Cleaning Trim gel off... with a twist.

R

Rocketogre

New member
First of all, very long time lurker and I greatly appreaciate all the knowledge to be gleened from this forum. It`s lead all my low-key detailing decisions, but I`m in a pickle.

I had a product I read about on here and really liked, used it on external plastic trim. Ultima Tire and Trim guard, bought it because it was suppose to be not too shiny or greasy. Worked great loved it on everything I put it on. Then I moved and things happened and I didn`t use it for a while(like it was in storage, it might have frozen, it probalby overheated, etc.), put it on my new car and it was a greasy mess and all the mixing in the world wouldn`t change that. To make matters worse my confidence in it was such that I applied directly to the B-pillar trim before realizing something had gone wrong with the product. It`s left a greasy mess and I`m having a hell of a time cleaning it off there. Goo Gone helped, Dawn dish soap really cut down on the greasy/sticky factor but it`s still there and it`s still kinda discolored and weird looking everywhere it was. Any suggestions or just more reps of what I`m using? It`s the plastic trim panels on the outside of a 2013 Jetta Sportwagen if that helps.

Thanks!
 
The fastest way would be to polishing it with a polish and a finishing polish pad. Can be done by hand too. Or keep going with Goo Gone and with a very soft mf towel and aggitate with very gently. The polishing could hit it with 2 stones as it`s useally some marring and scratches. If it`s those flat trim and not the textured ones if you polishing.

And welcome as a member on the forum.

/ Tony
 
If the GooGone and Dawn dish soap are not helping much, you`ve got a real problem.
I would try Goof Off Professional with a tooth brush on textured plastic, BUT the caveat is that because this is a petroleum solvent, it MAY discolor or lighten some of the plastic.
I know McKee`s 37 makes a plastic trim cleaner or strong All-Purpose Cleaner, like Optimum Polymer Technology`s Power Clean used full strength (undiluted) may be a safer bet to use.

If you are looking for suggestions for a good plastic trim protectant that fellow Autopians use, please see the thread I started on this subject:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/car-...dly-faded-black-trim-cladding.html?highlight=
 
Rocketogre- Welcome to Autopia!

Sorry to hear about your nasty experience with the Ultima TTG+, *especially* since I use/like/recommend it :o That`s really weird how it went bad, mine`s still OK after years and years (even the old solvent-based v1.0 stuff).

I`m afraid I don`t know from the B-pillar trim on your VW (embarrassing for me as I do like the Jetta wagons)...is it textured or smooth/shiny?

If it`s textured, I`d try Griot`s Rubber Prep (yeah, even if the surface isn`t rubber), but Lonnie`s suggestion of the McKee`s Trim Cleaner is undoubtedly a good one too. I`d be a little careful with the Optimun Power Clean (though I do like it for greasy messes).

Once it`s cleaned off, *I* would just use a new batch of the Ultima, but if that`s left a bad taste I can understand your wanting to try something else (what about Collinite 845 Insulator Wax? That`s what I used before the Ultima.)

If it`s smooth/shiny/hard plastic, I`d do the polishing suggested by SWETM, *BUT* I`d be very careful about which polish I used. E.G., I would *NOT* use Meguiar`s M205 (due to the Trade Secret Oils).

Then, once it`s cleaned up, I`d just use your regular LSP (Last Step Product, i.e., wax/etc).
 
Welcome to the show! Sorry the Ultima did that to your trim because I also use it frequently (I like all the Ultima products). I really don’t have a suggestion as what you have tried would be stronger than an APC or even a degreaser that I would try to remove a trim product with. Maybe Prep-sol or straight rubbing alcohol?
 
I gotta admit I`m waiting with baited breath for Rocketogre to post back! I find his dilemma pretty interesting and I`m really curious about what`ll fix it. I`ve never tried to remove the TTG+ that I can recall, but then I wasn`t dealing with messed-up TTG+ either.
 
I read you joined in 2015. I have never met you, so Welcome to the Forum !

Sorry this trim challenge had to happen to you..

In my experiences with all marques of black, plastic, painted trim, there are a few out there that drive everyone crazy..
And it is on German cars..

I had one BMW X5 come in with Black Shadowline Trim that was just awful, would not respond to anything I did.

Then I somehow found out about a product sold by those guys in the tools trucks that sell to Auto Dealerships, etc., and it was called TM1000.
It was a liquid that I applied to this black plastic trim that actually made it act normal again, and it was good to go..

I tried looking for it on a google search and cannot find it it at all..
Perhaps if you know a guy who has that Snap On truck, etc., he might know about this product, or maybe your internet search will be better than my attempt..

If you decide to perhaps change that look completely, maybe this will help ?? https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-Pill...5-Sportwagen-8pc-Set-Cover-Door-/322538379371
Good luck with this..
Dan F
 
Stokdgs- Hey, that ebay link illustrated what we`re discussing, thanks for posting that.

The pillars look like the ones on our Audis (though looks can be deceiving). Those I just polish like paint (soft, thin paint ;) ) and LSP with whatever I`m using on the rest of the car.

BUT...the *apparently* similar ones on the Mazda MPV were just an applique, and the black stuff was *VERY* thin, easy to compromise/cut through, so IME you gotta be a little careful.

Too bad that TM1000 is such a Mystery Product, sounds like good stuff. And your experience with that X5 reminds me of the challenges you Pros have to deal with all the time...
 
Accumulator --
That product is probably still around, but the only people who seem to carry it drive those big Products Trucks to Dealerships and sell to the mechanics, etc..

So, I ended up having to go find that TM1000 stuff for this Client`s X5, who then dropped off a new Raptor, which I did perfectly..

Then, when they came back to pick up the vehicles, (they already knew how much the price was) they stuck a wad of money in my hand, and took off pretty fast..

I knew why after I counted up the money and it was exactly short of the WA State Tax, that I then had to come up with, to pay the State of WA at the end of each Quarter..
Some people..... :(

Needless to say, next time they texted me about Detailing their vehicles, I politely declined..

Dan F
 
Stokdgs- Oh sheesh, sounds like the old "no good deed goes unpunished" :( Hope you still had a little margin after paying the taxes.

Heh heh, kinda reinforces my opinion of most BMW CUV/SUV owners (my BFF excepted!). In my area those are basically the Official Vehicles of @$$hats.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the responses!

I want to start out by clarifying that I`m not at all upset with the Ultima product. It worked incredibly well on my old car and the girlfriend`s car, but something changed in it during improper storage that was my own fault. Fresh out the bottle it was so good I never tried anything else. Just got some Chemical guys products I`m going to be trying on the various plastics of this car to see how it goes. Might just end up back with a Ultima though.

So, I went back with more aggressive scrubbing/applicators of the Goo Gone and real progress was made. It`s a lightly textured matte finish material, so the old applicator pad I used seemed to get in deeper than my microfiber cloths were doing. A Toothbrush really started to make progress. Still some residue left but it`s much better and after seeing that the Goo Gone hadn`t discolored the material I had the confidence to get aggressive with it. I`m on a rotation at work currently so I`ll likely not get a chance to get back to it until this weekend, but I`ll try to take some before/after pics and show you guys how the advice went. If the second round of Goo Gone doesn`t work I`ll have to finally buy that Rupes that`s been on my wish list for so long and get after it with polish ;)

Stokdgs - I appreciate the link to the pillar replacement, if the cleaning doesn`t come back satisfactory I`ll be doing that for sure. I hope the cleaning goes well though as I really do like the look of that flat, deep-black plastic that the Ultima helped me achieve.
 
Rocketogre- Glad to hear the TTG+ was otherwise satisfactory (especially since I recommend it all the time) and that you`re making progress. The toothbrush sounds good since it`s apparently not too aggressive. Wonder how that CG will work compared to (OK) TTG+
 
Accumulator said:
Stokdgs- Oh sheesh, sounds like the old "no good deed goes unpunished" :( Hope you still had a little margin after paying the taxes.

Heh heh, kinda reinforces my opinion of most BMW CUV/SUV owners (my BFF excepted!). In my area those are basically the Official Vehicles of @$$hats.
Click to expand...

Accumulator ---
Thanks for the reply..
I called that lady with the X5/Ford Raptor back and told her, her money was short the WA State Tax, and she said - "well, we thought since we were paying you cash, you would not have to worry about the tax"... :)

Duhh... Lady, why would you think I was dishonest and went about cheating others who I owed money to???? That`s not how we roll over here...

Can`t remember if I broke even or not on that, and for sure, I did not charge - them - for the extra time and $$ I had to spend to go find that TM1000 product to fix their dang Shadowline Black Trim...

Guess if I had known in advance, they were going to short me the State tax in the first place, I would have added more to the Invoice.. Dang Microsoft people anyway....

Chalked it up to a Learning Experience on Shadowline Trim that I had never seen happen in years of Detailing it on German cars...
Dan F
 
Stokdgs- Heh heh, your position regarding the Tax probably made zero sense to those people. I bet they just don`t think of a Detailer as being a "real business" that needs to play by the rules.

Heh heh#2...Shadowline Trim...so glad I don`t have to think about such stuff...[INSERT usual "oh the challenges for you Pros!" comment]

EDIT: Heh heh#3, people using the expression "worry about.." are starting to bug me. It`s like "if I don`t care about it, you`re neurotic if you do". It`s not "worry" folks, it`s just caring about something, usually about doing something right. Big difference.
 
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