Removing Dried Polish From Rubber and Black Plastic Trim

[ed84108]

Is there an effective way to remove dried polish (and possibly wax) from plastic and rubber trim? So far I have tried pressure washing, Meguiars vinyl and rubber cleaner/conditioner, as well as general chemicals like Simple Green. Ive heard peanut butter works but leaves behind a brown residue thats just as difficult to remove. Im considering trying organic solvents next (mineral spirits) but dont want to damage anything.

[JohnZ3MC]

Try 50/50 IPA and water. (I use distilled water but it may be overkill.)

IPA is isopropyl alcohol, not India Pale Ale in case you`re not up to speed with the acronyms yet.

Actually, I use the latter much more frequently than the former and it does a great job keeping waxes/polishes off me.

Give it a try.

[Ron Ketcham]

No need to use distilled water with your IPA.

Just plain water is fine.

Mineral spirits are OK, if you do not allow them to dwell long on the part.

Also, plain lighter fluid is good for this, it`s naptha and will evaporate quickly without doing damage.

Once the polish is removed, HOWEVER, the solvents that were in the polish and the ingrediants of the polish may have created permanent discoloring of the part.

That is where the ValuGard ETR kit is needed, it will permanently repair the part, putting the black, back to the part.

It is not a dressing and has been used by Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, etc for warranty trim repairs on thousands and thousands of vehicles.

Grumpy

[cptzippy]

Try 50/50 IPA and water. (I use distilled water but it may be overkill.)

IPA is isopropyl alcohol, not India Pale Ale in case you`re not up to speed with the acronyms yet.

Actually, I use the latter much more frequently than the former and it does a great job keeping waxes/polishes off me.

Give it a try.

Seems like polishing with India Pale Ale would increase the likelihood of getting polish, wax, etc on you :suspicious: If the IPA isn`t effective, Black wow and Pre-wow do a pretty good job on that.

[ed84108]

No need to use distilled water with your IPA.

Just plain water is fine.

Mineral spirits are OK, if you do not allow them to dwell long on the part.

Also, plain lighter fluid is good for this, it`s naptha and will evaporate quickly without doing damage.

Once the polish is removed, HOWEVER, the solvents that were in the polish and the ingrediants of the polish may have created permanent discoloring of the part.

That is where the ValuGard ETR kit is needed, it will permanently repair the part, putting the black, back to the part.

It is not a dressing and has been used by Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, etc for warranty trim repairs on thousands and thousands of vehicles.

Grumpy

Nice good advice thanks guys. I tried the IPA solution worked fairly well, although I think there is still some discoloring from the dried polish (had been there a while). The car is a little old to spend $100 on the kit but good to know about for the future. It looks like a dye type of setup... interesting.

Im a homebrewer as well so if I may throw my $.02 into the mix regarding the pale ale... Ive found most things with beer are like golf, a few and you get better, then you hit your tipping point... After that there would be polish basically everywhere and I might wake up the next morning on the shop floor with extension cords wrapped around me, polisher in hand and a giant pee ring on the driveway. And then I would have to make another post "How to remove urine staind from concrete"

[Lotuseffect]

No need to use distilled water with your IPA.

Just plain water is fine.

Mineral spirits are OK, if you do not allow them to dwell long on the part.

Also, plain lighter fluid is good for this, it`s naptha and will evaporate quickly without doing damage.

Once the polish is removed, HOWEVER, the solvents that were in the polish and the ingrediants of the polish may have created permanent discoloring of the part.

That is where the ValuGard ETR kit is needed, it will permanently repair the part, putting the black, back to the part.

It is not a dressing and has been used by Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, etc for warranty trim repairs on thousands and thousands of vehicles.

Grumpy

Naptha is cheap and works incredibly well for this task. 100% with Ron on his advice here.

[agtjamesb007]

I have a white car and I think part of the black film that accumulates is from the rubber. While cleaning my car the other day, I was over wiping on my sunroof trim, and the filth was getting on my white car, and it was difficult to get off. While trying to get it off, i would pick up some more from the trim and the cycle would continue.



I had read that using dawn to wash your car to remove old wax is ok, but it can dry out the rubber and vinyl. So if dawn would dry it out, wouldn`t Rubbing Alcohol? I think if i got those trim pieces clean, my car wouldn`t get as filthy. I just don`t want to dry them out.



I think plastics and vinyls are some of the hardest things to clean on a car, as they can be so sensitive, and very tedious. I`ll have to try some of the suggestions above.

[Nth Degree]

I know this thread is a year old but for anyone looking for solutions to this issue on textured plastic; try a pink eraser. Yes, it really is that simple. A follow up with some APC will get rid of the rubber residue that is left behind.

[Accumulator]

I have a white car and I think part of the black film that accumulates is from the rubber. While cleaning my car the other day, I was over wiping on my sunroof trim, and the filth was getting on my white car, and it was difficult to get off. While trying to get it off, i would pick up some more from the trim and the cycle would continue...

Yikes, you need to sort this out. That`d drive me nuts. Shouldn`t be that tough, some of my bought-very-used vehicles were just like that and they`re fine now.

I had read that using dawn to wash your car to remove old wax is ok, but it can dry out the rubber and vinyl. So if dawn would dry it out, wouldn`t Rubbing Alcohol? I think if i got those trim pieces clean, my car wouldn`t get as filthy. I just don`t want to dry them out.

The "Dawn vs. rubber" thing is vastly overstated, usually by internet experts who are full of hot air. Not remotely likely to be a genuine issue. Similarly, the IPA will take off the "dead"/oxidized rubber but I`ve sure never had it do real damage.



There are a bunch of appoaches that work for me...just keyed in a few (e.g., Klasse AIO topped with either KSG or Collinite 845) and decided to then *delete* those suggestions because I`ve decided to keep this simple.



For starters, youu really/obviously need one thing on your shelf- Griot`s Rubber Prep. Freakin` miracle product when it comes to cleaning rubber and plastic trim. Get a bottle and if it doesn`t work out OK I`ll be utterly astounded.



Use that to clean the rubber (you could use some IPA first to get the worst of it and save the Griot`s for after that). Then protect it with something that doesn`t run in the rain, "go bad", or attract dirt. I like Ultima`s Tire and Trim Guard Plus (think that`s the name), a sealant made for such surfaces. Lasts for ages.



Then maintain it with regular (i.e., after every wash) treatments with something like ValuGard`s Fast Finish. Yeah, it`s a "QD that leaves protection behind" and/but it works *GREAT* on exterior trim. It`s simply perfect for the trim and only takes a minute to use.





Don`t use "dressings"/etc., they`re just not a good approach. "But don`t I need the UV protection that`s in [whatever product]?!?". No; my trim is holding up fine without such products and some of my vehicles are a lot older than yours.

I think plastics and vinyls are some of the hardest things to clean on a car, as they can be so sensitive, and very tedious..

Trim can be as easy as pie if you go about it right...my vehicles have *lots* of it and it`s no bother at all, been years since I had to do anything major.



Use stuff that stays clean and provides protection. Use stuff that doesn`t need to be kept off the paint.

[SweatTheDetails]

It sounds crazy but peanut butter on a toothbrush does the trick.





www.SweatTheDetails.Time2Detail.com

www.Facebook.com/DentsAndDetails

I may be slow, but I do poor work.

[MusicMan]

The suggested methods above should work...id just suggest going with CarPro Dlux as something to protect it when you`re finished...just used it myself on some seriously beat and old trim...and it came back to life. Carpro-us.com ...corey will hook ya up.

[skullnokker]

Meguiars Ultimate Black worked for me.



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[POPPAJ]

The suggested methods above should work...id just suggest going with CarPro Dlux as something to protect it when you`re finished...just used it myself on some seriously beat and old trim...and it came back to life. Carpro-us.com ...corey will hook ya up.

Great stuff! Well worth the price of admission. Made my plastic cowling better than new in a 11 year old mercury.

[dfoxengr]

I know this thread is a year old but for anyone looking for solutions to this issue on textured plastic; try a pink eraser. Yes, it really is that simple. A follow up with some APC will get rid of the rubber residue that is left behind.

I tried this but with a white eraser (the kind that looks like a pencil that you peel off the paper to expose new rubber type) and it worked great. left little eraser residue behind but what it did easily comes off with APC or 1Z rubber cleaner (I like this stuff so much that I bet it would compete well with what Accumulator suggests, because we seem to have similar tastes in product performance)

[jonathan315]

Meguiar’s all purpose cleaner (APC) plus and a toothbrush is one of the best ways to remove dried polish from plastic and rubber trim. I apply some more APC to the towel and began wiping and scrubbing. Once the rubber was cleaned up and looking fresh, I added some 303 Aerospace Protectant to it in order to protect against UV rays and the outside elements.