TheSamba.com :: View topic - Best Product for restoring the plastic parts on the exterior

Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:56 am

Hey guys. I wanted to remove the faded looking plastic on exterior of the van. What would be the best product?
Thanks

Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:30 am

crystalcabot wrote: Hey guys. I wanted to remove the faded looking plastic on exterior of the van. What would be the best product?
Thanks

I have used this and it worked well, or you could always spray paint

http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname=Consumer (Meguiar's Brand)>Car Trim/Molding Care&sectionID=16101

Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:59 am

I've found restoration products such as Meguiars, Mother's Back To Black, etc. work, but are temporary; they all require reapplication at some point. Since it was looking pretty bad, I sprayed my van's spoiler with VHT Epoxy Paint in Satin Black and will eventually be doing the same with the side vents and the front grilles. The store also had VHT Bumper & Trim Paint that I'm sure would work just as well, but I wanted a slight sheen so I went with the other stuff.

Spoiler before:

Spoiler after:

Several months, a couple thousand miles and a few washings (including scrubbing) later, it still looks like I just sprayed it.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:02 am

I've had really good luck with "Forever Black". It's a dye-like product that comes in a shoe-polish style applicator. Excellent for black rubber and plastic parts such as mirrors, ground effects, etc... Made my dry, faded, light-grey colored mirror housings like new again and it's looked good for over a year now. Not sure how well it would do on painted parts. I think for bumpers and grills I would stick with a good cleaning and lots of coats of high-quality spray paint.

Cheers,
-Bill
'89 Syncro

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:11 am

yeah i wanted to do use it for the grills,and mirrors.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:12 am

stormforge wrote: I've had really good luck with "Forever Black". It's a dye-like product that comes in a shoe-polish style applicator. Excellent for black rubber and plastic parts such as mirrors, ground effects, etc... Made my dry, faded, light-grey colored mirror housings like new again and it's looked good for over a year now. Not sure how well it would do on painted parts. I think for bumpers and grills I would stick with a good cleaning and lots of coats of high-quality spray paint.

Cheers,
-Bill
'89 Syncro

ditto

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:55 am

After years of using Armorall etc I decided to look for a permanent solution, or rather one that lasted more than a few washes. I used Dupli-color bumper and trim rattlecan paint on most of the exterior black finish parts, including the fibreglass bumpers and mirror housings.
A light sand with 300grit and a good wipe down with thinner followed by 2-3 light spray coats and they look new. Held up the same for 2 years.

Geoff
McLean VA
88 Westy, 255K

Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:10 pm

kamzcab86 wrote: I've found restoration products such as Meguiars, Mother's Back To Black, etc. work, but are temporary; they all require reapplication at some point. Since it was looking pretty bad, I sprayed my van's spoiler with VHT Epoxy Paint in Satin Black and will eventually be doing the same with the side vents and the front grilles. The store also had VHT bumper & trim epoxy paint that I'm sure would work just as well, but I wanted a slight sheen so I went with the other stuff.

Spoiler before:

Spoiler after:

Several months, a couple thousand miles and a few washings (including scrubbing) later, it still looks like I just sprayed it.

Thats some pretty impressive looking results, gonna try that product on a bumper end cap I have and if all goes well I might redo my grill with it.
Thankx for the post.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:49 pm

Krylon Fusion satin black works good.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:59 pm

The air dams that you shot black with a rattle can, may not look that good in a short period of time.
That stuff is flexable--not hard plastic, and you'll find it rolling off pretty quick.
One boink at a high curb your all done.

You could have wiped them down with lacquer thinner which would have removed all of the oxidation and would have stayed pitch black & looked good for at least a year ad a a couple hundred car washes.

To revitalize--spritz them with aother shot of the silcone spray.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 5:09 pm

Terry Kay wrote: The air dams that you shot black with a rattle can, may not look that good in a short period of time.
That stuff is flexable--not hard plastic, and you'll find it rolling off pretty quick.
One boink at a high curb your all done.

You could have wiped them down with lacquer thinner which would have removed all of the oxidation and would have stayed pitch black & looked good for at least a year ad a a couple hundred car washes.

To revitalize--spritz them with aother shot of the silcone spray.

Are you referring my post? If so: I used VHT Epoxy Paint (not Krylon Fusion, which a lot folks around here have had success with; not DupliColor, a brand I despise) that is self-priming and claims to be rust, corrosion, salt and chemical resistant. It is "ideal for for metal, aluminum, fiberglass and plastic". Primer wasn't required, but I did clean it thoroughly before spraying. As I stated earlier, it's been several months since I sprayed the spoiler; it's also been driven a couple thousand miles with a bra attached at the sides, and has been washed repeatedly, even scrubbed and high-pressure washed, and still looks as good as the day I painted it. Need picture proof, just let me know. 8)

And, one boink with a curb is going to do more a bit more damage than taking epoxy off... ask my grandma's Jetta. :?

Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:32 pm

I didn't really read through all of this, but I will say that Rust O Leum PlastiKote paint works WONDERS.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:00 pm

I like the Krylon in a black color/silver metal flake combo. Makes plastic look like glass filled ABS. Shows up black 'till the sun hits it and then reflects a silver gleam. It's not to everyone's taste, I'm sure.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:17 pm

None of the paints you guys are referring to is Urethane.
It's just enamel.
It'll chip, fade, peel, or crack with time.

It'll work fine on hard plastic ( upper lower grill, mirror's etc) but will fail on a flexable plastic surface.

Not your best choice of refinishing materials.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:25 pm

If you're looking to bring back black color to faded trim, try Kiwi Leather Shoe Dye (NOT POLISH!). Guys with MKII Volkswagen Golf/Jettas have been using this for a long time.

Just make sure the surface is clean before you apply, and that you don't apply when the trim is really hot otherwise it will look streaky.

Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:15 am

Autobody supply shops will sell you a rattle bomb of professional trim black for a few bucks. More bite than Krylon, OEM look, doesn't peel or crack.

Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:38 am

<<<Autobody supply shops will sell you a rattle bomb of professional trim black for a few bucks. More bite than Krylon, OEM look, doesn't peel or crack.>>>

Whats the Brand Name of this product?
I have to take a ride to my local Dupont /3-M dealer today anyway, I'll take a look for this miracle in a shake em up can.

Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:08 am

The product called "Forever Black" works really well, it is a dye. http://www.foreverblack.com/ I used it about 4 years ago on everything black on the exterior. It works really well on plastic, rubber, and softer things. It doesn't work on things that are not really porous like painted items such as the windshield wiper arms. Like another post, I did the backs of the power mirrors -- but it isn't forever! Now 4 years later, the plastic mirror housings need it again. Many of the other treatments (Mothers back to black) are just silicone overlays that change the properties of light as it passes through the outer layers of the item, they don't make anything black like this dye.

Roland

Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:42 am

I wanted to know about the rattle can flexable black paint that's available at any local body shop supply.

The forever black stuff is a Wally World available product, and really doesn't refinish anything-
It sure didn't work on the black bumper mouldings on my 325 I.

Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:48 am

Terry Kay wrote: None of the paints you guys are referring to is Urethane....

If one took the time to click on the link to the VHT Bumper & Trim Paint I referred to in my first post one would've read the following (of course, I see now that I worded the link incorrectly because "epoxy" is not the product's name :oops: ; will edit that info):

"VHT HOOD, BUMPER & TRIM PAINT

VHT Hood, Bumper & Trim urethane coating is formulated with elastomers that allow for the flexing of paint on pliable surfaces. This unique formula is also well suited for fiberglass, plastic and other resin based bodywork. Equally suited for metal, VHT Hood, Bumper & Trim Paint offers excellent hide and mar resistance.

Temperature: n/a

Applications: Plastic Bumpers, Rubber Bumpers, Body Trim, Kick Panels, Dash Boards, Mirror Castings, ATV Body Work, Motorcycle Body Work

Finish: Satin

Dry Time: Dries to the touch in 30 mins. Dries thoroughly overnight. No curing required.

Coating System
VHT provides a multi-high performance coating system for the ultimate in protection and quality. The system includes urethane coating."

If my spoiler's Epoxy Paint should happen to peel, crack, chip, fade, etc., I'll simply respray it with the Bumper & Trim Paint; not a big deal to me. But as I said, 4 months later the epoxy stuff is still readily taking abuse.