303 Trim restorer and protectant, great stuff.

DaveT435

DaveT435

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I really regret not getting any pictures. I used this product on my wife's 2015 F-150 back in mid 2016 because the Texas sun had already started to fade the trim. It still looks pretty good 2 years later. It's about time to reapply. That was fairly new trim though.

This last weekend I used it on a 2007 Explorer. It was a nutty up job so I didn't take any pictures. The trim was badly faded, it's black textured plastic on the running boards and on the rear bumper under the tailgate. The truck is 11 years old, outside it's entire life and had never even seen a coat if wax obviously the trim was neglected and fairly faded. I cleaned it good then applied the product, you don't have to make sure it's perfectly even, just put it on with the applicator that comes with it. Be careful not to get it on glass or paint and if you do remove it immediately, if it cures has to be polished or sanded off. I let it sit then applied a second coat because they still looked dull and partially faded. The results were incredible. Nice dark rich looking finish, like new trim not over the top shiney.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how long this lasts on the older trim. Other than where you step on the running boards I'm expecting 12-24 months. You can spend a lot of money on trim "coating" or you can spend 13.99 on this product and have enough to do at least 5-10 vehicles.

I also tried the new 303 finishing polish and really liked that. Performed great, wiped off easily, and even smelled good. Even with a cabinet full of polishes and compounds with the performance of their other products I think I'll be trying their regular polish and compound.
 
Thanks for the heads up Dave, I'll have to give some more of these 303 Products a try, with this one in particular. Lots of hidden gems here, and leave it to you to find them!

I gather Dave that this product is one that it can be used on any color trim, and does not contain dyes such as Solution Finish?
 
MarkD51 said:
Thanks for the heads up Dave, I'll have to give some more of these 303 Products a try, with this one in particular. Lots of hidden gems here, and leave it to you to find them!

I gather Dave that this product is one that it can be used on any color trim, and does not contain dyes such as Solution Finish?
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Right, no dyes. 303 makes some great products. My brother-in-law was actually a rep for them back in the 80's when they first started retailing their protectant.

I have a neighbor who has a Dodge Ram there is a piece of plastic at the base of the antenna and it's faded so bad that it's pretty much white. I'm going to try it on that next to see how much color it will restore.

With so many well known brands of polishes and compounds I think theirs is overlooked by many. A hard market to break into. I haven't tried any if their products I don't like. I also used the convertible top product and really liked them. The prices are very fair for the quality of their products.
 
DaveT435 said:
With so many well known brands of polishes and compounds I think theirs is overlooked by many. A hard market to break into. I haven't tried any if their products I don't like. I also used the convertible top product and really liked them. The prices are very fair for the quality of their products.
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I think we can thank a member here for these new 303 products, his name escapes me but he works for the parent company that acquired 303 in 2012, and IIRC he was trying to steer them towards products we here would like.
 
I used the trim protectant long ago. I agree to not get it on paint or glass since it is a pain to remove. The one thing I did not like about it was that it streaked. Especially on smooth trim. I ended up chucking it along with other products after I lightly organized the garage cabinets. I’m not sure if it was ever reformulated.

The polish you sent me seems pretty good even though I only used it on this fender to test it out.

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The Guz said:
I used the trim protectant long ago. I agree to not get it on paint or glass since it is a pain to remove. The one thing I did not like about it was that it streaked. Especially on smooth trim. I ended up chucking it along with other products after I lightly organized the garage cabinets. I’m not sure if it was ever reformulated.

The polish you sent me seems pretty good even though I only used it on this fender to test it out.

6b9225b8accee7bb8591903044b532d8.jpg
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I don't know if it's been reformulated or not. I didn't use it on smooth plastic, on the textured plastic I just worked it in and left it. After the first coat there were still a couple spots that were a little faded, just covered it again and it ended up perfect. No streaks, no dark spots, just a nice dark even finish.

The fender definitely looks good. Does the polish smell as good as the finishing polish?
 
DaveT435 said:
I don't know if it's been reformulated or not. I didn't use it on smooth plastic, on the textured plastic I just worked it in and left it. After the first coat there were still a couple spots that were a little faded, just covered it again and it ended up perfect. No streaks, no dark spots, just a nice dark even finish.

The fender definitely looks good. Does the polish smell as good as the finishing polish?
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The scent is similar between both polishes. I can hardly detect any scent which is a good thing. Step 2 polish worked pretty well at polishing chrome exhaust tips.
 
DaveT435 said:
Be careful not to get it on glass or paint and if you do remove it immediately, if it cures has to be polished or sanded off.
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I’m having a hard time picturing how this would actually look so bad considering this product doesn’t contain any sort of black dye... I’m assuming it has the consistency of a creamy white or clear lotion that disappears into the plastic trim? What does it look like when it happens to get on paint for longer than it should?

It seems like it would be a near disaster if someone would unknowingly try to dress their weatherstripping with this stuff. Just imagine all the product that could accidentally wind up in the door jambs if someone didn’t know to be that careful...
 
The 303 is a very good trim restorer. I only use it on hard textured plastic. You have plenty of time to clean up your mistakes getting it on the paint and glass. Just pay attention and clean it up right away.

I will use this when I felt the restorative affect of M37, WETS, UTTG or AF Revive would be too short lived on bad plastic trim and wanted something a bit longer lasting, but the customer did not want to pay extra for a coating like DLUX, C4/C1, Gyeon Trim.

I have used it a few times on top of Solutions Finish (black) with success. No dye was pulled out when applying the 303.

It is definitely better than the Armor All Trim Restorer and TW Trim Restorer products. I do like to use the AA Trim Restorer on wheel well plastic liners if I can get my hands in there. Simple, cheap, lasts for months, and does not collect any dust. There's no special beading, but the wheel wells do to stay cleaner with an even appearance.
 
As with most trim restorers it's clearly in the instructions to be careful not to get on areas around the trim. If you do as long as you remove it fairly quickly you're fine. If not it will polish off but again that's the same as most of these type of products.

As far as consistency it's more like water. I know that any trim that looks good when it's wet this product brings it back to it's original color, or close to it. As I mentioned I will be testing it on a piece that is almost white and in this case water only brings it back to gray not black. There are a lot of trim restorers with no dye in them. One manufacturer who's product is perfectly clear specifies that the end result will make the trim look like it does when it's wet. I'm sure it won't work on a lot of the aftermarket trim where it fades all swirled, of course I've tried products with dye that wouldn't even cover that up.
 
Eldorado2k said:
I’m having a hard time picturing how this would actually look so bad considering this product doesn’t contain any sort of black dye... I’m assuming it has the consistency of a creamy white or clear lotion that disappears into the plastic trim? What does it look like when it happens to get on paint for longer than it should
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If it does dry fairly clear on paint/glass and I guess if it was just left to dry it probably wouldn't look that bad, but doing what we do would you want it on paint or glass? lol I guess the average consumer wouldn't have a problem with it. In my case I tried to wipe it off when it was partially dried so it made it look white.
 
pro 4x said:
I wondered about it when it was released. Sounds like it worked for you. Thanks for the info. The Xterra has a mile of exterior plastics. I have found McKees trim restorer works for me. Knowing I can apply it once, because of all the trim it's time consuming, and it's done. Looks great for several months.

View attachment 64728View attachment 64729View attachment 64730View attachment 64731View attachment 64732

That is the key. Find something you like and use it often.
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My son had an Xterra so I know what you mean. I actually have the McKee's trim restorer, I use a lot of McKee's products. I like the consistency, it makes it a little easier to use. I did a test spot on this vehicle with it but the 303 seemed to darken a little better and I wasn't sure about durability of the McKee's. I'm sure it would have worked good with a couple coats. I haven't had a McKee's product let me down yet.
 
Will have to try it. I have a few plastic parts that I can darken, but never enough and nothing seems to last very long. (Have not tried Dlux). Will have to give this a try. A windshield cowl on a couple of cars is badly faded. Wonder if this would help there.

For now I mostly use Duragloss 271 or WETS. They tend to not last more than 2-3 months. The DG stuff is is inexpensive and easy to remove from paint - it's pretty easy to just slather it on regularly. Maybe this 303 product will replace those two.
 
RippyD said:
Will have to try it. I have a few plastic parts that I can darken, but never enough and nothing seems to last very long. (Have not tried Dlux). Will have to give this a try. A windshield cowl on a couple of cars is badly faded. Wonder if this would help there.

For now I mostly use Duragloss 271 or WETS. They tend to not last more than 2-3 months. The DG stuff is is inexpensive and easy to remove from paint - it's pretty easy to just slather it on regularly. Maybe this 303 product will replace those two.
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I'm almost positive it will look at least as good as it does when it's wet, beyond that I have to do more testing. Durability I've seen to this point has been incredible. Let me know how it works out for you.
 
So Dave, you said it was about time to reapply on your vehicle--this is the problem I see with C4 & DLux...is a reapply doesn't always have the same effect as the original application. Let us know how it works out with this 303 product.
 
I agree. I am getting turned off by the SiO2 Trim products as I see cars coming back 2 years down the road. You can't properly remove it except for time taking its toll. Plastic being porous there will still be DLUX or C4 in the plastic. Some of the Solutions Finish and then DLUX or C4 jobs that I have done look like a muddled mess now. Reapplying Solution Finish soaks in very unevenly now compared to the original application. The jobs that just had DLUX, C4 or Gyeon Trim definitely do not come out as nice as the original application when reapplying.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
So Dave, you said it was about time to reapply on your vehicle--this is the problem I see with C4 & DLux...is a reapply doesn't always have the same effect as the original application. Let us know how it works out with this 303 product.
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I definitely see your point and I'll let you know. The color on the trim is still good. It's not quite as hydrophobic as it was. Hopefully by doing it before it starts to fade it will be ok. The way this stuff stuck to glass that wasn't even prepped I assume it will hold on to the prior coat. I'm thinking maybe the key is to reinstall before the trim starts to fade again. Of course if you're dealing with a customer's vehicle they won't bring it back until it already looks bad.
 
pro 4x said:
I wondered about it when it was released. Sounds like it worked for you. Thanks for the info. The Xterra has a mile of exterior plastics. I have found McKees trim restorer works for me. Knowing I can apply it once, because of all the trim it's time consuming, and it's done. Looks great for several months.

View attachment 64728View attachment 64729View attachment 64730View attachment 64731View attachment 64732

That is the key. Find something you like and use it often.
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Have you used the McKee's multiple times?? If so was it before the trim actually started looking bad? Judging by your comment I'm assuming it was.
 
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