Fixing oxidized Porsche black trim

[audicoupej]

2018 Porsche Macan GTS. Optioned with black roof rails. What’s my best option to clean this up?

Light polish?


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[rlmccarty2000]

Yes, a light polish would be the best way to go. You could use something like CarPro Essence to leave behind some protection and/or a base for a coating.

[Mike lambert]

Be very careful, anodized, can easily be damaged.

[bcgreen]

Boy, what hppened there? My Macan`s roof rails look perfect and I never do anything, protection wise, to them.

[Accumulator]

Be very careful, anodized, can easily be damaged.

That`s what I was thinking. Those look like a black version of the aluminum trim on my Audis, and that stuff is indeed very fragile (whether it`s really anodizing or not, Audi gives conflicting answers depending on whom you ask).

I`d be soooo careful that I didn`t even want to chime in on this one at all...I`d first try (functionally) nonabrasive stuff like KAIO and if that didn`t do anything my next try would be Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (which ya never hear about any more), and I`d almost certainly be thinking about using a Coating made for metal on them (after I decided that they`re good enough).

[Accumulator]

My Macan`s roof rails look perfect and I never do anything, protection wise, to them.

I`d do something to protect now, while they`re still nice. Easy for me to expend your resources though

[bcgreen]

I`d do something to protect now, while they`re still nice. Easy for me to expend your resources though

Okay, will do. Going to be using FK with BF sealant.

[Sizzle Chest]

Light polish. Carefully. Then coat it. Almost looks like hard water stains to me

And you should still be under warranty if they need to be replaced. Just had my GTS’s exhaust tips replaced due to pitting in the black finish.

[Lonnie]

Please see the this thread I started about cleaning badly faded trim:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/car-d...tml?highlight=
RaskyR1 used Solution Finish (Autopia acronym "SF") in post #15 of this thread on some black vent fins of an older Porsche 911. Look at the pics and his write-up. Might be of interest to you.

[audicoupej]

Light polish. Carefully. Then coat it. Almost looks like hard water stains to me

And you should still be under warranty if they need to be replaced. Just had my GTS’s exhaust tips replaced due to pitting in the black finish.

We just bought it Tuesday and it’s under warranty until 8/2024 so I’m going to get them replaced if I can’t clean them up. I’d just prefer to not have to as the headliner needs to be dropped.

The black tips are pitted as well so I am planning on getting those replaced. It’s currently getting detailed as I have time to work on it.

Any tips for the black wheels? They have a white stain that I think is from a car wash that is giving me a hard time to remove. I’ve used iron remover, tuf shine cleaner, gyeon tar.



That’s before I started cleaning them.


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[Lonnie]

That white "staining" looks more like soap residue, but if it is from a car wash, it might be that the water used in rinsing might be recycled and its filtering will not remove wash chemicals residue OR just plain hard water (IE; high mineral water content) that is not softened/treated to begin with.

Hard water stains can be a real PAIN to remove. If you find something that works well, let us know. I bought Optimum`s Mineral Deposit Remover (MDR) to use on glass and paint, but it is NOT a wipe on/wipe off (WOWO) product. You do need to clean it off with something like their Opti-Clean cleaner or diluted Power Clean APC-and-car soap mixture, which is disappointing to me, because their other car-care products that I have used have produced excellent results in my experience.

Do you have Klasse All-In-One (KAIO) on hand? It is mild enough with its chemical cleaners that might cut though this white residue without scratching/swirling the clear coat (assuming your Porsche rims are clear coated) on these black rims? Just a thought.
I used this product on some clear-coated chrome after-market Crager rims (yes, the chrome was clear-coated!) and it worked really well to bring out the shine while offering a little surface protection. Had I used a true chrome cleaner like I thought I should have, I would have swirled and scuffed that clear coat!!! Live and learn.

[Accumulator]

..And you should still be under warranty if they need to be replaced. Just had my GTS’s exhaust tips replaced due to pitting in the black finish.

Hope it`s not like with our Audis..when the parts are still available, they often come through "pre-oxidized". After the Deer Incident it was impossible to get decent replacements for the S8 (and my dealer ordered scads of them hoping to get just one that`d be OK).

[Mike lambert]

Anything you see, take it back and for heaven’s sake don’t do anything to give them an excuse to deny you! I see that kind of damage every day, I send more work away and back to the dealership for warranty claims due to the hacks they use!

[Sizzle Chest]

Try what was mentioned above on the wheels, if not good results you may have to lightly polish them. I will say they are a pain to keep looking nice!

[audicoupej]

Be very careful, anodized, can easily be damaged.

Thanks Mike. I always start with the least aggressive method. That`s why I love autopia, asking for the collective knowledge is as safe as one can start.

Boy, what hppened there? My Macan`s roof rails look perfect and I never do anything, protection wise, to them.

We bought it last week. I think it went through a lot of tunnel washes. The linear scratches up the sides were very difficult to polish out vs the swirls.

Anything you see, take it back and for heaven’s sake don’t do anything to give them an excuse to deny you! I see that kind of damage every day, I send more work away and back to the dealership for warranty claims due to the hacks they use!

My plan is to try out some methods and if it`s not improving then have it swapped at the dealer along with the exhaust tips.

Please see the this thread I started about cleaning badly faded trim:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/car-d...tml?highlight=
RaskyR1 used Solution Finish (Autopia acronym "SF") in post #15 of this thread on some black vent fins of an older Porsche 911. Look at the pics and his write-up. Might be of interest to you.

Thanks, I checked it out.

That white "staining" looks more like soap residue, but if it is from a car wash, it might be that the water used in rinsing might be recycled and its filtering will not remove wash chemicals residue OR just plain hard water (IE; high mineral water content) that is not softened/treated to begin with.

Hard water stains can be a real PAIN to remove. If you find something that works well, let us know. I bought Optimum`s Mineral Deposit Remover (MDR) to use on glass and paint, but it is NOT a wipe on/wipe off (WOWO) product. You do need to clean it off with something like their Opti-Clean cleaner or diluted Power Clean APC-and-car soap mixture, which is disappointing to me, because their other car-care products that I have used have produced excellent results in my experience.

Do you have Klasse All-In-One (KAIO) on hand? It is mild enough with its chemical cleaners that might cut though this white residue without scratching/swirling the clear coat (assuming your Porsche rims are clear coated) on these black rims? Just a thought.
I used this product on some clear-coated chrome after-market Crager rims (yes, the chrome was clear-coated!) and it worked really well to bring out the shine while offering a little surface protection. Had I used a true chrome cleaner like I thought I should have, I would have swirled and scuffed that clear coat!!! Live and learn.

I have a sample of OMDR. I thought it was soap residue as well but I`ve hit the wheels with several applications of various cleaners and once I dry them it appears again. It`s really only remaining on 1 wheel lucky for me. I don`t have KAIO, but I have Jeffs Werkstat Prime which is the same thing. I also have Mckees 37 Coating prep polish which is nonabrasive. I will try both of those out.

Try what was mentioned above on the wheels, if not good results you may have to lightly polish them. I will say they are a pain to keep looking nice!

I have 3 of them ready to coat, it`s just the 4th one I need to get the staining off.
I have diamond black BBS RGR`s on my car that I have owned for a decade so I`m used to cleaning this type of wheel. The hard part is getting them perfect from the previous owner.


Update, last night I tried McKees 37 coating prep polish on the roof rails, very lightly by hand with a microfiber, and it seemed to provide some cleaning action. I am going to try more tonight. Most of yesterday was spent compounding.