Restoring Black Trim - Solution Finish

[Stutopia 158]

When I bought the BRZ the scuttle was looking tired and grey, not the deep black it should be. In the past I've restored trim with a variety of products, mainly Gtechniq C4 but also some other samples, Nanolex and Poorboys spring to mind. These are fine if you want to "restore" the trim, and it's still in good nick, but not so good if you actually want to do more and effectively "dye" trim blacker. This is where Solution Finish Black Trim restorer comes in.

I got a sample tube of this lying around from an old Waxybox and decided to have a go at the BRZ. I thought I'd post it up on here because we've got a fair bit of black plastic trim on the car, the front bumper, the rear diffuser as well as the scuttle in question.

As you can see below, it was already a nasty patchy grey (it's a 2013, so it's not like it's seen that much sun in the UK!).



Sadly I dropped and spilt the sample tube after only a few inches of work, but it was going fine up to then, so I ordered some from cleanyourcar to do things properly.



£14.95 for a small bottle, not exactly cheap, but it does go far.

I started by cleaning the trim and then wiped down with Gyeon Prep. The instructions make this stuff sound pretty potent, it warns it will stain paint if you're not careful. I did catch the paint once or twice, it wiped off easily with a MF towel after sitting for only a few seconds.



As you can see, it's a nice, deep, inky black. 

Application is simple. After cleaning prep, get a clean applicator you don't mind chucking away, tip a little on, work the trim area. It says that it should then be left for 1-2 minutes before wiping off. For some reason I was expecting this to flash quite quickly. The sun had been on my trim before I moved into the shade to do the job, but it just seems to linger indefinitely (certainly 4*5 minutes anyway). It showed no signs of drying on its own. Perhaps, being yank, it is engineered for hotter air temps, this day was only about 12 degrees air temp, though the surface was warmer from sitting in direct sun.



You can see it looks quite thick and greasy when it's applied generously. Don't worry, it's way better after wipe down. I don't know if I should have, but I also applied to the wiper arms. Mainly because they were always going to get some on, so it may as well be a full coat, instead of patches. It didn't upset the wipers as far as I can see.

Removal was easy, grab a clean MF towel (though it suggests using another applicator) and wipe up the excess. There will be plenty of it if you go at it generously like I did. The finish is not sticky or shiny, just a nice dark black satin. Your MF towel won't be good for clean jobs after this.



Given the price, I should point out that this stuff goes a long way, I overshot on my first load and it was enough to do the whole trim panel and wiper arms once. If you've got another car with huge sections of plastic trim over the arches and bumpers, I'd say you'll get 2/3 cars from one pot.  I expect to get at least 5/6 BRZs worth from this.

This is the look after application, much better.



It didn't mention layers in the instructions, so I did two, mainly to ensure total coverage.

A doodle to use, so long as your careful and have a MF towel on standby. The MF towel won't be good for anything other than wheel or engine bay after it's had this stuff on, it properly stains. Really pleased with the immediate results and ease of use, I like a product I'm not rushing to buff off, or waiting ages for it to cure. Not at all grabby either.

 

The above application and pictures are from about a month ago, I took this picture today after a normal wash, it appears to be holding strong.

Really recommend this for poor condition plastic trim if you want nice deep satin black.

 

 

[kaisersalsek 47]

Damn, that looks good. 

[rob275 1817]

Looks good, a heat gun also works wonders. Sounds a bit crazy but if you heat it up enough it will turn darker restoring it's finish.

Just make sure you don't overheat it otherwise you're stuffed and it'll bubble 😂

[Stutopia 158]

2 minutes ago, rob275 said:

Looks good, a heat gun also works wonders. Sounds a bit crazy but if you heat it up enough it will turn darker restoring it's finish.

Just make sure you don't overheat it otherwise you're stuffed and it'll bubble 😂

Thanks for the tip, but I'm way too much of a chicken to start playing with a heat gun round there!

I heard peanut butter works too, but I've never tried it.

[gazza82 41]

It's the nut oil in the peanut butter ... smooth not crunchy! ;-)

Meguiars have just bought out a new product. Plan to try it soon on the other cars like our 2002 Pug 206.

[Igi 28]

I've tried olive oil a couple of years ago and it worked surprisingly well, but Heat gun is my go to solution especially for scuffed plastic doorcards!

[Cerastes 204]

Keep us updated on how long it lasts, might have to pick some up. 

[tristanom 2]

To me, the best way is to use products that offer UV protection. One example is the 303 protectant.

[Stutopia 158]

1 hour ago, tristanom said:

To me, the best way is to use products that offer UV protection. One example is the 303 protectant.

If I'd had the car from new, a UV protector would have been one of the first things I'd put on, sadly the UV damage was already when I bought it. I could have just applied a UV protector, but that would have just protected the greyness, rather than dye it black. It's got a layer of UV protection on it, now the solution finish has fully cured.