Window Vent Sticky Repair

I recently picked up a '06 Gransport. Everything is pretty mint on it except for the interior is starting to turn sticky.

I looked at a lot of options, and what others were trying and decided to try something a bit different. The first piece I decided to try was the center windshield vent. I received a quote from a commercial outfit that would refurbish this part for $350 USD.
I started by trying to scrub it with goo-gone and although it got rid of some of the stickiness, it left a lot of scratches and some lighter splotches of discoloration. It looked better but wasn't great.

Instead, start by cleaning the part with a all-purpose cleaner. I used simple green on a microfiber cloth and rinse thoroughly after.

The product I decided to use was a black Plasti Dip rubberized coating in a aerosol can. The cost of a can is around $20 from most hardware stores.

Before coating the part, remove the mechanism (four small screws) and the thumb knob. The thumb knob has no coating so can be left as is. I applied four thing coats of the Plasti Dip, spaced around 30-40 minutes apart. Unfortunately this stage of coating removed the existing markings on the part. Once the 4 coats were applied, let it dry a full 12 hours before handling.

To solve that bit, I used a CriCut machine (small vinyl cutter) to cut out the shapes. Originally I was planning to make them negatives to use as a mask. However, since the Plasti Dip left a bit of a textured surface I was worried I'd just end up with a bunch of bleed. I simply printed two circles, one hollow. The middle stripe was used for helping with alignment.