I know this applies to most vehicles, but after a while the black skirt and wheel arch trim starts to look faded and grey. Now I have tried Mothers back to black and other similar products, but after a few days the back to black is back to blah!

Without going to the extreme of painting, is there not something that can get that faded plastic looking new again?

 

Adam's VRT

http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-512-a...super-vrt.aspx

 

Mothers Back to Black has worked well for me so far. Its also pretty inexpensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-06108-.../dp/B0002U1TXK

 

I have both Mother's Back to Black, and Black Wow. I prefer Black Wow most. A tiny drop goes a long way and lasts a few months. In between washings, the black stays looking great, and even repels dirt!

A word of caution-be careful not to get Black Wow on the paint. I have never had that happen, but I think it can cause some black to transfer on to your body paint. I apply the Black Wow with a rounded yellow detailing sponge, and when I get close to the edge between the black trim and body paint, I bend the sponge so it fits into that tiny space without hitting the paint.

Good luck!

 

+1 for Black Wow

This is by far the best treatment for black trim I have ever used. It is much better than Back to Black, 303 or any other dressing.
BW last for a very long time and does not take much.
Although it seems to cost a lot (about $24) I have been using the same bottle for a couple of years on three cars and still have 2/3 of the bottle.

Don't worry about getting it on paint, there is not a black transfer to the paint. It just makes the paint oily and it will wash right off. Now you should try to keep it off paint but it is no big deal if you get it on paint.

 

+2 for Black Wow.

I have used mothers in the past, but it just did not last long, and I had noticed in the winter months, it leaves a pail residue.

Black Wow works great! I bought the small bottle about 2 years ago and with by-monthly use, I still have over half a bottle. I could probably use even less, but I like to apply it when I am waxing.

 

Black WOW, it's a sealant, & is the best on plastic trim. It also seams to last the longest.

It should not transfer any color to the paint, most likely you also used it on the tires, or had other dressing on the applicator that transferred the color. To get the most our of Black WOW, you need to really clean the plastic with a good plastic cleaner/AIO, then apply it to dry plastic.

I keep one applicator sponge just for plastic trim, then have another for rubber. One expensive bottle will last a very, very, very long time.

 

I went through this time and time again with my older Grand Cherokee Laredo with the plastic cladding. After several years of outdoor storage, I thought the plastics had faded. The Back to Black is easy to apply, and works. But temporary. After a couple of years of that, I realized that the issue WASN'T fading, but rather ground in dirt, which doesn't come off during normal washing due to the textured surface. Some heavy duty cleaner, and a scrub brush has my cladding looking better than back to black ever did, and, of course, it lasts. Back to Black was just giving the dirt the "wet look," masking the real issue. I do use the Back to Black periodically as a protectant. I'm not saying this is the issue you owners are dealing with, but it's something to give thought to.

 

re: Black Wow
I sort of regret ever putting on the label telling people not to get it on their paint. I've read sooooo many posts about how if you do, it melts the paint, it does bad things, it's impossible to get off, yada yada yada.....

As others have said. If it gets on the paint, just wipe it off with a clean towel or wash it off during your next car wash. I usually suggest people apply BW the day before the wash to allow a day to penetrate and absorb for the longest lasting results. Then any excess washes off the next day.

Now for those of you thinking about buying Black Wow but are put off by the seemingly high price? I got good news for you. Black Wow now comes in a half size bottle for $15.95. The current size is 5 ounces (it says 4 on the label but we overfill) and the new one is about 2.5 to 3 ounces, but says 2 oz on the bottle.

In the coming months all of the retailers should be carrying the new size as well.

This includes the following NAM vendors (in alphabetical order):

CravenSpeed.com
DetailersDomain.com
MINIMania.com
OutMotoring.com
ShowCarSupplies.com
WayMotorWorks.com

 

I use Black Wow when I am doing a polish or wax on the car and I use 303 aerospace after every wash. I am on the same bottle of black wow that I bought 2 years ago and my second bottle of 303. It takes very little to maintain.

 

I also use 303 Aerospace on other black trim outside the car, like at the base of the windshield, and on the wiper blades. And it makes the dash and tires look great too! it has a UV protectant so its great to use to protect the black finish from sun damage.

thulchatt: thanks for the info on getting BW on the paint. I always wondered what would happen . . .

 

Black Wow really is the way to go My 5 oz bottle is still 3/4 full after 3 years (or is it 4??)!

 

Like I said...lol, and that's why the new 2OZ bottles no longer have that warning.

Heh heh...going on 4! I launched it mid 2007.

 

OctaneGuy: sorry! no offense meant by my leaving you out. . . I was typing my response as I had to dash away from my desk for a moment. . .

 

Never tried "Black Wow" (...never even heard of it 'til I came to NAM...) so I can't attest to it at all. With all the rave reviews, I'm sure it's great stuff.

I have used 303 and I don't know if there's some kind of invisible molecular-level protection that lasts beyond the first time any treated exterior surface gets wet, but I know the visible effect does not. (ie: the part of it that makes the plastic actually look good washes right off) I find it more useful for the interior, although like most interior treatments, frequent glass hazing becomes a considerable problem...

I know no one will likely believe me on this (but I have no affiliation; why would I lie?), Collinite 845 Insulator Wax CAN also be used on plastic trim with beautiful results! It lasts a long time and it does not discolor or fade. Of course the best thing is that you don't have to worry about "Separation of Trim and Paint".

Even though many people swear by Collinite as an excellent paint sealant, I don't recall anywhere people also using it on plastic trim. I discovered this trick accidentally when using it on my Subaru, which is half-covered in black plastic trim. I mistakenly got some on one of the black plastic mirror housings, and almost-instinctively went ahead and applied it on the whole housing, figuring on even-ing out the "damage". The first thing that struck me was how beautiful--deep and lusterous--that housing came out. But I was sure that over time the sealant would leave an ingrained faded-looking (or worse) stain. It didn't!

I've been using it on trim ever since. It's actually very liberating not having to worry about getting your wax on your trim, and vice versa...getting your trim treatment on your paint!

 

Oh no worries. I wasn't feeling left out, lol. I was quoting you as just another person who was worried about the effects of BW on their paint...which goes back to the copy I wrote on the bottle which has created all kinds of rumors and misinformation about just what happens when it gets on there, lol.

 

Ok, great! I love the Black Wow!

 

and prewow, on showcarsupplies.com ... is that the one that removes wax? I got wax on the black trim at various places (got there when I was using my random orbit polisher with wax)... prewow, not blackwow right now, yes? (2009 always garaged, black isn't fading...)

 

Black Wow has some cleaners that will remove wax/polish residue when it's scrubbed into the plastic. It's main purpose is to restore and protect the plastic however.

Pre-Wow is a dedicated cleaner that removes wax and polish residue from many different surfaces when used with either the included toothbrush or a painters rag...the kind you can buy in bulk from Home Depot 12 for $6 or so.

It only takes a few seconds to remove the wax. You will see the white towel turn black as you remove the residue, so as long as you see the towel getting black, you will know it's being removed.


Although most BW retailers will be carrying Pre-Wow, at this time, you can purchase it from my store until the rest of the retailers get up to speed.

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=230&bc=no

Richard

 

This is a little more work than Back to Black or Black Wow, but a dye kit works great. Back to Black only lasted for a few days for me, and Black Wow I think lasted a couple of weeks, but this dye has been on my car for over a year now and I've never had to touch up the trip with anything else.

You can apply it right on the trim parts without taking them off the car, but it does require a bit more care than a simple wipe on/wipe off liquid.

 

I have a small scratch on the small black area on my rear bumper - same material as over the wheel wells. Can Black Wow help get the scratch out?

 

If you have a physical gouge in your plastic, nothing will "take it out" unless you level the plastic and thus affect the texture. But you can make it less visible by making the lighter indentations more uniform to the surrounding effectively making it look like it's gone. Any dressing will do that. Black will just do it longer.

 

I've been trying to find a thread where I can post my issues with black trim problems. My wheel arches are peeling. I thought they were fading but it looks like they are peeling i spots. Can the products mentioned above help fix that? Or do I need to replace the wheel arches? Or is there some other product that you will recommend?