Painted plastic from factory?

[johnhend]

I just bought a 2001 vw beetle tdi, and I noticed that all of the interior plastic is painted and the paint is gummy and kind of tacky and you can scrape it off with your fingernail! Did vw paint the plastics in the factory, or is this something that the previous owner had to of done? Has anyone had any luck getting this problem rectified by the factory if indeed the factory did paint the interior plastics? There is also a stong greasy crayon smell inside the car, anyone ever experience that also?

Thanks for the feedback.
John H

[JenBug]

I think the crayon smell is normal for NBs.

If the interior was painted by previous owner, then you can easily take that stuff off and repaint it. There are various painting threads on interiors in the Paint and Body forum. Good luck!

[from Margaritaville...]

That cheap peeling coating isn't paint. It's a film that part of the extrusion process in the manufacture of those plastic pieces. There's no spray to match up with that coating so what you'll need to do is remove that coating from each piece and re-finish it (i.e. sanding, painting and laquering)...

I hate the stuff!!!

[mgwerks]

I f you are talking about the black and/or grey plastic that feels "rubbery", that is a special paint the factory used just to irritate us owners when it starts to wear. The options are live with it or take the time to rub it off by hand.

The crayon smell is normal, and comes from a wax-based anti-corrosion goop sprayed inside the body panels.

[mgwerks]

I f you are talking about the black and/or grey plastic that feels "rubbery", that is a special paint the factory used just to irritate us owners when it starts to wear. The options are live with it or take the time to rub it off by hand.

The crayon smell is normal, and comes from a wax-based anti-corrosion goop sprayed inside the body panels.

[JuggBug]

Originally Posted by mgwerks

that is a special paint the factory used just to irritate us owners when it starts to wear

That is soooo true! Hate that junk!!!

[cafN8'd_Atl_bug]

I just bought a '00 black bug (named Jelly Bean) after a city bus plowed head-first into my poor little silver integra and totaled it. At least I got a cute new car out of it!! (And I flick off every city bus I see). But the previous loser/owner never cleaned my bean, and the black stuff is peeling off the doors and door-pulls. An old credit card is good for scraping it off - esp if you let it sit in the sun for a few hours first. But don't use a putty knife (like I did) b/c you'll scratch up the plastic underneath. So, if I take off the door pieces and sand them down clean, what do I paint them with? Krylon for plastic, or is there a special "car interior" paint? I'm trying to save $ and be all DIY.
Also, any good recs on places to order new shift boot/shift knobs? And seat covers? Don't know what this dude did to these seats, but they're nasty black upholstery w/ gross weird stains.

[HaloUmpaLumpa]

Any paint will work, i'm not sure how the krylon plastic stuff is, but if you by a normal spay paint you want to use a primer first so that it sticks better, then paint, then clearcoat to protect it.