Review: Meguiars Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer

[cleanmycorolla]

Hey all. Recently had the chance to use Meguiars Ultimate Black on a Porsche I did. The trim was pretty beat, so after a good cleaning I wanted to apply something that would bring life back to the trim and keep it that way. Normally I would turn to Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant or Ultima Tire and Trim, but unfortunately like an idiot, I forgot to include those in my detail bag before I left for the job, so on the way I picked up the Ultimate Black OTC. I’ve never used it before so I was curious to say the least. I know people like it, but I’ve never used it so I was open to try it!


Manufacturer claims:

Meguiar`s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer brings new life to all exterior plastic, vinyl, and rubber trim such as bumpers, moldings, door handles, rear-view mirror housings and windshield cowlings. Utilizing break-through UV clear coat technology, Meguiar`s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer significantly outlasts conventional protectants and trim care products. This durable formula dries almost instantly, is non-greasy and will not streak when treated surfaces get wet. With Meguiar’s Ultimate Black quickly make trim and plastic look-like new, create a rich darkness and shine, and provide outstanding, durable UV protection.

Products used:

Meguiars Ultimate Black
CG NonSENSE APC to clean the trim
Poly Foam Applicator for application


So this Porsche had two big dark box like trim pieces near the license plate. For my test area, I chose the one on the right side. For prepping the trim, first it got rinsless washed, then cleaned up further with CG NonSENSE apc. For application I chose a poly foam wax applicator. For this small area, I’d say I used about a dime sized drop of product, and that product could have easily covered the entire piece, it really spreads nice. The product itself has a nice creamy color and consistency, and you can tell a little goes a long way.

Here’s the 50/50 shot of the semi treated piece almost dried:



As you can see, it does a fairly good job of darkening the trim.

Now since this was my first time using this product, I must say I was impressed. Especially for the price, and its ability to be had OTC it worked well in terms of application and looks. What I am curious about is durability to be honest. But that will remain to be seen, I will be following up on this car so I am eager to see how it goes!

Pros:

Easy to use. Wipe off any excess with ease if theres a high spot.

A little goes a long way. After I treated all the trim, I probably used around half an oz of product.

Can be found almost anywhere, unlike my favs Ultima and Wolfgang, I was able to get this in a pinch, like last minute on my way crunch time stuff. That’s not knocking Ultima or WG, they are hands down the best IMO, and they last and last and last! You just have to order online, too bad there no store front for me!

Does a good job of restoring life to the piece of trim

Cons:

Durability, only because well I have no experience with this product. But I hope it can last as long as WETS or UTTG, but do I think it will? No…..we’ll see though.

Doesn’t really have a pleasant smell.

The bottle is horrible, yet another Meguiars product I will take out of the bottle and put in my own. I love their products, but hate their packaging.


Thanks!

[512detail]

looks much better

any comparisons to mothers back to black (if you have ever used it)?

[Rsurfer]

looks much better

any comparisons to mothers back to black (if you have ever used it)?

Unless they changed the formula, it runs in the rain. MUB will not run.

[Nth Degree]

Meg`s is much better than the Mother`s. One thing to watch out for with the Meg`s is the uneven fading. I have had a few vehicles that looked pretty bad when the product faded. The places where it was thicker, such as where it overlapped, were darker than the rest and I couldn`t find anything to even it out except to add more Meg`s Black Restorer.

I am in the process of doing round 2 of my trim restorer showdown and this is one of the products I am including. While I don`t expect it to compete with some of the big dogs I am comparing a few OTC products just to demonstrate how they compare.

[512detail]

Meg`s is much better than the Mother`s. One thing to watch out for with the Meg`s is the uneven fading. I have had a few vehicles that looked pretty bad when the product faded. The places where it was thicker, such as where it overlapped, were darker than the rest and I couldn`t find anything to even it out except to add more Meg`s Black Restorer.

I am in the process of doing round 2 of my trim restorer showdown and this is one of the products I am including. While I don`t expect it to compete with some of the big dogs I am comparing a few OTC products just to demonstrate how they compare.

look forward to seeing the results.

i used wipenew on my frontier and it worked great, for about two weeks. lol

[harleychief]

I`ve tried the Megs and found that it looked good at the beginning but wore off quickly. On a Jeep I was working on I took the pieces off and painted them, it didn`t take very long and months later they still look brand new. Sometimes the details are in the detail.

[Todd@RUPES]

Nice review, thanks for sharing!

[cleanmycorolla]

looks much better

any comparisons to mothers back to black (if you have ever used it)?

Unless they changed the formula, it runs in the rain. MUB will not run.

What he said...hahahaha. I`ve had it run on me, although theres a new formula just announced at SEMA I believe and it has a dedicated prep product to now I think.???

Nice review, thanks for sharing!

Thanks Todd for reading!

[Nth Degree]

i used wipenew on my frontier and it worked great, for about two weeks. lol

PENALTY BOX!