Anyone have advice on restoring the interior wood trim pieces that are laying flat, esp. around the gear selector, which is covered in tiny scratches. Waxes don't work...any other products? I don't want to replace the piece just yet.

try a little Meguirs #7 on cotton ball- rub hard then wipe- made a big improvement in mine.

Should the #7 not do the trick you can try removing the wooden piece. (screws inside the front of the rolltop center console storage under the armwrest, then one screw that should be evident once its removed) Once the wooden piece is out you can try some Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 on the cotton ball. Rub VERY gently as it will remove some material. Remove the #9 with more cotton or other natural/soft cloth/material. Then apply/remove the #7 as you did with the #9...gently. After that, put some #26 wax on it to protect it. Don't use the Gold Class as it has other stuff in it that may not do as well with the wood. The Meguiar's #26 wax is your best option for protection. Once you have done the #9, #7, and #26 just re-install the piece.

Hope this helps...Lee

Thanks Writerbill and Lee

You've confirmed my grandmother's axiom that most everything can be accomplished by attention to detail and the application of elbow grease.

The wood was trashed in my 500E when I got the car, especially the flat panel around the gear selector. Pulled the piece out (I strongly recommend doing this; you'll ultimately save time vs. having to clean all the resedue from the switches) and Lee's suggestion of #7 didn't touch it, and I spent a long time at it. So, I tried 3M Plastic Cleaner and it worked great!! Within an hour I brought the entire surface to a mirror-like shine. It felt a bit abrasive, but sure didn't act it...as I understand it, it's a very soft abrasive agent (after all, it was meant to clean plastic) and the proof was in the result. I finished it off with 3M Plastic Polish, and continue to maintain it with the Polish (haven't needed the cleaner since the 1st time).

Best of luck!!

P.S. Did the same thing with my Wagen, and had the same result

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE