E30 Zone

Can anyone recommend a particular brand/method for restoring some of the plastic on my car.

It's got pretty bad, as in it's beyond grey.

Is this too far to bring it back?

buy some meguiars trim detailer and put plenty on, repeat often and it should help

tommype30cab wrote:buy some meguiars trim detailer and put plenty on, repeat often and it should help

Thanks

Will give it a try over the weekend.

Halfrauds do some vinyl paint which i've used before on plastic trim (£9.99 for a tin tho). It's pretty good as long as you only apply a thin coat.

Chemical guys New look trim gel is fantastic stuff.

CG link

Heat the trim with a hairdryer before you apply, just warm to the touch. Then apply a good coat of the gel and reheat untll its warm to thetouch again.

Give it 5 minutes to absorb and wipe the excess off.

The heat opens the pores of the plastic trim and helps the gel soak below the top surface.

hth

mmmm The Chenical guys stuff sounds good, not sure where I can get it though.

Think I'll try the meguiars stuff, can get it over the road, if that doesn't do the trick I'll try and get some of the CG stuff.

I'm trying to avoid painting them, I just don't like painting plastic. It always tends to peel on me. this may be my fault though.

Thanks again guys!

Another CG supplier

Tim at cleanyorcar.co.uk is great to deal with, never been let down.

I used the meguiars stuff.

All I can say is wow, didn't expect it to go that black, looks fantastic.

I think it's the first time I've ever bothered to take things such as mirrors off to clean in behind them.

Was hoping to polish the car but it's wet, the car's inside but the air's too damp. also the paint is wrecked so I might have to go try one of those clay bars I keep hearing about!

Can the Meguiars stuff be used on the dash? I'd like that to shine to

someguy wrote:Can the Meguiars stuff be used on the dash? I'd like that to shine to

You might regret that on a sunny day!

I use (At work) some black plastic dye, its made by Wurth and is really good.... Good on rubber bumpers aswell

OBs

Chris-W wrote:

someguy wrote:Can the Meguiars stuff be used on the dash? I'd like that to shine to

You might regret that on a sunny day!

True. Maybe I should say look like new/unfaded.

OBs wrote:I use (At work) some black plastic dye, its made by Wurth and is really good.... Good on rubber bumpers aswell

OBs

Is the dye hard to use, is it easy to get even results.

Also my dash is greyish, does it come in different colours?

OBs wrote:I use (At work) some black plastic dye, its made by Wurth and is really good.... Good on rubber bumpers aswell

OBs

Is the dye hard to use, is it easy to get even results.

Also my dash is greyish, does it come in different colours?

Comes in a few shades of grey to black I believe...

OBs[/quote]

Depending on the plastic i always use a heat gun (paint stripping type) you will only have to do this once as it brings them up like new. Its also brilliant for getting rid of white stress marks if the bumper has been distorted at some time, its time consuming but worth it! when im done i always use `Autoglym bumper care` to give them a bit of protection

325icabby wrote:Depending on the plastic i always use a heat gun (paint stripping type) you will only have to do this once as it brings them up like new. Its also brilliant for getting rid of white stress marks if the bumper has been distorted at some time, its time consuming but worth it! when im done i always use `Autoglym bumper care` to give them a bit of protection

Do you just heat up the plastic?

Or is there some other products involved.

What process is involved?

I might as well spend some time on the car

325icabby is right - just use a heat gun to restore dull plastic to black again.

Hold the gun a short distance away from the surface (3") and gradually heat the area until the colour returns...

...this is a trick used by a lot of car dealers to restore faded grey bumpers/wheel arches back to their original black.

Just be careful of painted surfaces (bodywork) or glass - maybe shielding it with some card?

I have used it on the plastic trim on the bull bar of my 4x4 and it worked a treat! That was over a year ago and it still looks good now!

Regards,

Bruce.

P.S. If you overheat the area, the platic can start to bubble, but just watch the plastic carefully and remove the heat when it goes nice & black.....

im an ex valeter/salesman and this was the cheapest and best way to make older cars look good on the forecourt. Some products will work as well but they usually wash off with rain and leave runs down the car. Vauxhall corsa arches?? no problem! Like Bruce says be careful with paint and glass, and also window rubbers! i experimented on a scrapper how long it took to damage paint-truth is car paint is designed to withstand high temperatures and the bumper bubbled long before the paint did!!

Some one at work recommended Kiwi boot polish

click for before and after golf pics

Just picked some up, hoping it does as well on the leather..

Thanks again folks!

I'll see how it goes.

I guess this wouldn't work on a touring rear spoiler?! how about on faded door pillars?