Any advice on bodywork repairs?

[SeeFive]

Hi All,
My C5 has two or three nasty gouges in the plastic and more than a few scuffs. I've thought about running a stanley knife blade over them to 'plane' the plastic down a bit so removing the scuffs but this would take away the stippled rough feel to the bodywork. So has anyone any advice on make it look a little bit better? I definately don't want to paint it!
Thanks in anticipation!

[radiomarty]

I have trimmed up some rough gouges with a stanley knife before and the result was quite good - I have also used a mouse sander - you are right you do loose the 'ripple' feel however the overall look is better than the gouges 

[SeeFive]

Do you think some thin kitchen bleach would harm the plastic at all?

[coverman]

I have use silicone sealant to fill small holes: it may well work as a filler for gouges

[KarlG]

Hi SeeFive,

I tried pure Danklorix, which has a very high and aggressive alkaline content, to no avail. It didn't discolour or effect the shell, but it didn't remove the stains. Alkaline will only remove biological stains and not mineral based stains. You may also find that the stains are not just on the surface.

[pso-buzz]

Hello

I used a cif cream cleaner on mine and tried all sorts to get rid of stains. I used Autoglym wheel cleaner, spray bleach, mr muscle kitchen cleaner.

In desperation I sprayed some wd40 on the stains and they just wiped off!

Don't know why but it worked so maybe worth a go.

Simon

[KarlG]

Must give that a try if I can find that stuff here.

[coverman]

Its the same kind of stuff as Plusgas, it is a spray penetrating oil usually used to free rusty bolts

[pso-buzz]

Yep that's the stuff. Has it worked for anyone else?

[KarlG]

Just found out that WD40 is available here, it appears to be the same as the Caramba spray that I use.

[KarlG]

I wouldn't advise the use of silicon for your gouges for two reasons.

1. Silicon is very good for plugging holes but when applied thinly it tends to peel with age or when rubbed, e.g. cleaning the shell.

2. Normally white silicon is produced in bright white. Unless you can obtain the correct shade of off white, which I doubt, you will make the damaged arrears very conspicuous.

Just put 'I Love My C5' stickers over them.