the black trimmings all around my mini are starting to fade and get blotchy, do you guys have any suggestions to as how i can restore them and make them shinier? lmk thanks!

 

There is some stuff made by a vendor of ours. It is called Black Wow.

http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopd...stic+Trim+Care

This stuff can take white faded trim and turn it into the matte black that it is supposed to be, and it will last.

 

great!! thank you for the move and the help

 

Yep, as above but make sure you really clean the trim first. Also use a small drop of that stuff and work it in as it can run in the rain if you don't. It takes a little work, but the results are great and it will last.

 

If it has a lot of wax residue, use PreWow first, then Black Wow.

 

Definitely using sesame seed or pea sized drops is the way to go. The key thing to remember is that your best results come from letting BW absorb.

So plan ahead. If you're going to wash your car on Friday afternoon, apply Black Wow on Thursday, and by the time you wash, any BW still on the surface will wash off thus eliminating any future dust attraction.

For severely faded trim, you might need to repeat the application once or twice. You will know after an hour or so, if it looks faded, it's because the plastic fully absorbed the BW. Apply another sesame or pea sized drop and work it in, and you will find that it absorbs far less until it reaches saturation, and BW will last much longer. You should get 3 weeks to a month between touchups, but it does depend on how much it rains, etc.. Regardless BW will last longer than other products and your bottle will far outlast any trim product because it doesn't go bad over time or if frozen, and you use so little so infrequently.

Richard

 

thanks for all the help guys, i really appreciate it


@Octane guy - i'm in orange county and was interested in a detail for my mini!

 

Yep! I can certainly help you with that detail. I'm leaving the country on Monday for a week but I'll be back after December 3 to schedule details the following week.

I've got two deals for MINI details, depending on the level of the expected results, well 3 deals if you include the New Car Prep services. Anyways, price ranges from $125 to $300 for the various levels of work and those are already my special discounted MINI rates.

We can discuss your paint at the shop during the free evaluation. Let me know when you want to stop by. I'll be at the LA Auto Show this weekend, so if we can't meet up today or Monday, it'll have to wait until I get back after the 3rd.

Richard

 

how do you clean it first?

 

Spray with pre-wow or general cleaner and scrub, then rinse and dry....

 

You should try the c4 permante trim restorer.
It last up to 2 years.
You just need to remove anyway residue before you apply it.
The company is gtechniq and they ship to the states.
It blows away black wow or any other treatment as you dont have to reapply it every couple of weeks.
Do some research on the detailing world forums if you want more info.

 

Yeah uh $42.55 for standard shipping for 15ml or 0.5oz (compared to over 4.5oz of Black Wow)..definitely sets a new standard for what's called "expensive" in this market.

It's also very easy to lose $42 on the floor for good when you spill it...it's happened to many people. Black Wow has lasted people for the life of their MINI...many MINI owners have had their bottle for over 3 years and still have plenty left.

C4 is definitely an interesting product but calling something permanent that lasts up to two years is misleading. I've had customers tell me that their BW has lasted over 6 months when they followed it with a sealent.

Also saying that BW needs to be applied every couple of weeks obviously means you haven't used BW either.

 

what is a good sealant to top BW with?

 

I know your just defending your product.
Yes I have used black wow and it does server a purpose. As for it lasting 6 months you have to be kidding. I wash both of my mini's every week and I might get 5 weeks if I'm lucky. I was just giving another option that they could try. 15ml was more than enough to do all of the arches and skirts on my copper. It left them shiny and black and they don't collect dust and road dirt like black wow.

 

Actually, I'm speaking from an end users point of view.
Not all of us want shiny and black however, I'll use Armorall if I want that look. That's great you got 5 weeks out of BW between applications.

And for some reason, I don't have that issue with BW collecting dust and road dirt, maybe that's because I apply it, then remove the excess by washing my MINI after it's soaked in.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJLQv...e_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acwE3...e_gdata_player

 

Haven't tried BW. I do use the Maguires Back To Black. $5 a bottle, and lasts about a month. Applied with a tire sponge, it takes all of 5 min. to apply. Leaves the trim rich and black.

 

I have had BW on the MINI and Subaru for over a month now and the trim still looks good. I think that I would rather have to apply a little BW and save a few coin over that other stuff.

 

That's a Mothers product not Meguiar's but doesn't last long if you wash frequently or if the trim is severely neglected to begin with.

Agreed!!

 

so what's a good sealant you would recommend?

 

I'm not the person to ask as this isn't a technique I've recommended (as a manufacturer). I can tell you how to properly use my product and that's what my recommendations are limited to. But I do have customers who have mentioned having great results using Black Wow in less conventional ways.

 

The Blackfire wet diamond is a great sealant. Good thing it doesn't stain black plastic. I have never used it over black wow.

 

Black Wow really is the way to go. I've had my bottle for however long it's been on the market (3 years? 4?) and it's still more than 2/3 full.

I would think sealing it would complicate things - a lot of sealants may not stain the trim right away, but sometimes a month or two later you start seeing it as it really gets dried out in the pores of the plastic.

 

I'll add the shop locally argument. I rather support a vendor/manufacture in the States and a contributor to this forum that has helped so many of us.