Hi, folks,

Hope it's OK to ask a non-MINI detailing question here. Hopefully I'll never have this problem on my MINI!

The wheel arches on my husband's 2001 Jeep wrangler are a pale gray--used to be black, but 5 years of very little detailing and being stored outside baked by UV rays has taken care of that.

Now that I'm becoming obsessive about my MINI, he's getting more into detailing his Jeep. The question is--are there any products that will bring back the black on his arches, or is the damage too far gone? I know there are a few products that claim to, but do you know of something that actually works?

I have on hand some 303 Protectant (planned to use on my MINI's interior) and Sonus Total Eclipse (free from Autopia; was going to try it on my arches), and of course would be happy to buy whatever else we need.

It's been so much fun passing along to him what I've learned from all of you, and seeing how much better his car looks now! It would blow him away if I could fix his arches back up...he's long since given up on them, and it makes him less excited about keeping the rest of his car in good shape.

Thanks in advance, folks!

 

Try Mother's "Back to Black" exterior bumper and trim care. It works great on old faded trim smooth or textured.

 

can you give the below a shot and let us know how it works?
it's a Griot's black dye for restoring old trims.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1500&SKU=11183

 

I like a challenge! I just bought some of this; will try it and post before and after pictures. If it doesn't work well, I'll try Back to Black next.

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get the Griot's stuff before the weekend so I can post pictures Saturday/Sunday.

 

I'd bet that either product will do the job. Once they go grey, the only thing that will bring them back is a dye.

Be sure to teach your husband the ways of rubber/plastic treatment... 303 Aerospace treatment, Meguiars #40 (my favorite for the outside plastic) or one of many other good quality products. These have UV protectants in them and will help prevent the greying.

 

Thanks, agranger! Will do.

One question about rubber/plastic treatment--when I did mine, I got a little on the paint. Do I have to worry about this? My car is Zaino'd, if that makes a difference. If I do have to worry, what do you do about it?

 

I just hit it w/ a little quick-detailer and wipe it off...no problem.

 

Yes...there is *ONE* product that will work and last. Stay tuned to my website, I should have the results of all my testing by the end of the week.

 

Tease!

 

cool! unlike other trim sauce this is suppose to be a
permanent black dye...so should work better.

i might use this on my fender arches... im tired of getting my
MF towel dirtied by the sauce that i use on the arches.

From my experience, Back To Black is a dust magnet. I stopped
using it and currently using Meguiar's Vinyl and Rubber protectant
(black spray bottle). It doesn't attract much dust and easy to
apply with a sponge.

 

That's the best way to get rid of the streakiness caused by getting a bit of 303 (or other rubber/plastic dressing) on the paint. It shouldn't do any damage.

If you want an easier way to apply dressings without slop onto the surrounding paintwork, pick up an 8-10 inch plastic drywall knife (round the edges with a bit of sandpaper to prevent scratches) from Home Depot and use it as a shield to protect the paint while applying the dressing with a foam brush or applicator.

An even better way to prevent this problem is to paint your arches in body color!

 

i was thinking about painting the arches matt black to match the arch bits
on my aerokit.

 

One thing we should all remember is that the plastic trim on the MINI are probably the least expensive parts to replace should they every go bad. As I recall the rear arches were around $15 or so each. While of course preventative maintenance is best, sometimes replacement is the only recourse. Of course this advice may not hold true for any other car than a MINI.

 

A complete set of arches and plastic bits will cost $300 from your standard dealer... $250 from a dealer who does club discounts, etc.

This doesn't include the side sills, which can run $80 / each for the MCS... less on the MC.

 

Good idea! I knew you weren't going to tell me to tape my paintwork...

 

i second the Back to Black. used it to clean the black plastic around my windows.

i also second painting the arches with the aero kit. i love it on mine, makes it a more well rounded paint job

 

I have an old but amazing condition cavalier that I am selling. the rear bumper has faded, the front was inexpensively replaced. The car's rubber is DARK GREY. people keep saying back to black to get the black back, which irritates me as I have to tell them, "it's grey, i cant go back to a color that wouldnt match anything". not a big issue as it is sold already awaiting to be picked up, but, I always did wonder.

the rear bumper in labor+part costs a lot more. I thought of that once.

 

Back to Black isn't really black, it's a milky dressing like many others, and should "work" fine on your grey bumpers. For a few days.

 

ah i see. for a few days eh?

 

Try POR GLO from POR15. The shine lasts and lasts and lasts. I've been using the same 8 oz can for probably five years - on several vehicle's trim.

 

My experience with Back to Black is it works pretty good at making old faded trim look better. Trouble is it really doesn't last too long. For severely faded trim the Griots may be better.

 

Back to black is crap....
I had the same problem with my dad's pickup.... everything black was faded to light grey due to uv...I used Forever Black from autogeek.net. It's a dye and once on seems to last. It turned everthing back to a real nice satin black.

 

Again,

Forever Black is a dye where Back to Black is a protectant -- you're not comparing apples to apples here.

Both are great products but with different applications.

 

If you read the thread and what the task was, what I said holds true. Forever Black completed the task successfully and the other didn't which a few had recommended. So what's your point? It's still crap for this task. You haven't added anything useful. I guess your just one of the bored individuals cruising through.

 

It's called a "rejuvenator", but the product description makes it sound more like a protectant. Is it for keeping the vinyl shiny once I turn it black again? Or will it actually dye the gray?

Wait--if "Back to Black" is a protectant, why do they call it what they do? Don't protectants just ensure your vinyl never ends up needing to go back to anything? But I'm confused, because the product description seems to say that it does actually restore the color of UV-damaged vinyl. How does a protectant do that?

I haven't received my Griot's yet, so I'm still on Plan A. Hopefully, that will work and I'll be happy and done. If not, it seems like Plan B should be something like Forever Black with a protectant top coat to seal in the new color. Anyone know how long I should wait after dyeing to apply the protectant? Is there any reason not to do it immediately?

Of course, if Josh publishes his mysterious findings by then , I may well have another option to try...

Thanks to everyone who's weighing in! I can't wait to try out your suggestions and report back.