Curious to see what people are using on all that black trim. I have the Nero and while I really like the way it looks when freshly applied, it washes off after a little sprinkle. I have also used 303 with similar results. I prefer the matte finish over something shiny. We get a lot of rain in British Columbia and I go through a lot of this stuff. Wondering what others have tried.

 

I've been using Turtle Wax ICE so far - on the paint and the trim - with good results. I'm going to continue ICEing the trim when I transition to Epic for the paint (hopefully in the next week). The ICE for me has made the trim a little shiny, but not "glossy" - and it seems to last (last application was a month ago and trim still looks good). But we're talking about a car that's only 9 weeks old... and I QD paint and trim with Slick a couple of times a week.

I also ordered some Wizard's Black Renew to bring back the black trim on our old Town and Country that I'm detailing. Should have it soon, so can't comment on it from personal experience yet.

 

I recently switched from Meguiar's Back To Black to Wizard's Black Renew.

Both did a nice job of giving the trim that nice, matte finish. The Meguiar's didn't seem to last very long for me. I was re-applying every two weeks.

We'll see how the Wizard's holds up because I just applied it for the first time this past weekend.

 

I've tried a lot of stuff - Back to Black, and even peanut oil. Like Chil said, the b to b doesn't last. I recently switched to 303 Aerospace protectant, and it works great, and lasts quite a while, and is fast and easy to apply.

 

I've been using 1z vinyl-rubber care. Works great - lasts longer than most.

 

There's not much you can do with a dressing when presented with rain. The longest lasting in my testing was Zaino Z16, which lasted perhaps one extra day than the majority. If your trim is dull and whitish like mine, your only defense is to dye it with a product like Forever Black. See the details here:
http://www.jwardell.com/mini/2006/09...have-a-winner/

 

im using meguiar's dressing right now and will try the Griots one
next spring. Nero is best for interior imho.

also plan to use wizard's after im done with my small Griots bottle.

 

I've tried just about everything on the market from Back to Black to Maquiers and everything in between. Up until 2 weeks ago 303 got my vote hands down, then I found Stoner's Trim Shine vinyl and plastic coating. The guy that invented this stuff must be a wizard

It comes in an aerosol can with a very focused spray pattern. Yeah, you do have to buff off a bit of overspray but considering you can do the whole car in 5 minutes flat with no crawling around on hands and knees, it's a small price to pay. Best of all, you don't have to wipe it, it is totally none greasy, and truly makes the trim look like it did when you picked the car up. Also, it absopositively gets rid of the white wax residue simply by applying it.

I still like 303 for the interior, but as long as I can get the Stoner's, I'll use that for the exterior.

 

I really like Wizard's...what's it called? Black trim care? Or something like that. It cleans any wax off that might be dulling the trim, leaves a natural shine and looks great.

And smells oddly like oranges.

 

Where do you purchase "Stoner's" from?

Thanks

 

I've seen several Stoner's products at Wal-mart.

Like others have already posted, I've tried several products including 303, B to B, Vinylex with good results, but I get annoyed with how they look after a rain, so I've been experimenting with Ice and although it doesn't look as good to me after the initial application, it has some staying power when it comes to rain and washing. So instead of doing the trim every week, it's more like once every 3-4 weeks. It also seems to take me lots less time to apply. And I don't have to worry about it getting on the paint.

 

Love the experiment. Thanks

 

If you can report back that would be great . I hear DP carries the Wizards stuff.

 

The Wizards is called Black Renew.

It actually smells like oranges for a reason. Black Renew is a dressing and a cleanser- so it helps clean off old residue, etc from the exterior trim. The orange smell is from the citrus-based cleansers that are in Black Renew (although I think they add more of the citrus smell on top of the cleanser for fun!)

-Heather

 

that looks really neat. hm. I wonder though if orange cleaner is good to keep on the fenders. like, a degreasing compound of some sort.... wouldnt that dry out the rubber? Not knocking the product, but I would want to know how that works. It is like meguiar's cleaner/protectant spray that octaneguy uses nowadays. How can something strip it's own product and then leave that product on after you wipe it off? LIke multiple paradox products it seems.

I would like for this to work. Purple wizard is pimp. Very '80's metalhead


Oh, btw, I recommend saturating with these products until you get some drip, then wipe off and reapply. I let it sit overnight. That seems to make griot's stick well even though it makes no claim of lasting long. I think people do not use enough of their vinyl and rubber protectant to make it work.

 

+1 for the Wizard. It smells of oranges, but tastes of rat toes.

 

I think most people just don't leave it on long enough - they don't realize you're supposed to let it sit for 15 minutes or so (depending on the product). They just spray it on and wipe it right back off.

At least this is what I used to do, before I knew any better...

 

I use Lexol Vinylex (applied to a foam applicator) on both the trim and the tires. 2 different applicators of course

 

I use the Wizard's Black Renew about once a month and use DP's Nero in-between... Seems to keep it black and matte and resists rain pretty well.

The Stoner's stuff sounds interesting though - I'll keep an eye out for it.

PS - the curved foam applicators that are designed for tire dressing application are great for the trim - just turn them lengthwise and you get a LOT more precision than a cloth or rag in my experience. They're like $3 for a bag of 2 at any auto parts place...

 

I got it at Kragen. Was in there looking for something else and happened to spot it. It's the first time I'd seen it and haven't seen it anywhere else, not even Wal-Mart out here.

 

do you know if this is this true for Nero as well?

 

It's because these products don't undergo a chemical change as they dry. When you put the new coating on, it "reconstitutes" the old stuff and allows it to be removed. In reality, it's not totally being removed - it's just getting mixed up in with the new stuff and re-applied.

My high school chemistry teacher described this as "like dissolves like". He would demonstrate by spray-painting a piece of metal and letting it dry. Then he would spray on a second coat of paint and immediately wipe it with his finger. The finger-swipe would not only remove the freshly-applied paint, but it would remove the dried paint as well, all the way down to the bare metal. Of course, this doesn't work with catalyzed paints - those actually DO undergo a chemical change as they dry, and can't be "reconstituted" by a second application.

 

FOREVER BLACK Works great, easy to put on. After at least 10 washes, looks the same a the day I put in on. Just Google it.

 

I'm pretty sure it says on the bottle to let it sit for 15 minutes.

But my bottle's in the garage and it's cold out there, so I'm too lazy to go look, ha. But really, almost all vinyl/rubber dressings you want to let sit and soak in before wiping the excess off.

 

hey, there's an idea... read the bottle instructions!

it does say to wait 15 min. before wiping off excess. I basically wiped it on with a microfiber towl and didn't have a lot of excess, so didn't do a second wipe, so i guess that's cool