I have scratches galore on the interior plastic of my '03 MINI. Particular bad spots are the plastic backings of the driver and passenger seats and the dark grey plastic molding to the side and rear of the back seats. My guess is that I'm not alone - the back of the driver and passenger seats in particular seems very prone to scratching.

Any suggestions for minimizing/eliminating these plastic scratches? It seems to be quite a challenge because the plastic is of a matte-type finish. Perhaps it's impossible...

 

It is impossible to remove them, unless you don't mind loosing texture, and having smooth spots. You'll just have to be careful.

Some seat covers might cover the back of the seat too.

 

I find some kind of interior dash/surface polish really reduces the appearance of them. I have small kids who kick, so... Doomed really.

 

It may sound unconventional....but I had a plastic/vinyl arm rest in a jeep once that got scraped up from loading boards between the seats. I took a heat gun and carefully/slowly heated the scratched area....not enough to melt it, but get it pretty hot and the scrapes/scratches kind of blended in. Of course, you have to take care not to go too far or you will melt the texture off. It worked pretty well.

 

I had the same problem on my seat backs. I purchased a gray cream boot/shoe polish locally and applied it to the scuffs and wiped off the excess. After it dried the scuffs were far less noticeable.

 

Use some plastic polish, & cleaner. Or use a car cleaner/wax. You can't remove all of them, but you can hide them & clean up the light ones.

I really love Einszett Metallic polish & wax for interior stuff.