Trim restorer

[Marlon]

Got a Halfords voucher for Christmas and want to buy a trim restorer as the plastic is faded on my wing mirror bracket (pic is when wet, but it looks duller and has fine lines all over it in the summer)

Gtechniq has been recommended but Halfords don't sell it

Can anyone recommend a product that will do the job using my Halfords gift voucher?

wing.jpg (297.69 KiB) Viewed 1521 times

[Rob_benton]

None will be semi permanent from Halfords.

Car pro dlux worked the best for me on that mirror trim but it’s a really weird plastic that doesn’t adsorb any coatings.

First off I’d try a gentle cutting compound to try and remove the milky surface layer. You can see it comes off by the darkest marks caused by something scratching against it.

Reminds me I need to spend time improving mine.

[Marlon]

None will be semi permanent from Halfords.

Car pro dlux worked the best for me on that mirror trim but it’s a really weird plastic that doesn’t adsorb any coatings.

First off I’d try a gentle cutting compound to try and remove the milky surface layer. You can see it comes off by the darkest marks caused by something scratching against it.

Reminds me I need to spend time improving mine.

Thanks Rob - its a part that's letting down the car, it was pointed out to me at Zedfest

[Rob_benton]

What polishes do you have that can cut ?

[patriot66]

Hi Colin. Fairly certain that the mirror mount is cast aluminium with satin black paint finish. You need a polish with a small amount of cut or a fine compound to restore it then wax it or seal it after.

[Marlon]

interesting - thanks fellas, I will investigate

[Z4M-2006]

Auto finesse revive..

Awesome stuff..

[taffy bhoy]

we used c4 trim restorer for exactly that part. was excellent and still looks as good now as it did last year when we done it. expensive for what it is, but you use such a small amount and its done a few other cars aswell, and still plenty left

[Bing]

Auto finesse revive..

Awesome stuff..

Based on this succinct and elegant recommendation I bought some of this stuff over Christmas. It is indeed awesome. Worked nicely on my Z wing mirrors and rubbers though they weren’t too bad, and I think it will even work on interior plastics. The real miracle was on my wife’s car though. The wing mirror plastics and trim round the doors was a dull dark grey, and they are now back to a lovely satin black. I’m sure it won’t last forever, but was no drama to apply and just needed 20mins to cure before buffing up.

Unfortunately it didn’t occur to me to take before/after pics ...but the wife’s wing mirrors were probably worse than Marlon’s above.

[LordOxygen]

Use the vouchers on some tools or wiper blades and buy the Gtechniq stuff - it's brilliant.

[MrPT]

Use the vouchers on some tools or wiper blades and buy the Gtechniq stuff - it's brilliant.

Agree. Freaky product - you only need one drop to do a whole wing mirror fairing and it seems to last years.

Ignore recommendations to use peanut butter. Tried it... looks good but lasts about 5 minutes and attracts squirrels.

[Angelus666]

Don't bother, get them off to the local body shop to colour match to the red paint. Mine are colour matched and they look much better than the cheap black plastic. £50 should do the job nicely!

[pvr]

Don't bother, get them off to the local body shop to colour match to the red paint. Mine are colour matched and they look much better than the cheap black plastic. £50 should do the job nicely!

[Angelus666]

These two kind of show the effect...not sure why they didn't come like this from the factory. The standard black plastic is such a cheap nasty looking thing. My car is booked in for a front end and mirror respray in the next couple of weeks, and I'll probably clear bra them after....so should look even better when that's done.

[beanie]

...not sure why they didn't come like this from the factory.

Mine are gloss black from the factory and I believe it is down to the car being one of the 'individual' colours that were offered at the time.

If you can strip the mirrors yourself then it shouldn't be too expensive to have a bodyshop give them a coat of gloss black. Saves having to fanny about with trim dressings and they'll look loads better.