How to restore exterior black plastic trim

Great topic, great tips as always.

Cleaning the trim before protectant looks like the 'cat's meow', I've get this idea when first using forever black.
Forever Black restores a dark, black, finish on sun-faded bumpers and body moldings. Forever Black permanently dyes black plastic, rubber and vinyl.

It suggests the cleaning step prior trim treatment. This product impressed me a lot, although it's a dye, and during application looks messy and a lot black, trim gets a real natural appearance after product dries.

I've risked ordering it because I would like a 'definitive' solution to some porous trim instead of just 'covering them in oil'. Forever Black is a great product, a must try if you never done.

The applicator provided is also really handy.

Kind Regards.
 
Again for anyone who may come across this I will tell you wolfgang exterior trim sealant works and I am a believer of using a product that does the job and do it often. It's the old saying ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
 
pro 4x said:
currently raining out. trim is beading just like the paint.
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Same here. DLux (4-5 mos old):

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swanicyouth, I like your pictures! Your trim looks certainly better than new.

Definitively gonna give D-lux a try.

Kind Regards.
 
swanicyouth said:
I've tried several trim products. Some make the trim look awesome, some a greasy, and some don't last.
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Nothing lasts forever, heck the factory "appearance" for plastic doesn't last forever and that just goes to show that in order to "maintain" the appearance of black plastic a person needs to,

"Find something you like and use it often"

Often enough at least to maintain the appearance.


swanicyouth said:
Nothing seems to outlast CarPro DLux. The longevity is sick - as is the beading. I coated my mud flaps with the stuff in the summer. They have been exposed to salt, snow, mud, and brine. I clean them with Grime Reaper APC. They still bead water like a hood that just had Collinite applied to it. DLux is extremely hydrophobic and long lasting.
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I can't vouch for longevity because any car I've used it on leaves, but it does look great. All the black trim on this car was treated with CarPro DLux, even the whale tail and it looked factory new after application. I was really impressed.

Lady in Red - 1986 Porsche - 4-Step Process

1986_Porsche_Mike_Phillips_047.jpg





swanicyouth said:
As for dressings, none of them seem to last to look good enough for me after 1 wash.
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Definitely sealants and coatings are the way to go for both appearance and longevity.


tpr1634 said:
Again for anyone who may come across this I will tell you Wolfgang exterior trim sealant works and I am a believer of using a product that does the job and do it often.
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Wolfgang Trim Sealant does work and it does last a long time. I've used this more than the CarPro DLux and have used it on my own cars that see a lot of sun and a lot of rain and it does hold up very well but no matter what the product, repeated applications on a regular basis is really the trick or secret to maintaining exterior plastic trim.

The good news is after you do a good job of cleaning the trim and then coating it, future applications are fast.





Tato said:
swanicyouth, I like your pictures! Your trim looks certainly better than new.
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I agree. Those are some great pictures. I hope they don't disappear.


:dblthumb2:
 
Swanicyouth, those are very compelling pictures, for sure. Real nice.


Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Nothing lasts forever, heck the factory "appearance" for plastic doesn't last forever and that just goes to show that in order to "maintain" the appearance of black plastic a person needs to,

"Find something you like and use it often"

Often enough at least to maintain the appearance.


...repeated applications on a regular basis is really the trick or secret to maintaining exterior plastic trim.

The good news is after you do a good job of cleaning the trim and then coating it, future applications are fast.

I agree. Those are some great pictures. I hope they don't disappear.


:dblthumb2:
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Nice photo's of that red beauty, Mike.

Lots of good words of wisdom in that last post. Especially the part about factory plastic losing its look over time and not lasting forever. That's a great statement for detailers to use when trying to make a sale and are trying to educate their customers.

I took the time to highlight some of the comments in your above post that stuck out to me that I thought were important and I felt are worth repeating. Hope you don't mind.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
...When trim has been neglected to the point that it is turning white, this is a sign of oxidation and just like car paint in order to restore the original black color you need to safely remove as much of the oxidation as possible.
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Hi Mike! Guys! Ladies! ....How to do this effectively by hand? (Noob here)
 
Here is a shot of the tray on my Volvo after using Pre Wow cleaner and Black Wow. Prior to cleaning the tray was medium grey and splotchy. The Pre Wow got it considerable darker and the Black Wow finished the job.

View attachment 32358
 
Isewake said:
Would something like Simple Green work?
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I can't say since I have never used simple green in that aspect. I either Use Meguiar's APC or the Mothers Heavy Duty Trim Kit (which can be found at your local auto parts store).
 
Mike Phillips and all:

Why not leave the parts on the car....wipe them down with rubbing alcohol or Panel Wipe then apply gTechniq C4? Simple and makes any black plastic piece, smooth, matte or wrinkled, look like new for years. I have been using C4 on all of my vehciles for years and never had any fading whatsoever and I live in Phoenix, AZ. C4 is not sticky, wipes on and is a permanent coating. Google "gTechniq C4 reviews" and see what everyone says about it. Watch a bunch of different people who post on You Tube. Simply amazing stuff!

Gtechniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer, rubber trim sealant, trim restorers, gtech c4
 
Rob, are you sure you don't work for gTechniq? You sure are peppering the forum today with C4 praise.

If you read this article a little more carefully you would see the reason why the parts are "off the car" is because Mike Phillips got the pieces from a junkyard to get a cross-section of different trim types and ages.
 
Actually Setec, I did not consider that when I was writing my post. My point was it is not necessary to remove parts to make them look good again.

Don't be concerned that I have any relationship whatsoever with gTechniq or any other detailing product simply because I don't! I am only sharing my experience with C4 because black plastic trim on a new car can bleach out in less than a year in the miserable Phoenix sun where I live.

I have tried almost every trim product ever listed on this website and nothing works. Everything washes off or has the desert dust stick to it. Have you ever seen a car after one of Phoenix's haboob's? Take a look at this video and tell me what you think some of these products would look like after going through this. We get about one huge dust storm a week in Phoenix during the summer. The amount of dirt that sticks to products like UTTG, Wolfgang, Magueirs and so many more, makes it impossible to clean without washing the product off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdfdpOPtuSE

I cannot believe the difference C4 makes. It just doesn't fade. It isn't sticky in anyway, and the way it makes the plastic look like new again is simply incredible.

I apologize if sharing my experiences with fellow enthusiasts does not sit well with you.

Setec Astronomy said:
Rob, are you sure you don't work for gTechniq? You sure are peppering the forum today with C4 praise.

If you read this article a little more carefully you would see the reason why the parts are "off the car" is because Mike Phillips got the pieces from a junkyard to get a cross-section of different trim types and ages.
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Rob4092xx said:
I apologize if sharing my experiences with fellow enthusiasts does not sit well with you.
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I have no problem whatsoever with you sharing your experiences, as long as they are accurate. I've shared my experience with this product as well, which certainly does, on some surfaces, last for years. However, myself and others have found it doesn't, on other surfaces: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/83098-silvering-c4.html

Rob4092xx said:
The amount of dirt that sticks to products like UTTG, Wolfgang, Meguiar's and so many more, makes it impossible to clean without washing the product off.
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And this statement is why I am questioning you, I'm not sure how anyone who has used (properly applied) UTTG or WETS could say that dirt would stick to the completely dry surface they leave.
 
Considering that many of these products haven't been available for enough "years" to have tried and discarded them all, it's a dubious claim.
 
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