Review-Mother's Back to Black trim restorer

ViperGuy21

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I received this product along with the new Mother's all in one leather care as part of the recent giveaway in exchange for an honest review with pictures.

Here is a copy of the description from the AG store:

Simple spray-on, walk away trim care!

Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer is the easiest Mothers Back to Black product yet! Mothers has perfected their Back to Black line of products, making them some of the most effective products out there. The Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer is no exception. The simple spray on formula provides revolutionary results with minimal effort. Bring your trim (and all exterior plastics!) back to life with Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer.

If your car has any exterior trim, you know how difficult maintaining that dark, sleek finish can be. In the beginning, it’s new and fresh, but after just a few months of sitting unprotected in the sun, it will start to fade and discolor. Luckily, there are products that not only fix this, but also prevent it from happening again in the future. Mother Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer is one of those products.

The aerosol can makes application easier than ever while still providing the phenomenal results you’ve come to expect from Mothers Back to Black. Any surface experiencing light oxidation, “sunburn” (overexposure to UV rays), or any lightening of color will be rejuvenated with Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer; it will literally bring it “back to black!”

Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer will also clean your trim surfaces. Any trim with wax residue or surface film will be fully cleaned and restored.

Once Mothers Back to Black Trim & Plastic Restorer has cured, you now have a protective layer that prevents against further deterioration caused by everyday sun exposure, ozone, water, chemicals, and airborne contaminants.

The first test subject was the windshield cowl on my 2004 Acura TSX. It was very faded and in desperate need of some restoration.

The trim was prepped with CG AllClean+ and a stiff brush after a wash.

Some before pics:
View attachment 42050
View attachment 42051

50/50:
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Afters:
Immediately after application
View attachment 42053
After about 30 mins
View attachment 42054

The second test subject was my dad's 2012 Chevy Avalanche:

Trim was prepped same as on my car.

Before:
View attachment 42055
View attachment 42056

After:
View attachment 42057
View attachment 42058

Overall I liked this product. It has a pretty strong smell that is typical of Mother's products. Not the greatest smell, but not the worst. Application was fairly simple, just spray on and walk away. It was pretty oily at first, but after 12 hours or so it was pretty much dry to the touch. It did a great job of darkening the trim and restoring it to a nice deep black look. Not overly shiny, which is very nice. I would recommend this product to a degree since it is at a pretty good price point($8 or $9). But as a product for professionals or somebody looking for truly amazing results, this is not the right product for you. It does a good job overall, but not a job worthy of a 5-star rating. I would give this a 3.25/5 rating overall. As for durability, it's been 5 or 6 days since I applied the product and so far it all still looks great! I will try to update this thread with more long term longevity observations over time.
 
Excellent review, both vehicles trim pieces definitely looks great, keep us posted on durability
 
Thank you for taking the time and review this product. :props:

The Avalanche.... All that plastic just screams "Test me!" Every single one I've seen on the road so far have faded trims. This product looks to be suitable for those that want to maintain, and keep their workhorse/commuters presentable.
 
Great review !!! I have tried the Mothers Back To Black Trim Restorer Lotion and found it to be q pretty decent product. Cleaned up some neglected trim fairly well and durability is ok. It's not on par with UTTG or WETS but it's a nice AIO trim product.
 
Great review !!! I have tried the Mothers Back To Black Trim Restorer Lotion and found it to be q pretty decent product. Cleaned up some neglected trim fairly well and durability is ok. It's not on par with UTTG or WETS but it's a nice AIO trim product.


Agree. Our minivan had some pretty badly faded and worn dark gray trim and Mothers was not able to help it much if at all. I used WETS and it's been great. Lasted through two cleanings and heavy coatings of dirt so far. I'll put some pics in another thread so as not to derail this one.
 
Thank you for taking the time and review this product. :props:

The Avalanche.... All that plastic just screams "Test me!" Every single one I've seen on the road so far have faded trims. This product looks to be suitable for those that want to maintain, and keep their workhorse/commuters presentable.

Absolutely!
I knew I had the ideal test subject for this product. Glad I got the chance to test it out!
 
Great review !!! I have tried the Mothers Back To Black Trim Restorer Lotion and found it to be q pretty decent product. Cleaned up some neglected trim fairly well and durability is ok. It's not on par with UTTG or WETS but it's a nice AIO trim product.

Thanks!
I've used some of the old profuct that was very lotion-like and it really sucked for me. Decent looking at first, but as soon as it rained it was a mess. Hopefully this will not be a similar experience
 
Thanks!

I've used some of the old profuct that was very lotion-like and it really sucked for me. Decent looking at first, but as soon as it rained it was a mess. Hopefully this will not be a similar experience


Yeah that was the old Back To Black protectorant. Definitely not the best. This is a completely different product.
 
I also want to say thanks to Bryan and the whole AG crew for giving me the chance to test this product out!!
 
So...if I read between the lines....this is an oil-based product.....that takes around 12 hours to cure...so you could not drive the vehicle for that long after application?
 
So...if I read between the lines....this is an oil-based product.....that takes around 12 hours to cure...so you could not drive the vehicle for that long after application?

It definitely seems to be oil based. I can't give an exact cure time, but about 12-15 hours after application it was pretty dry. Cure time could be less though...
I drove my car almost right after application with no adverse effects that I've noticed
 
It has been a few weeks since application and the product is holding up really strong on my windshield cowl, but on my dad's Avalanche it isn't doing quite as well. We had a big storm here about a week or so after application and some of the product seemed to drip down onto the paint which was rather disappointing. After 2 or 3 washes I'd say it only looks about 50-60% as good as it did right after application. It still looks better than before treatment, but far from what it looked like right after.
 
Thanks for the update. Seems about right considering the lotion version last about that long as well. Did you lightly buff off the trim after application to remove any excess?
 
Thanks for the update. Seems about right considering the lotion version last about that long as well. Did you lightly buff off the trim after application to remove any excess?

I did not for testing purposes because the can did not say to. At least, I don't remember it saying to...
Now you're making me second guess myself lol!
 
I did not for testing purposes because the can did not say to. At least, I don't remember it saying to...
Now you're making me second guess myself lol!

lol my bad. I usually do that regardless of what trim product to avoid any run off like that. I'll probably pick some up to give it a shot in comparison to Meguiar's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating.
 
lol my bad. I usually do that regardless of what trim product to avoid any run off like that. I'll probably pick some up to give it a shot in comparison to Meguiar's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating.
No worries lol.
I usually do as well, but for purposes of testing I followed the directions on the can
 
Sorry I forgot to update this review again about longetivity. Unfortunately this product did not last very long. I'd say it was totally gone after 4 weeks. It didn't look good anymore after ~2.5weeks.
 
Sorry I forgot to update this review again about longetivity. Unfortunately this product did not last very long. I'd say it was totally gone after 4 weeks. It didn't look good anymore after ~2.5weeks.

Thanks for the update. It at least lasted longer than the 3D Trim Care Protectant that I just bought to try out. It was pretty much all gone in 1 week even though 3D claims up to 3 months. The durability of this aerosol sounds like it is similar to Meguiar's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating.
 
Thanks for the update. It at least lasted longer than the 3D Trim Care Protectant that I just bought to try out. It was pretty much all gone in 1 week even though 3D claims up to 3 months. The durability of this aerosol sounds like it is similar to Meguiar's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating.

Wow, 1 week is really bad! Not as bad as the armor all trim restorer crap. I tried it for sh#ts and giggles because my dad had a bottle laying around for some reason. I think it lasted a day or two lol. Wasn't a surprise however

I'm gonna suggest my dad just get some solution finish and I'll apply that and then seal with crystal seal. That should be a whole heck of a lot better!
 
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