As the title suggests team, looking for the best way to refreshing faded black plastic trim. I heard of a trim dye that you rub in, but thought their maybe a better way. I wonder if dying then clear coating would be a permanent fix?
Some of the trim coatings (not dressings) are very good at this and are a very good semi-permanent option. Do you have pics or which trim exactly are you talking about? The textured exterior plastic?
Yip the textured black plastic exterior trim. Mainly the plastic within the boot garnish and the cowl vent panel.
GTechniq C1 will work well, or CQuartz DLux. DLux is significantly cheaper but may not last quite as long. It's probably the one I'd go for on that plastic though. CarPro CQuartz DLUX Kit | Waxit Car Care
No worries. Key is to give it a good clean first. APC followed by 10% IPA is a good combo. Needs to be super clean to work best.
A heat gun will bring the oils back to the surface of the plastic trim. It only works on the dark grey or black trim. (Non painted).
+1 for heat gun. Mate did it on his Golf and it came up looking new. I am yet to try it on the Bimmer, need to enlarge my balls
keep the heat gun moving, temp test with your finger. if you have a laser thermometer you probably don't want to go over 80 degrees....
There's a bunch of videos on how to do it (and how not to). Keep in mind, it won't work for every situation. And it will fade again if not treated properly.
For black trim, I use black shoe polisher. Does an excellent job at keeping it black and being oil based makes it not wash away when wet. (Washing the car, rained on, etc.)
