I'd try a citrus based product such as De-Slov-It. (Not an endorsement) Just on the adhesive. Be patient and don't hurry.

You may want to mask around the spots to minimize the exposure of the rest of the dash.

Be sure everything is cool and not in the sun.

Take your time.

Top O the Morning to you Lyn,

Thanks for the tip. I will give it a go along with your advice.

I had never heard of this product so I just did a search and found that these fine retailers carry it:

Thanks again - KJK

Good luck with the project.

Citrus based cleaners don't have the nasty solvents that most other cleaners have. They are used in the PWB industry as a gentle cleaner.

You still may want to try some in "an inconspicuous place" on the dash to be sure it won't discolor the parent material.

My newest vehicle is 11 years old. I'm jealous.

I will be careful with it and apply with a q-tip.

I read the can and me thinks we are good to go.

"My newest vehicle is 11 years old....."

Yes but yours probably looks and runs like new.

My 07 Focus looks like new inside and out but with my daily commute, I've racked up 189,000 miles.

She still gets 29 to 31 MPG.

I have had an excellent experience with this car, nothing major, not even anything minor (well not counting the 400lb buck last January).

Given the mileage, I figure that I am stepping into that "tempting fate" area and its best to cut any potential losses now.

The 12 Focus SFE is boasting 40MPG, is cheap, rides well and is fairly well built.

With gas at $3.99 here if I gain 8 to 10 MPG just think how healthy my beer allowance fund will be. Heck I may have enough to take up smoking again (just kidding)

"My newest vehicle is 11 years old....."

You've got me beat on mileage, _{It's barely 5 miles from home to office for me.} And yes, I have the luxury of parking in covered parking all the time. That's just a small perk of managing the parking in a city with a parking garage across the street from my office. _{(I park my company truck there, too, so I don't even have to walk across the street)}

Just buy something you will be happy with, cause you spend a lot of time commuting.

Cheers.

I agree

Desolvit is a great product - it is also good for de-greasing your hands.....

Another alternative is Eucalyptus oil - very good for removing most adhesives and stains, and another natural product distilled mostly form the leaves of Melaleuca trees

Hi redfred,

Went out at lunchtime and picked up some De-Solv-It.

Will try it after work.

I will keep the WD40 in mind as a backup.

Thanks for stopping by - KJK

Another thing that may work, is plain old cooking oil. Get a gauze bandage, soak in oil, using some painters or low tack hobby tape, tape the gauze over the spot, and let sit for 24-48 hours. It should wipe right off. From there you can wipe down the entire dash with some vinyl restorer.

Hi kram,

Hey great tip.

Will use this as yet another back up.

Before posting here, I had no clue what to use being that the dash is plastic.

If figured anything I use would discolor the dark gray color.

I'm going to apply some de-solv-it with a q-tip and see what happens.

Any residue, I will use the WD40 or cooking oil to remove the remainder.

Thanks again for the tip - KJK

Hi KJK,

I agree 100% with the WD40 method. I also use just plain turpentine most of the time and find that it does the job with very little risk of damage. I removed the baseplate for my GPS from the dashboard with no problems at all. I would however also caution you to work in the shade and check on an out of site area of the dashboard first.

Good luck!

Along the same lines as the OP, I've done some damage to my dash, scratches, a few small holes, dings etc. Is there a product that can patch holes? Is there a product that can come close to matching the color? The scratches show white material under the dark grey color.

Most decent auto parts stores will have vinyl repair kits...........even vinyl touch up paint in little jars, like nail polish. An online search might even turn up a product that is specific to your dash color.

Hi Tom,

As far as the holes, I have used a product that came with some small containers of tinting resin that you mix to match from Pep Boys. I can't recall the name but I am sure they still carry these types of products.

My passed experience with holes is that unless you have a black dash, it is next to impossible to match the color and matching (or trying to) the texture can be a pain.

As far as scratches, I found this link which may help you out.

Hope your repair goes as well as mine did!

Thanks for the suggestions. I found some filler and a wood stain "pen" that did the trick.

Good enough for what I wanted anyway...not perfect, but OK!

Any form of citrus oil will do the job. "Simple Green" usually works, too. Citrus oils will take labels off plastic bottles and jars without clouding the plastic. I used it to take old protective coating off a storm door that had been baking in the sun for three years (you know, that stuff they tell you to strip off before installing).

Any oil or fat will remove the residue. Just massage it in, let it work for an hour (not in direct sunlight) and off it comes.

Then use washing up liquid and water to remove the fat/oil.

You might find a product called "Var X" good. I used it to remove adhesive from automotive paint - brilliant (glue was sticky not baked hard though). I believe it works on plastics too. The trouble is that the supplier here in Australia has gone bust and all I can find is this "VAR-X Adhesive Remover. When you are confronted with having to remove vinyl from a motor vehicle, sign board, shop window or any advertising area you can ..."
I believe that the product was imported, possibly from USA (but it may be local packaging/labelling). If you can get it, it's well worth having in your cupboard.

When I was trying to find it a while back, I Googled up "adhesive remover" and found a few other possibilities - I remember that there were some hits based around signs.

Good luck

A big THANK YOU to all that responded!

The De-Solv-It and Canola cooking oil worked great.

I dabbed on the De-Solv-It with a q-tip and let it set about 20 minutes.

Applied it a second time and let set for 20 minutes.

This removed most of the dried adhesive.

I then soaked a gauze patch with Canola and let it set on the area for an hour.

I took a piece of a wooden paint stirrer and rubbed it against the gauze patch over the area to remove the rest of the adhesive.

I did a once over with Armor All and the dash looks like new!

Thanks again everyone!

I just love it when a project comes together.

Well Done

You helped me too.

I had a total brain freeze going with the name "Armor All". I even googled and couldn't figure it out.

Thanks. It's been bugging me for a couple of days. Right on the tip of my tongue, and I couldn't get it.