Shiny New Thing

I’m not sure when it became the norm, but I’m guessing that somewhere around the 1980s, automobile manufacturers started putting unpainted, black plastic trim all over everything.  And I hate the stuff.  You’ve seen it, heck, you might even own a vehicle so equipped.  Bumpers, rub strips, windshield wiper cowling, mirror housings, grilles.  The stuff is all over the place, and it seems like an inevitability that it will, eventually, look like crap.

Dressings can make it look a lot better.  Clean the item well, and apply the dressing per the directions on its label.  Detailing e-stores and auto parts store shelves are crowded with products called “Black Eternity” and “Trim Fixer Upper.”  Some of them work pretty well.  But most of them don’t.  Inevitably – even with the best trim dressings – your trim will look gray, weatherbeaten, and ragged again.  Hopefully, your dressing won’t have run down all over the rest of your car in the meantime (you did wipe off the excess, correct?)

Anyway, we’ve all had it with this stuff.  I’ve found the fix.  Re-dye it.

This is a process that isn’t always practical; it’s best when done on trim that can be removed from the vehicle.  On an E46 BMW 330i ZHP I recently did, for example, there was a large expanse of black plastic honeycomb covering the air intake for the radiator.  The car owner might know how to remove this piece, but I, as a detailer, certainly shouldn’t disassemble the front bumper of a $40K+ car.

If it’s something that can be removed somewhat easily, though, I think re-dyeing the trim is the way to go.  Here’s a re-dye of the mirrors on my personal F250.

Before starting, they looked rough, weatherbeaten and fading.  They’re famous for this, and dressings only make them look better temporarily:

I took them off the truck and masked off the glass so I wouldn’t get any overspray onto it.

Wipe them down with some sort of body solvent:

Spray with the plastic dye of your choice.  The one I used is made by Malco:

After you’ve applied the dye, reinstall the items, and admire the improvement:

So, there you have it.  If the plastic trim you’re working with can be removed from the vehicle without damaging it, try redying it.  It’ll look much better, for much longer, than it ever could with simple dressing.

About a week ago, I was down in Atlanta, visiting with my buddy Bowie and his soon to not be pregnant anymore wife Sarah.  I had plans to do some detailing for people on RoadraceAutox.com while I was down there.  The first order of business was a Mazda3 that belongs to my friend Tom.

Tom’s car nearly killed me.

From about 20 feet away, or in photos, Tom’s car didn’t look too bad.  A dark silver Mazda3 hatchback, and only a couple years old with 50K miles on the clock, it seemed like it would be easy enough.  Tom had told me that it had some latex house paint on it, which came off a tarp in his garage and got all over the car.  This was the one thing Tom wanted fixed more than anything else.  How hard could it be?

Well, pretty bleeping hard, actually.  Two different clays, the second of which was very aggressive, didn’t touch it.  Not a dent.  Next, I tried the buffer.  After my usual standby of Menzerna Power Finish PO203S and a green Uber polishing pad didn’t touch it, I prepared to wail on it.  Yellow Uber compounding pad, Menzerna Power Gloss compound, and 1750rpm from the Makita.  Nothing.  NOTHING.

So, what finally worked?  3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover.  This stuff is fantastic.  It will remove stubborn sticker glue, years-old tree sap, and just about anything else.  Including house paint.  And it’s paint safe.  I went after every little white freckle, by hand, with several microfiber towels, some disposable rubber gloves, and the 3M stuff.  I won’t swear that I got every freckle, since there were hundreds of them, but I bet there are less than ten left.  Probably less than five.

After that, it was back to the usual.  I polished the 3 with various stuff until I was happy with it in direct sunlight, with no LSP down.  Once I was, I applied some Collinite 845 Insulator Wax.  Tom wanted durability, so this was a no-brainer.  Collinite also happens to look awesome.  Excellent LSP doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg – you just have to know what you’re looking for, and where to find it.

When I was all done, if I do say so myself, the car was transformed.  I went back down to the garage to take pictures of it, bent down to get a close-up of the front bumper, and my back went.  That put me out of commission for several days, but it seems all better now.

Tom was thrilled, so it was all worth it in the end.