Heater Knobs Peeling

[TAJ]

My 2007 Boxster's Temp and Fan Control Knobs are peeling black paint. Any suggestions appreciated.

Terryl Johnson

Greenville, SC

Carolina Region-PCA

[70Sixter]

I'd just call Suncoast or go online and get new ones. Did not think they were even painted!

And WELCOME!!! :renntech: :D

[number9ine]

I'd just call Suncoast or go online and get new ones. Did not think they were even painted!

And WELCOME!!! :renntech: :D

Unfortunately they are painted with a soft-touch coat and you can only order a new control unit, not the individual knobs. :(

I have a small scuff on mine that hasn't bothered me enough to fix, but when I do I plan on trying some matte hobby paint and mixing white and black to get the appropriate shade. If you have a lot of paint missing on your switches the chances are it'll be a poor match for the feel of the original coat, but it shouldn't be hard to make it look good.

Mark

[vettes73]

My 2006 S temp and fan controls are peeling bad, too.

Anybody found an acceptable fix yet?

[danieldolin]

My 2006 S temp and fan controls are peeling bad, too.

Anybody found an acceptable fix yet?

I know I have seen pictures somewhere of someone who took appart every plastic button of thier radio and temp controls and the face plates to have eric at bumperplugs paint them all in Porsche white. I know that is a bit extreeme, but it did look very nice.

[dschulenberg]

Same thing happened on my 05 Boxster and the dealer replaced the entire control unit under warranty.

[White987S]

My 2007 Boxster's Temp and Fan Control Knobs are peeling black paint. Any suggestions appreciated.

Terryl Johnson

Greenville, SC

Carolina Region-PCA

You are covered under warranty. Take to dealership.

[pnerger@yahoo.com]

On my 2005, the dealer said that it was not a warranty item -- although they did fix some other small things as part of the warranty. I used a black rubberized paint on it. Not perfect but it is better than the pealing.

Too bad their is not a better solution than simply replacing the entire control unit.

Paul

[mreynol5]

I just had mine painted and sacrificed the nice white icons on the knobs. They look and feel fine and no one is any the wiser to the missing icons. I found an interior repair guy locally who did the paint job for me but have since found that interior paint is sold in auto paint stores. Next time I will paint them myself and post my results.

[n4ally2]

i had this issue on my 06 boxster and took it to the dealership before my warranty expired last year. I thought it is only a knob replacement but the service guy told me that the knob is attached to the unit, so he had to order a new heating unit just to replace the knob. The knob is done kinda funny too since they paint it white and then paint it black, so when the black paint peels, you see all the white paint. If you car still in warranty, take it back and make the dealership replace it. I wasn't charge for replace the unit at all and you shouldn't have to either.

[michaelwalker123]

I had the same problem on my 2006 Boxster S. Used a black permanent marker to fill in the white parts. Then touched it up with the lights on in the dark to go over imperfections. Even managed to retain the white shapes of the button icons. Not a perfect color match since the marker is slightly more shiney but still looks 100% better. You would'nt notice if you didn't do the repair yourself.

[Arnaldo Ramos]

Hy there:

I have the same problem with the radio knobs. What I did was, cleaned it with WD40 and remove the black paint so it show their natural plastic black color they look like new now and still have the white circle line.

[mghorayeb]

I had this problem on my 2006 911S. It is very common. If car is under warranty, they will exchange unit. Otherwise, you have the following options:

- Look for a company called "StickyNoMore" online. The boss there is Robby. They can repaint the buttons for you, whether the unit is disassembled or not. Not cheap, but good work, and they can affix backlit stickers if you like (I prefer plain);

- Disassemble the unit and paint (or have) the switches painted. This can be done, but you will need some ability, tools, and 2 sets of hands and eyes - if you break anything (quite possible), then you're SOL.

- I have one unit that I did and am willing to sell. It looks perfect and works perfect (came out of my car - I bought a perfect used unit), but has no heated seats. I can send pictures, and may have a friend travelling to the US soon (shipping);

- Look on eBay...but most of the ones there are defective too.

Look for the other thread(s) regarding this unacceptable and common problem here on Renntech. Here's one:

Removing A/C control unit from dash

in 997-1 (Carrera) - DIY

Started by Reaction1, May 23 2011

New unit is ca. $750 from Porsche - ouch! I'll take $350 for mine.

Radio knobs are about $20 from Porsche (for the pair). Cheaper/easier to have them replaced there - it will take less than 5 minutes. A/C unit switch is no more than a 30-minute job by a savvy tech.

Once you've made this improvement, you will be very happy. I used to hate seeing the offending switches in my otherwise perfect car...

Edited October 24, 2012 by mghorayeb