Cleaning exterior black plastic/rubber trim?

[m3avrck]

Hi guys! Have another question on cleaning the black trim/rubber on the outside of my 95 BMW. Basically, what products work well cleaning this stuff?

I've tried using the Meguiars Vinyl stuff, but that seems to work well only on the inside and not last on the outside. Also tried Turtle Wax's Shine stuff, which said it could work on tires and other trimmings, but that didn't produce any good results.

I've heard about Vanilla Moose, but haven't tried that yet. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

[Spilchy]

AIO! AIO! AIO!

The stuff ROCKS on exterior black plastic and rubber. I detailed 78 Mercedes 450 SEL yesterday and used AIO on the oxidized bumpers. WOW! what a difference. I used it on all the chrome too. I'll have pics later this week.

Incredible product.

[m3avrck]

Awesome, is there a particular AIO product that you use or do they only offer one product for plastic trim? And do you have before/after pictures? Thanks.

[Spilchy]

Originally posted by m3avrck
Awesome, is there a particular AIO product that you use or do they only offer one product for plastic trim? And do you have before/after pictures? Thanks.

Just use the AIO in the red bottle. http://autopia-carcare.com/klasalcarpol.html

It's my black plastic trim's new best friend.

[m3avrck]

Awesome thanks. Also, does anyone know of any products out there that are a bit cheaper that work equally as well?

Just not sure if I'm ready to move up the Klasse line of products yet...

[Screw2003]

About 2 weeks ago I tried Vanilla Moose on my truck. The directions on the bottle said to use it on everything; paint, trim, and even the windows. Windows? No way.

Anyway, to my SUPRISE, the VM did a great job. I was impressed with the results, especially on the trim. It went on easy and wiped off easy. As an added bonus, and you are going to love this, it removed the wax stains from the trim. No more white wax on the trim. I have waited to post on this for fear that it was just masking the stains, but it has been 2 weeks and 2 washings later. Still, no stains.

[bretfraz]

I just used this stuff on the exterior black trim on a Passat and it works great. Hi Temp Bumper and Trim Renew.

Have a look here: http://www.hitempinc.com/HT-036.html

I bought it as part of a sample kit from TOL. Much better than Forever Black which streaks badly. Only concern is that it won't last as long - FB lasted a good 6 months for me.

[Lynn]

Have you considered doing a search on this question? There must be a zillion threads on this topic, which will give you even more insight than you'll gather in this one thread. Just a thought.

[2hotford]

I have to agree with Lynn on this one. There are tons of posts regarding cleaners and dressing for vinyl and rubber.

Some of the best cleaners for vinyl in my opinion: Pro Wax C-49 HD Vinyl Cleaner, Meguiar's Gold Class Trim Detailer (I just did a review on that one), Meguiar's APC+, Spray Nine, Pro Wax C-84, and Meguiar's Citri-gel cleaner which is thick which allows it to hang on vertical surfaces, etc... .

Some of the best dressings: Meguiar's Gold Class Trim Detailer, Meguiar's #38 Tire & Trim Dressing Gel (Professional line), 303 Aerospace protectant, and Meguiar's #40 (also Prof. line), Pro Wax has many for exterior trim, etc... .

I own and have each of these. All of them do a decent job with Meguiar's Professional line coming out on top (except for the APC+ an awesome product that is part of the Meg's Detailer Series)

Tim

[m3avrck]

Great thanks for the help guys. Yea Lynn, I didn't even think about searching to well after I posted this.

Food for thought for next time though.

[Lynn]

Also, what I've found in my experience: The dressings I use work best if I've really done a very, very thorough job of cleaning the vinyl/rubber trim, for which (like 2hotford) I use APC+.

Also, click on the "Reviews" section at the top of the page. Go to the reviews for vinyl/rubber treatments, and you'll get some detailed analysis of various products.

[m3avrck]

I actually never even noticed that there was a review section. Doh! Thanks for pointing me there, appreciated.