How restore deep satin black between cab windows ?

[Chevota Guy]

I recently polished a 2007 Tundra with Meguiars D166. Now that the truck is so shiny, the faded black panels (decals ?) between the cab windows are really an eyesore. I tried some 303 Aerospace Protectant, but they are splotchy and greasy looking. Anyone know of a way to clean these and restore the deep black satin look ? I've noticed a similar black treatment on many different makes and models and it is thick enough where I don't think it is paint. I'm concerned about rubbing through them as they may be decals.

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[fly07sti]

For something like that I’d first try Hyper Polish or McKee’s paint prep polish. Both work incredibly well on vinyl and smooth black trim. If either of those works, I’d top with PNS or BSD.
I was going to say if it was yours or a friends, just put some new vinyl on. I have a 2010 Tundra and when mine was getting too thin to be polished out, I just removed it and installed some 3M Dinoc carbon vinyl. Very subtle, yet noticeable.

 

[Chevota Guy]

For something like that I’d first try Hyper Polish or McKee’s paint prep polish. Both work incredibly well on vinyl and smooth black trim. If either of those works, I’d top with PNS or BSD.
I was going to say if it was yours or a friends, just put some new vinyl on. I have a 2010 Tundra and when mine was getting too thin to be polished out, I just removed it and installed some 3M Dinoc carbon vinyl. Very subtle, yet noticeable.

Thanks much for the suggestions. On mine, the black extends beneath the rubber trim adjacent to the panels so I think it would be difficult for me to do a clean edged job if I were to try rewrapping, but it might be the way to go.

As far as PNS goes, I just tried it a few days ago over the D166. I'm anxious to see how it holds up in the desert heat.

 

[WristyManchego]

Hard to tell from the images but based on the fading pattern and gloss levels, it looks like it is vinyl wrapped.

If you were to fix it, re-wrapping would be the way to go (even if it is painted). To get the best result you’d need to remove the door sills clean and prep the area before wrapping. That way there’ll be no edge visible and in fact, you won’t have to get the edge perfect as the sills will hide it.

 

[mckobe]

Armour all

Despite thousands of "restore, trim rubber etc." on the market, every single one i have tried leaves streaks

 

[Eldorado2k]

There’s 2 ways to fix that. Either the D166 itself can do it, or it’s that non porus plastic..

If it’s made of that non porus plastic, the best way to restore it back to new is to use a paint cleanser like McKee’s Coating Prep Polish.

Here’s what the non porus plastic on my fathers 2004 Toyota Tacoma looked like.

Coating Prep Polish. Applied with a terry microfiber applicator [you can also use a wet Magic Eraser with the polish]

After.

Restored it to brand new condition.

That’s not some cover up product that will fade away in a couple of weeks... That’s how it really looked on its own because it was truly restored.

 

[Chevota Guy]

Folks, I really appreciate all the helpful suggestions !

There’s 2 ways to fix that. Either the D166 itself can do it, or it’s that non porus plastic..

If it’s made of that non porus plastic, the best way to restore it back to new is to use a paint cleanser like McKee’s Coating Prep Polish.

Here’s what the non porus plastic on my fathers 2004 Toyota Tacoma looked like.

Coating Prep Polish. Applied with a terry microfiber applicator [you can also use a wet Magic Eraser with the polish]

After.

Restored it to brand new condition.

That’s not some cover up product that will fade away in a couple of weeks... That’s how it really looked on its own because it was truly restored.

The restoration on that '04 Tacoma is absolutely great. I have some D166, but think I need to try the McKees coating prep. I'm looking forward to getting this fixed. Thanks again, I really value all of the free sharing experiences folks here so willingly provide rops:

 

[The Guz]

What is the original finish? Is it matte? If it is then don’t polish it unless you want that gloss look. Once polished you will lose that matte look for good.

 

[Chevota Guy]

What is the original finish? Is it matte? If it is then don’t polish it unless you want that gloss look. Once polished you will lose that matte look for good.

It isn't matte, rather smooth and satin, but no substantial gloss, so I'm thinking about doing a very small test spot. Unfortunately there isn't an inconspicuous place since they're at eye level.

 

[Eldorado2k]

I’d be more cautious with applying the wrong kind of trim restoring product than I would be with polishing it. If it’s what it looks like, no trim restoring product will work any good and if anything could have an adverse effect.

It isn't matte, rather smooth and satin, but no substantial gloss, so I'm thinking about doing a very small test spot. Unfortunately there isn't an inconspicuous place since their at eye level.

You can do a test spot.. Just lay down some tape to where you leave a nice thin straight strip for you to test on. Best way is to go thick on the tape on both sides so it leaves you all the room to do your thing while staying within the tape lines. Then once you remove the tape even if it turned out less than stellar, at least it’s only a thin perfectly straight strip going across the trim.

 

[Belo]

i tried WETS on similar window trim and it didn't ruin anything, but it was a weird streaky oily look to it.

 

[Chevota Guy]

i tried WETS on similar window trim and it didn't ruin anything, but it was a weird streaky oily look to it.

That's kind of how the 303 AP looks that I need to remove and try something else. BTW saw your location....... "Rochester NY" was my home town many years ago (Webster). I hear the bay and lake are at very high levels.

 

[Belo]

That's kind of how the 303 AP looks that I need to remove and try something else. BTW saw your location....... "Rochester NY" was my home town many years ago (Webster). I hear the bay and lake are at very high levels.

I'm currently in webster, but grew up in Ontario. And yeah the flooding is bad, yet again. Canada and America need to get their sh!t together!

let me know if you find a good product, the type of material that my pillars are leaves me a little scared to do anything but wipe something on.

 

[Chevota Guy]

Well I tried a test spot with D166 since that's what I had, and voila! I wound up using a 4" LC orange CCS pad on a Flex 3401. Two sets of 6 section passes each at speed 4, and it looks about 95% new. I'll stop there as I don't know how durable the material is on these door pillars. Tomorrow I'll top it with Sonax PNS.

Thanks so much for all of the helpful suggestions :bowdown:

Door pilars oxidized and looking ugly after 303AP
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Test spot (the dull gray under the test spot is where the tape removed the 303)
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After D166
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Pad after 2 sets of 6 section passes on drivers side only. I'll change to a new pad for the passengers side. (This ought to be fun to clean)
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[Eldorado2k]

Awesome. Thanks for the update! Glad it worked out for you.