Cluster Cleaning

The one thing that has bugged me for a while is my cluster. One of the previous owners spilled something, likely coffee on the cluster and failed to clean it up. Likely they let it bake in the sun so it was game over at that one. I tried to clean it up with no success. I figured it must have gotten in the inside of the plastic lens. So today I decided it was finally time to fix this.

I follow some of the instructions and a few videos found in the link below:

• https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/735008-Cluster-removal-instructions-Anyone
  
  

The trim around cluster is likely the hardest thing to remove. While it not hard I just didn't want to break anything so I took my time. I do recommend a trim removal tool kit like the following below to help:

• https://amzn.to/2MRIRqr (affiliate link)
  

Once the trim is off there is just three bolts holding in the cluster. Super easy to access and remove. Remove the wiring harness from behind the cluster and it is free.

To clean the cluster I took took the lens off the cluster by unscrewing about 8-10 small torx screws from behind the cluster, and the lens basically snaps off the cluster. What I found after doing this was that the spills was actually on the outside of the lens. I know pretty stupid, but the spill was so etched into the plastic is was hard to tell. 

Now knowing where to actually clean, I started with windows cleaner and then rubbing alcohol, but was not making any progress. I had some heavy duty glass cleaner so I figured I would give it a try:

• https://amzn.to/2TDYDrp (affiliate link)

​I started in a small area with this stuff as it was pretty powerful. I quickly discovered this stuff worked just like it does on glass. One tip I would offer is to wear gloves, and also use either a foam pad or microfiber towel to start your polishing. After about 15 mins of polishing, 99% of the spill was finally removed. 

I then went over the cluster with a fine swirl remover polish to removal any swirls this glass cleaner may have introduced. I only spent about 5 mins on this as this plastic lens is pretty soft, so didn't want to completely remove layers of plastic. I finished the polishing up with some more rubbing alcohol to clean down the surface once more and prep it for my next step. 

My last step was to apply a layer of paint sealant to offer some UV protection so the plastic would not yellow like some plastic headlights do. Not to mention this would help hide any remaining swirl marks. I did a few coats of this stuff as I had it in the garage:

• https://amzn.to/2HZkAQv (affiliate link)

And as you can see below, this turned out pretty good. ​

 - Amazon affiliate links were used in this post

Before

After