so the other day when i was PC'ing my neighbors truck and my mini i had some residue on the trim of both vehicles when i was done... ok a little is an understatement as i actually got a bit on one of the trim pieces on my mini.. and i cant be having that.. so in a sudden moment of clarity while i was spraying cleaner on my pads (thats a clue right there)
i thought "hey if this stuff breaks up compound and wax so you can wash it out of pads, it might break up the stuff on my trim!"

and guess what?

i was totally right!

what youl need.

pad cleaner (i used Pinnacle XMT Polishing Foam Pad Cleaner)
painters tape or just be careful.
soft brush or some elbow grease
towel to wipe the stuff off.

spray some pad cleaner on the trim being careful to get as little on yoru paint as possible (i dont think it will damage the paint.. but it will dissolve the wax on the car wherever it gets! lol.) then i used a cheapo soft toothbrush from the dollar store to get the stuff into the grooves and then wiped it. I did this pretty fast as when its spread out on an open surface it evaporates pretty fast. if it does dry, just spray some more and wipe it real quick and it removes any residue left. most of the spots come off without even having to use the toothbrush though. just spray and give it 2 seconds and then wipe with a towel.

and thats it!
simple and it works!

 

I've heard that peanut butter works, too.

 

good idea with the brush.

 

i dont know if i could make myself do that... it'd be messy 1, and 2.. i love me some peanut butter... haha.

 

plus neigbors dogs will all come and start licking at your car.

 

Armor All cleaning wipes work great too. I let my bf polish my car the other day. Then it rained a few days later. All I seen was white all over my black trim. I was not happy. But the Armor All took it right off. Plus made the black plastic shiny as well.

 

armorall FTL!

 

Not sure what FTL stands for.

 

I've used Black Wow to great effect removing wax from the trim, also protects and makes that great matte look, none of that chintzy armorall shine.

 

i look at my kids and they are super happy. they dont know much. not knowing is happiness.

 

black wow just covered up the wax for me. month later and it started to show up again. so far this stuff actually removed the wax. you can see it actually dissolve the wax as you gently disturb it with a brush. then you wipe it right off. no covering up.

 

I guess we all have our likes and dislikes. I personally like to see my car "shine"

 

oh, dont get me wrong, after i actually remove the wax it gets hit with tire shine.

 

Tire shine is totally my choice for blackening the trim, but then again I'm a total idiot when it comes to detailing. I spray a bit on a strip of sponge and wipe it along as I go. Works like a charm, but dies out after like 48 hours.

This pad cleaner though... that's a good idea. It's being used for it's intended purpose, but in a not-intended way. Leave it to the MINI owners to figure stuff like this out!

 

You can also use a simple eraser.... Buy one of those white stick erasers and it will come out. Peanut butter does work and will also shine the trim up. Both of these work without massive elbow grease.

 

how about sesame oil? starting to sound like a chinese supermarket here.

 

here...