Cleaning that black trim...again!

[larry_bar56]

I have been performing an experiment over the past 2-3 weeks and I want to report my results.

Like many people here I have had problems removing wax/polish "stains" from textured, black body side mouldings. I have read all the threads on how to deal with this and in fact, even started one a few months back.

I have used Mothers Back to Black, I have tried bug and tar remover, I have tried using a white eraser, all with varying degrees of success, but nothing that was totally satisfying.

So, I decided to experiment with other things, things you might not think to use on black trim.

First thing I did was make sure I was dealing with wax/polish residue on the trim and not just faded trim. I used a magnifying glass and a straight pin to examine the trim closely and poke at the white residue and see that it indeed did flake off.

Next I took an old toothbrush, a small plastic bottle (like an aspirin bottle) and some Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner (the stuff in the orange bottle). This is alkaline based and safe for clearcoat wheels, so I wasn't worried about it harming my paint.

I sprayed some A2Z in the small bottle and dipped the toothbrush in it. I then applied the A2Z to a small section of the trim. I aggitated the areas that were particularly bad. After 20 or 30 seconds I wiped it off thoroughly with a terry towel. I really dried it well with the towel with a buffing motion. I used the magnifying glass to examine the cleaned area. No sign of residue or harm to the trim.

I cleaned the entire trim on the passenger side of the car (leaving the driver's side alone). I have been fooled before by using solvents on trim, only to have the residue reappear a few days later. I didn't do any more cleaning or treatment on the trim for 2 weeks.

After that time, the passenger side trim still looked black and clean. This endured several washings, many days of rain and lot of sun and heat during that time. I was very pleased with the results.

Yesterday I did the same treatment on the driver's side. When everything was clean and dry I topped all the trim with some 303 and it looks as good as the day it rolled of the assembly line.

Some of you may think the A2Z is too harsh for this application, but I found it to be the perfect solution for my situation. If your black, textured trim is looking bad, you may want to consider this solution.

P.S. I took some before and after pictures, but because of the flash and reflections off the trim the pictures don't do justice to the whole procedure so I decided not to post them.

[Accumulator]

larry_bar56- Just wanted to commend you on how you went about solving your problem From evaluating your situation to checking your results, it sounds like a job well done.

Now how about using more trim-friendly products so you don't have to worry about this any more! On some cars, this can be an important consideration.

[larry_bar56]

Accumulator,

Thanks! I lucked out and got good results on my first try (A2Z). Not sure what my second try would have been.

I have just switched to S100 Wax (although I was using Blitz and I don't think it was causing the problem). Most of what I was dealing with was left from previous owner(s) of the car.

I have been masking the trim when I break out the PC and polishes.

I think the only thing I would do in the future, when cleaing the trim, is mask the paint around the trim to prevent the toothbrush from leaving any stray scratches.

[Spilchy]

Nice tip!

I used DACP, #3, Blitz then P21s Carnuba (trim friendly) and was left with white stains on all my black rubber and vinyl trim after a few rain falls. I used AIO and Black Again (got most of it, but not all). My car looks great except for this white residue!

Larry, did you use your A2Z remedy on rubber? Any recommendations for rubber?

[larry_bar56]

Originally posted by Spilchy

Larry, did you use your A2Z remedy on rubber? Any recommendations for rubber?

Spilchy,

I did use it on the exposed sunroof gasket. I assume that is rubber. No ill effects and it worked great also.

Let me know if the A2Z works for you.

[Accumulator]

MAYBE it's the Blitz. I've heard it stains trim something awful. No, no, I haven't tried it myself (BECAUSE of all the staining comments), but that's what I've heard. There's an older thread out there about products that DON'T stain trim...there are lots of 'em. Of course, if you don't mind masking then it isn't an issue anyhow and there CAN be advantages to masking besides the staining issue.

As for the P21S, I've applied P21S directly to the trim (plastic, rubber, metal, you name it) on the XJS with NO STAINING WHATSOEVER.

Spilchy- Can't imagine there would be a problem trying the A2Z, it's not like it damages tires. If you haven't tried it, maybe Griot's rubber cleaner would work

[Spilchy]

Thanks fellas, I'll give it a shot. I really like Blitz. I'm a little bummed out that it causes stains. Oh well.

[YoSteve]

I use EFHI, not to often though