What do I use to keep the black on the wheel arches, rockers, air dam, etc, looking good? I got wax on them in spots, and it does not seem to come off easily. Suggestions?

Thanks,

Brian.

2010 MCS

 

http://www.autogeek.net/black-wow-trim-restorer.html

that's some good stuff right there, makes plastic look like it should be

 

I use Mother's Back to Black on mine. I always get wax on them. It works good, but it sure isn't easy.

 

+1 for Black Wow. Apply before washing. Works really well.

 

To remove wax for good you need a mild duty plastic cleaner. You need to spray the areas down and work in the product with a toothbrush.

The other solution is to put some peanut butter on the areas you got wax into the trim. The peanut butter will emulsify the wax letting you scrub it away with ease.

Using Black Wow or Back to Black is only going to cover up the problem and it will come back again and again!

 

I have also been using Mothers Black on Black since 2004 and am pretty happy with it.

But I have heard other Minacs at our area club meets talk about using smooth peanut butter. Note: I have not tried it, supposedly works well in removng the wax from the trims!!!!!

 

get some of this

http://www.autogeek.net/black-wow-trim-restorer.html

you will need nothing else for your black trim

Motor on!

 

I may get pommelled about the head and shoulders for this one, but a common houshold product with about as many uses as the imagination holds will clean and restore the black trim and parts. What is this miraculus product? WD40. Yep the stuff you use to loosen stuck bolts and other things. Google it and check out the thousands of uses, some are pretty far fetched but they work. Don't ask how I know.

 

I use both Black Wow and Mothers, but if it really bad you can also try liquid black shoe polish.

 

I also use the Back to Black stuff. Works great!

 

I am about to say and I will catch flak but I just use Armorall natural color not that shiney crap. It works and as long as you do it regularly you it will start to last longer. I did it once a week for the first 10 months of having the MINI and now I haven't done it in over a month and it still looks decent. Not that dried out grey look that you see so many cars having. If it gets rel bad that it does turn grey back to black works great. Except I used it on my oem roof racks and it never really went black but, that is cause I think I need to polish them or sand off the dry rot(not that bad of dry just a surface layer)

 

A degreaser or all purpose cleaner such as Simple Green should remove any wax that is stuck to the trim. To make it look nice I use Adam's VRT. It's not too shiny and very easy to apply. Because it's water based, you have to reapply it pretty much every time your wash the car but at least it's easy to clean off in case you get it somewhere you don't want it. I've used Black Wow before and it's too greasy and difficult to apply. Seems to attract a lot of dust as well.

 

One more vote for the Mother's Back to Black. It's worked better than peanut butter or misc other products that I've tried thus far.

 

Turtle Wax Ice....stuff is amazing!

 

Good Stuff...good long-term durability, and does not turn white...a little bit goes a LONG way!!
Turtle wax Ice works on black trim...for a few days....then disappears...works fine as a quick polish on the car, and IF you get it on the black....no worries. But Black WOW took care of my white gunk (wax residue) on the black trim, and keeps the trim looking good!!
Each time it is applied, it lasts longer, and longer.........! So after a couple apps over a month or two....it stays black longer.....and longer...I can go a couple months, with just applied looks...even in rain!!

 

I use Black Magic Tire Dresser on my tires and then just spray some on a damp rag and wipe down all the black plastic trim on the car. If you have stains from cosmoline, wax, just about anything, they'll disappear with Black Magic. It lasts a long time too!

 

BlackWow

www.blackwow.com

 

Thanks everyone. Just a couple of reminders about Black Wow.
Like ZippyNH mentioned...improvements come over time, unlike typical trim products.

If BW is greasy, you're using too much! The net result is a matte finish. If it attracted dust, it's probably after the first application. Once you've washed the trim off during the next car wash, you won't experience any dust attraction. I can go into detail but I've repeated it many times on NAM already. BW absorbs into the trim, and stays there. What's on the surface can be washed off without degrading the resulting finish, but only after it's had time to penetrate the trim. Applying it, then immediately washing it isn't recommended for best durability.

Finally the comment about BW masking wax..that's not exactly true. BW actually is a cleaner/dressing/restorer. It contains cleaners to help remove wax residue, unlike B2B and other trim products.

A final reminder, Black Wow is the ONLY trim product that was designed and tested within the MINI community and created by a MINI owner who saw the need for something better to treat the plastic trim. That should say something about it.

Besides AutoGeek, there are a host of Black Wow dealers including NAM sponsors like Detailers Domain, Mini Mania, Way Motorworks, and more. Check out the www.blackwow.com website. Sadly Detailer's Paradise is no longer a retailer since they are now Prima Car Care.

Richard

 

Another vote from me for Black Wow. Follow the instructions on the bottle for application, and you should be fine. If you apply too much product, you will definitely have dust issues until the first wash.

The process I use is this: I tape the car off (sometimes use a hand-held shield instead), apply a thin coat of BW (using a small piece of sponge or Prima Skinny applicator), let it sit/soak in for 1-2 hours, then apply another thin coat, and let it sit for another hour or so (overnight when time allows), then wipe with a lint-free cloth.

See a couple of before/after shots:

 

I've been using Back to Black, I really like it, except that it's short lived. It does not last very long, and I feel like you have to use quite a lot of it. So...I just ordered Black Wow!

 

Very nice!!! Thanks!
Good job! You'll like BW. I would use alcohol to remove the B2B first before doing the BW. Since you've been using B2B, it might take a few applications before BW can really absorb into the plastic, but once it does, it's not coming out.

 

+1 .

 

+1 for black wow

 

I use a Mr. Clean magic eraser to clean any white residue from the black trim.

 

This may be unrelated, but I have a bit of a scratch on the black trim over one of the wheels. What's my best bet in fixing that?

Thanks in advance.