Just thought I would share some restorative thoughts that might be of help:
Part 1: black shoe polish works wonders for the vertical window seal, door handles and mirror boots, as well as the lower body side molding, and the A pillar window seal which the upper half had turned gray.
I normally use the Allen Edmonds polish in a 2.5 oz tube, made in Germany, easier to use from a tube than from a tin, and about the same price per oz as a local tin of Kiwi.
Allen Edmonds: Premium Shoe Polish
I ran out for this project, but the Kiwi werked fine too.
Before and after shots:
(low light with an 10 year old camera, so looks notably better first person)
The seal looks perfect, and brought the once upon a time dark gray door handles back to a nice dark gray again. Note for the full effect, you might have to reapply it a few times, buff with a towel. Don't have to worry about it staining the paint as it won't. Later it won't come off on hands or clothes, and lasts for quite some time, if not forever. I've been using this technique for years on my other cars, especially on black plastic bumpers, never seen it wash off, streak or anything, or even fade again. One car I have with black plastic bumpers had some areas with very odd uneven bleaching, this solved it and though I did initially have to reapply it about 5 times, I've not since had to reapply, this now several years later, still looks 100% perfect.
This also works very well for dark gray or black leather seats where you have scratches or cracks, hides them very effectively. Thinking about trying this on the leather steering wheel next. Wear gloves if you don't want your hands stained.
Part 1: black shoe polish works wonders for the vertical window seal, door handles and mirror boots, as well as the lower body side molding, and the A pillar window seal which the upper half had turned gray.
I normally use the Allen Edmonds polish in a 2.5 oz tube, made in Germany, easier to use from a tube than from a tin, and about the same price per oz as a local tin of Kiwi.
Allen Edmonds: Premium Shoe Polish
I ran out for this project, but the Kiwi werked fine too.
Before and after shots:
(low light with an 10 year old camera, so looks notably better first person)
The seal looks perfect, and brought the once upon a time dark gray door handles back to a nice dark gray again. Note for the full effect, you might have to reapply it a few times, buff with a towel. Don't have to worry about it staining the paint as it won't. Later it won't come off on hands or clothes, and lasts for quite some time, if not forever. I've been using this technique for years on my other cars, especially on black plastic bumpers, never seen it wash off, streak or anything, or even fade again. One car I have with black plastic bumpers had some areas with very odd uneven bleaching, this solved it and though I did initially have to reapply it about 5 times, I've not since had to reapply, this now several years later, still looks 100% perfect.
This also works very well for dark gray or black leather seats where you have scratches or cracks, hides them very effectively. Thinking about trying this on the leather steering wheel next. Wear gloves if you don't want your hands stained.