W124 bad reflection from binnacle

[manalishi]

Hi there - just bought a W124 ('93 280E) and drove it in yesterday's very bright sunshine.

Was annoyed by a very bright reflection of the binnacle (is that what it's called - I mean the bit of the top of the dashboard that runs above the instruments) in the windscreen. It's right where your eye needs to focus.

Maybe the guy who sold the car used one of those interior trim polishes to shine the black plastic up, but it's a very strong reflection, and I want to find a way of knocking it back.

Short of waiting for 2 years of dust to settle there, is there an obvious solution? Is it a W124 FAQ (didn't find anything via Search).

Any ideas?

 

[wemorgan]

White spirit to remove the wax?

 

[stumpy1]

Cleaning off any back to black products should help. Polarizing sunglasses cut out reflections but have other side effects of their own.

 

[grober]

Funnily enough one of the many things that attracted me to the W124 was its lack of reflections in the fairly vertical ( in comparison to most modern cars steeply raked) windscreen. In addition to the other suggestions have you tried adjusting the seat height- the loop handle at the door side of the drivers seat. You will possibly have to adjust the front and back position (loop handle under the front of the seat) afterwards. Don't be surprised if the height adjustment is a bit stiff many people don't use it! This should adjust/raise your eye level with respect to angle of reflection of the dash.

 

[AANDYY]

Is your interior cream/mustard like mine, bad design this I think, I've had to do this a bit like some foreign taxi drivers do , it's ugly but it works, I find the reflection very distracting!

This is temporary it will be made better next time .

 

[manalishi]

OK - first I'll experiment with seat height/angle/etc. It was the first day with the car, so I haven't got myself settled in yet.

Another follow-up question - what sort of cleaning product would remove the shine/wax/whatever from that surface?

Andy - my car has orion (grey) leather so it has a matching but darker grey surface (and not black as I originally thought). So I probably suffer less than you. I suspect your solution is the best in the long run, though. Need to find something a bit more 'Mercedes' and a bit less 'pikey'.

 

[Ted]

Warm soapy water always works a treat for me.
If there is lots of shiny stuff, you may need to do it a couple of times.

 

[Sp!ke]

I've never found this to be an issue on mine but then I hate shiny plastic and dont use products like that on my dash.

 

[nullogik]

but then I hate shiny plastic and dont use products like that on my dash.

Totally agree, I can't stand dashboards that have been smoothered in "cockpit shine". It looks so tacky and makes the car look like its come off a shifty here-today-gone-tomorrow bombsite car dealership.

 

[renault12ts]

^ +1

 

[ecossebev]

I would be reluctant to use any kind of solvents on the dashboard as there is a possibility of discolouration, as I soon found out trying to remove a sticky pad on a Golf, starting my glittering career as a car valeter. A mild detergent should do the trick. Ask the valeters at your MB dealership, they might be able to help you out.