Canberra · ACT
Dashboard and plastic trim restoration.
Dashboards, centre consoles, trim and bumpers — restored to factory finish
Sticky or sun-faded dashboards, scratched centre consoles, scuffed bumpers, missing dye on door cards. Most dashboard and plastic trim damage in Canberra cars is restorable in a single visit — no replacement parts, no dealer mark-up, factory finish.
From $199 · Typically 1/8th to 1/12th the cost of replacement
What we fix
Damage we see every week
If it's on this list, there's a high chance we can restore it without replacement — and at a fraction of the cost.
- Sun-faded dashboards and dash tops
- Sticky, tacky or melted dashboard coatings
- Scratched centre consoles and gear surrounds
- Scuffed bumper corners and lower trim panels
- Missing dye on door cards and arm rests
- Cracked or distorted plastic mounting points
- Aftermarket phone-mount and radio screw holes
- Pre-purchase prep marks on second-hand cars
- Discoloured exterior plastic trim and mirror caps
Process
Quote. Restore. Protect.
- 01
Quote
Photo or in-person assessment — we identify the substrate (ABS, PP, PC, polyurethane) and the factory colour code before quoting.
- 02
Repair
Cracks, gouges and aftermarket holes filled, bonded and sanded. The substrate is rebuilt before any colour goes on.
- 03
Refinish
Chemical-bond colour applied in passes — the dye fuses with the plastic substrate, not just coats it. Factory pebble or matte texture re-set on top.
- 04
Seal
2K UV-resistant topcoat cures in 30 minutes. The result is more durable than the original factory coating and lasts 5–8 years.
Why it happens
Why Canberra plastics fail early
The ACT averages the highest sustained UV reading in mainland Australia, and the in-cabin temperature swing between a −5°C winter morning and a 60°C+ summer afternoon is brutal on every plastic surface in the car. By the eight-year mark, almost every Canberra dash we restore shows the same combination of fade, micro-cracking and dye loss.
Read: why does leather crack?UV intensity
Bare polypropylene and ABS lose their plasticisers under sustained UV after 6–8 years. The dash top goes first, then the door tops, then the rear parcel shelf.
Temperature cycling
Every freeze–bake cycle stresses the substrate at moulded join points. Eventually the dash cracks across the airbag tear-line and the centre console wing warps.
Heated seats
Seat heaters dry out adjacent plastic from underneath. The console wing nearest the driver always shows fade and dye loss before the passenger side.
North-facing parking
Manuka, Kingston and Forrest streets — apartments and offices with no shade fade dashboards on the passenger side within 18 months of new.
Treeless subdivisions
Newer Tuggeranong and Gungahlin streets without mature street trees show the worst observed plastic-fade rates anywhere in the ACT.
Aftermarket holes
Phone mounts, dashcams and aftermarket radios leave drilled holes that we fill, blend and recolour invisibly — common on second-hand car prep.
Pricing
From $199 —
no surprises.
Most plastic jobs are between $199 and $1,099 — single-panel scuffs at the lower end, full dashboard recolours at the upper. We send a firm written quote from your photo before you commit, and we never start work without confirming the substrate and the OEM colour code.
Read the full Canberra pricing guide- Dashboard spot repair / scuff$199–$399
- Full dashboard recolour$449–$1,099
- Trim panel restoration$199–$499
- Bumper corner scuff$299–$749
Dashboard repair
Sticky, scratched, faded or warped — dashboard repair without a new dash
A replacement dashboard is a dealer part plus a full day of labour to pull the airbag, cluster and vents. Almost every dashboard fault we see in Canberra is a surface problem, and surface problems are repaired in place.
Sticky buttons? See laser restorationSticky dashboards
The soft-touch coating on many 2008–2016 dashes breaks down in cabin heat and turns tacky, collecting dust and fingerprints. We remove the failed layer, rebuild the colour and texture, and seal it so it stays dry.
Scratched and scuffed dash panels
Keys, phone mounts, toolboxes and pets leave gouges and scuffs across the dash top and glovebox face. Deep marks are filled and re-textured, light ones are refinished, and both are recoloured to the factory sheen.
Faded trim
UV bleaches dash tops, A-pillar trim and door tops to grey or chalky white. We recolour the full panel edge to edge, so there is no tide line where old meets new, and seal it against the next ten summers.
Warped plastics
Heat-cycled dash pads lift at the windscreen edge and console wings bow. Mild warping is heat-formed back and re-bonded; we tell you plainly in the quote if a panel is too far gone to hold its shape.
Service area
Mobile across every Canberra suburb
Why it matters who you choose
Most Canberra customers don't realise until the quote arrives that the national brand they just rang is a franchise — with franchise fees, a call centre and a variable local operator.
Franchise network
The usual experience
- Franchise fees passed to clients
- You deal with a call centre — not your technician
- Quality varies by individual franchisee
- Generic national products and processes
- Response time depends on territory operator
Canberra Leather
Independent. Local. Accountable.
- No franchise overhead — independent pricing
- Speak directly with your technician
- 15+ years of combined leather restoration experience
- Geist Certified — professional-grade system
- Same-day response guaranteed (Mon–Fri)
We reply within 2 business hours.
Every time.
Leather damage doesn't wait and neither should you. Every photo quote request receives a detailed response within 2 business hours during our operating hours — Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. No call centres. No ticket systems. Direct from your technician.
Operating hours: Mon–Fri · 8:30 – 5:30 · Sat–Sun closed
Send a photo now →Yes. A sticky dash is the factory soft-touch coating breaking down in the heat, not the plastic itself failing. We strip the failed coating back to a sound surface, rebuild the colour and texture, and seal it with a UV-stable topcoat that does not go tacky again. Sticky buttons and switchgear are a separate job handled by our laser restoration service, and we can do both on the same visit.
Yes — we mix the colour on-site to match your specific factory finish, including the matte and pebble-grain sheen levels common on modern dashes. We don't pull from a pre-mixed can.
A properly sealed plastic restoration lasts 5–8+ years under normal use. We seal every job with a 2-part UV-protective topcoat that's more durable than the original factory coating.
Yes — sun-faded exterior trim, scuffed bumper corners and faded mirror caps are common jobs. We use exterior-rated colour systems that hold up to weather and car-wash chemicals.
Yes — we fill, blend and recolour so the damage is invisible. This is one of the most common pre-sale prep jobs we do for private sellers and dealers.
Factory match for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, Land Rover, Tesla, Volkswagen, Mazda, Subaru and Holden. ABS, PP, PC, PVC, polyurethane and the textured pebble-grain composites used on most dash tops — all restorable.
Related services
Free photo quote
Send a photo.
Get a real price today.
Quotes from photos are accurate, fast and obligation-free. Mon–Fri, 8:30 – 5:30. We reply within 2 business hours — your message goes directly to the technician.
5.0·17 five star Google reviews100% satisfaction guarantee
If you're not satisfied with the result, we return and fix it — no charge, no argument. 15+ years of combined leather experience backs every job we take on.
What happens next
After you send your photo —
here's exactly what to expect.
- Step 01
Within 2 business hours
You'll receive a detailed reply from your technician — not a call centre — with an honest assessment and written quote.
- Step 02
You confirm the booking
If the quote works for you, we lock in a time that suits. Mobile visit to your home or workplace.
- Step 03
Job done, same visit
Most repairs are completed in a single 3–5 hour visit. No second trips, no parts on order.
Next step