166 trim

[alfagtv152]

Hi All,
Some of the trim such as the center console and under steering wheel cover has gone all gooey!.The blue colour coating on them has gone sticky and comes off on your hands and items that come into contact with it.It will wash off with thinners leaving the black plastic item.
Has anyone else experienced this or is this perhaps something a previous owner or detailer has done to make it go sticky?.
I think the only option I have is to remove the parts and wash the blue goo off,I think they would look good in just black anyway.
Cheers
Andrew

[colcol]

I have had the same trouble with the door pull/window switches on my 156, its like a kid has been eating lollies and put their sticky fingers all over it, i have cleaned them down with detergent, but it hasn't improved it, it looks like the plastic is melting, i think thinners might be too harsh, how about a scotch brite to loosen off the top layer of plastic?, Colin.

[alfagtv152]

Hi colcol,
It is actually only the coloured coating over the black plastic,like paint.I cleaned the colour off the center console catches for adjusting the arm rest and opening the lid today until the blue was all gone,then treated it with tyre shine and it just looked like new black plastic.Having said that I am sure if you subjected the plastic to an excess of thinners it would dissolve it!.
I might have to get energetic one day and take the console out and clean it back to black plastic which I think would still look OK so long as the arm rest is still Blue on top.
Cheers
Andrew

[colcol]

The traffic in Melbourne is terrible, so while waiting in traffic, i looked at the coating on the door pull/electric window switch, underneath the coating, there is black shiny plastic, the coating i reckon was put there by Alfa to give it a 'soft feel' plastic coating, it looks terrible, as has all scratches and blobs where the coating is coming off, one day when i have time, i will take the offending items out and scotch brite the sticky coating away, 156 owners check yours, to see if the coating is coming off, Colin.