Goof Off to try to get rid of them they kept spreading, so then I tried the other products I mentioned above but instead of any of them spreading it or taking it out - they did nothing to it.

I don't know what these black stains are from, but they were there after I finally got rid of the white stuff left from the non-slip mat. Maybe it's spilt coffee that got baked into the dash, I don't know. But Armor All/Oxi Clean/Glaas Cleaner/Water/Coca Cola/Scratch Out/Ligther Fluid don't do anything to it and Goof Off doesn't take it out, it just makes it bigger.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'd really like to get this black stain out of my truck instead of having to buy a new dash! I can get pics tomorrow if you really need them..

 

try WD-40, it worked for me getting the greasy hand prints off my dash.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Ford uses painted dashes in these trucks. Did the rag change colors while you were wiping the dash with G.O.? I know my dash is black under the paint. It's possible the black "stains" are just the natural color of the dash.

 

I tried WD40 as Radio suggested but it did nothing. When I was trying to get it off with some Goof Off the other day, blue stuff was coming off on the towel, didn't think much of it (durh!)

I started thinking to myself maybe it was painted, but I kind of stupidly passed the idea off. Now that you mention it, I bet 99.998% that you are correct.

What do I do now since apparently I accidently took some of the paint off my dash?

 

Either paint it or get it painted. Once the paint is gone, it is gone. Please don't ask me how I know!

 

Get another one of those dash mats, put it over the affected area and forget about it..

 

Same problem with my 97, a few small isolated areas where the dash "paint" has come off. When I enquired about colour matched paint for the exterior, the service guy from my Ford dealership recommended I go to a paint shop, so I don't imagine he's going to be much help with this. I was considering using Testors model paint as it is intended for plastic, any advice would be appreciated.

 

i've used the rustoleum paint for plastic with terrific luck. the stuff bonds with plastic at the molecular level. the parts i painted were the upper lower charcoal grey valance on my front bumper. after cleaning with ammonia and then mineral spirits, i painted them black and the stuff is holding up to the road well.

also, autozone carries alot of duplicolor paints for specific apps. such as interiror dyes and plastic resurfacing.

i believe your most exact match would be a textured plasti coat product (stereo shop knowledge).

 

Thanks for the advice 4.2xl2001, I'll look into that...

 

Ironically, my last work truck had a similar 'mark' that I left behind in it.

While those 'sticky mats' are great for holding a cell phone or similar, for some reason, they play havoc on the dash. Thankfully, it was a 'rental' work truck. When we turned it in, they didn't note it on the check-in form. It was pretty noticable though...

Best of luck!