Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

how to make black plastic trim/moulding black again

31K views 21 replies 22 participants last post by  Zill 
#1 ·
Hi,

The door handles and black plastic lower body moulding on my 98 slk has faded so badly that it looks grey. What product would you suggest to make them black again?

thanks,

Steve
 
#3 ·
Renew black plastic trim color

I have had great luck with product 2000, kind of a high tech armor-all,it comes in a bright day glow green bottle.It contains some polymer that is very tough,if you spray it on your tires , the over spray will seal the cement of the driveway for a few months were it looks dry,even when wet /rain /car washing, best sprayed in a - parking lot - car wash . You can spray it into a small rag for trim & use inside the car. Also doubles as a screen & shower door roller lube - plastic drawer slides. Most any auto parts store has it,but read the bottle ,they make wax-window cleaner- don't grab the wrong bottle.
 
#4 ·
I been using that product 2000 and I>>>

agree its really works, and the shine last longer than Armour All, bye armour ALL[:D][:D]
 
#7 ·
finish 2001

I have had great luck with product 2000, kind of a high tech armor-all,it comes in a bright day glow green bottle.It contains some polymer that is very tough,if you spray it on your tires , the over spray will seal the cement of the driveway for a few months were it looks dry,even when wet /rain /car washing, best sprayed in a - parking lot - car wash . You can spray it into a small rag for trim & use inside the car. Also doubles as a screen & shower door roller lube - plastic drawer slides. Most any auto parts store has it,but read the bottle ,they make wax-window cleaner- don't grab the wrong bottle.
are you talking about "finish 2001"?
 
#9 ·
i use some stuff for my trim called meguiars endurance high gloss...check my gallery to ...

i use some stuff for my trim called meguiars endurance high gloss...check my gallery to see what its done for my car
 
#10 ·
I use Mothers Back to Black and it made my door handles look like new.
 
#11 ·
I agree with Jim on the Back To Black. I also use Vinylex on the rubber mirror housings....

I agree with Jim on the Back To Black. I also use Vinylex on the rubber mirror housings. Granted, all products will wear eventually and return to the hazy look. But I have tried the Turtle wax stuff and some other off name products. And Mothers has been the best thus far. I redo my trim about every 10 weeks or washes, whichever come first. I usually wash my car every Saturday morning. It still looks nice when I re-apply. I'm very satisfied and I recommend the Mothers.

-Tubs
 
#12 ·
or if you're too welfare to invest in any of that stuff, just use tire dressing. It'll ...

or if you're too welfare to invest in any of that stuff, just use tire dressing. It'll make it nice and shiney and restore the old colour with lots of silicon goodness. Just watch out, it's kind of greasy for a while...

I'd recommend you go with some of the stuff mentioned above, but just so you know simple stuff works too. [8D]
 
#17 ·
This is for BLACK plastic, vinyl and rubber.

"Forever Black"--This is permanent black dye. Comes in 8 once size with 4 once cleaner concentrate. Used on my 90 Jeep Cherokee. The door handles, bumper guards and window moulding were various shades of grey sprinkled with some remaining balck. Cleaned, applied dye and got great results. Has liquid shoe polish applicator tip. Very easy indeed.

Got mine from Autogeek.com--available from lots of places.
 
#21 ·
This is my suggestion as well. Others last various times but this literally lasts indefinitely. Do some searches online for best application hints, you may need 2 or 3 to get it totally smooth and even, some people only put on one coat and are disappointed. The advantage is you don't have to re-do with every rain or wash. They make a separate product for tires.

DJNEWK2: I am curious about your method, how long does it last between applications? Do you think you could use just peanut oil from the grocery instead to avoid having to clean up the extra peanut butter?
 
#19 ·
I was about to add something that EVERYONE has access to and that is peanut butter in your cabinet. I've been doing this for YEAAAARS and every car show I've won has been done with creamy peanut butter. Imagine the faces of the guys that ask me how I get the old trim (especially my benzes) to look like that and I tell them peanut butter. I've had my guys that use pretty much all of the suggestions on this forum and NO ONE'S results lasted longer than my peanut butter application. The others, you spend a fortune and after the first couple of rains (at the most) its gone and you're back to square one.

I just picked up and started on my 83 300sd with 170k mi from the original owner who got hit three weeks ago by a newer C Class (that was demolished by the way-This thing is a Tank!) Anyway I took some before and after photos of the handles that were very light grey and I told the previous owner I'd show him how it works because he didn't believe it (he's got another 126).Anyway you'd be surprised at the natural stuff you have around your kitchen that you can use for other things and the active ingredient in the peanut butter is the oil that "soaks" into the trim and it is harmless (it would have to be for you to eat it). [:)]

Cheers

Alan
http://
 
#20 · (Edited)
How to make the doors black 'cloth fabric' trim/moulding black again

I found this to be a very easy fix. There is a fabric attached to the rubber molding, in several places around the soft top compartment lid to the door closure area, that has a tendency to fade with age. So I took a suggestion to "paint it with a liquid shoe polish" and it turned out great. In addition I took some more cream black shoe polish to the drivers side bolster and rubbed it in several times using a spit shine style, then rubbed any residual off so as not to get on my clothes. I did this until I was happy with the oucome and realize that it will need to be done again at a later date.

Mask off all three areas, two door jams and one in the middle of the trunk area. with Blue painters non-stick tape, then squeeze the liquid shoe polish upward and out of the applicator holes and paint it on the fabric with a small brush until you are satisfied that all is covered. After the fabric is covered use the liquid polish sponge applicator to push and blot the the liquid shoe polish into the painted on fabric. I think you will find that it adsorbs any excess and spreads it evenly giving you a satin appearance. Then let it dry.

BTW, I read about another product that gets good review and that's foreverblack or 3" Delustered Black Cloth Tape

Please see Doors and soft top comparment frame cloth repair pictures
Note; The last picture is an example of an older faded cloth fabric before the shoe polish application.
 
#22 ·
Hey DirectLA,

I read allot about the use of peanut butter. You were going down my line of thinking: why not just use vegetable oil? Perhaps a fine canola oil or extra virgin olive oil. They will mask the oxidation and last longer than Vinylex or the glycerol based Back to Black these are water soluble. 3M made great product, Tire Dressing, but they dropped that formulation for some thin white liquid that is waste of money.


Thanks,

Zill.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top