What non-ERV dressing do you use on exterior trim AND paint?

wifehatescar

wifehatescar

My L5-S1 is killing me!
I've done some searching :xyxthumbs and found that "Accumulator" likes to use paint products on ERV trim instead of something like 303. I have become interested in this because you could have 1 product to apply to basically everything on the exterior (except windows obviously). You wouldn't have to "be careful" to not apply it to trim and like wise wouldn't have to "be careful" to wipe up the ERV dressing that gets on the paint. It would save a bunch of time I would imagine. Also, it might even protect better than a ERV dressing because it would not run off after rain ,etc.



I guess I'm looking for others who use this technique. That is a paint product that would *clean* and protect paint and trim that works well for you. Obviously it has to be something that does not stain trim at all.



I have used Z2 in the past and it worked well but it doesn't clean.

Other possibilities I can think of are:



PwC...

VM...

AIO...

???



For example, I'm thinking I could PwC everything (to do a final cleaning and add protection) and then maybe just EX the paint. I guess I could EX the trim at that point too, hmmm:nixweiss
 
wifehatescar- Heh heh, I guess you've already got *MY* $0.02! But I can't resist :o :D Clean it with AIO, top with either SG or BFII or Souveran (sometimes even Meg's #16 or Collinite). So far the only thing that hasn't responded great to this is the flat black wiper arms on the MPV :nixweiss I just re-AIO them from time to time.



The XJS (garage-queen) and A8 (daily driver) have been getting this treatment for YEARS and they're doing great. The other vehicles are doing fine too, but they are newer.



YoSteve does AIO/SG, maybe he'll chime in.
 
Hope you're not taking that as a bad thing, it's the only way noob's like me learn about superior products and processes...
 
Accumulator, I think I've read somewhere that you've been using this method for many years on your Jag with no negative effects? This method would certainly make detailing the BMW a lot quicker and easier.



Do you use the same method on your RUBBER trim? AIO + sealant/wax? Like the original poster said, Z works well on plastic, but once I accidentaly got some of it on my rubber trim and it turned a bit too shiney and lost a lot of softness (a polymer eraser took care of that though). From then on, I always taped my rubber trim before applying anything....even trim-friendly products. How do you detail your rubber trim?
 
What isn't AIO/SG good for? According to the bottle it's good on any non-porous surface. I use it around the house on everything from faucets to countertops to the fiberglass shower. Looks great and makes cleanup a breeze.



But I hadn't thought of trying it on exterior trim (at least not anything rubber). It does work well on the head/tail lights. Good idea :)



VV
 
Intermezzo said:
Accumulator, I think I've read somewhere that you've been using this method for many years on your Jag with no negative effects? This method would certainly make detailing the BMW a lot quicker and easier.



Do you use the same method on your RUBBER trim? AIO + sealant/wax? Like the original poster said, Z works well on plastic, but once I accidentaly got some of it on my rubber trim and it turned a bit too shiney and lost a lot of softness (a polymer eraser took care of that though). From then on, I always taped my rubber trim before applying anything....even trim-friendly products. How do you detail your rubber trim?
Click to expand...



Yeah, on the XJS I've been using straight, carnauba wax on the exterior vinyl trim and the rubber bumper facings. Note that yes, this is true "Autopian Heresy" and I'm NOT recommending that anyone else try it, you might destroy your car or rend the fabric of the universe ;)



The XJS is a garage-queen these days, but it DID get driven back in the day. I've been waxing its rubber bumpers since late 1985. No problems, they're like new. The chief judge of the Ohio Jag Club will back me up on this. I only use AIO on them when they pick up something truly awful, you have to be VERY careful or you'll mar the rubber. I had to use it to remove a bug hit that happened during a LONG trip where the bug-gut-acids ate into the rubber; it was marred from them anyhow and I had to do SOMETHING (nothing, and I mean NOTHING else worked). If someone says "the acids wouldn't have eaten into it had I used 303" or something, well, *I* don't believe that, but I can't prove otherwise (heh heh, I don't try to prove "negative arguments").



I rub the Souveran into the rubber as if it were lotion on skin, but very gently.



On the exterior VINYL trim, yeah, I clean it (*VERY* gently) with AIO and use BFII on it. I do the same with the satin black stuff (metal, plastic, you name it). I used to use Souveran to top it, but I sorta like the "oily" BFII effect better. Before I discovered AIO I used PPCL (old formula).



Again this is just my experience on one car, but after 19 years I *KNOW* how it has worked in this one instance.



I've experimented on the '84 Volvo (outside 24/7/365), which has black anodized trim, black plastic, and rubber bumper facings. I've used AIO on all these surfaces with no problems. I've topped the AIO with BFII, Meg's #16, and even Collinite 476S. No problems, though the rubber bumpers started to look sorta crappy when the Collinite wore down. I redid them with AIO and more 476s and they looked OK again. Note that this was a *VERY* neglected vehicle when I got it, NEVER waxed/detailed for over ten years, seldom even washed (the original owner "wiped it down with snow" in the winter!). The rubber, etc. is NOT in great shape, but the above methods work OK on it (after cleaning with Griot's Rubber Cleaner). It's sure NOT getting any worse.



On my better/more current vehicles, I don't have RUBBER trim, just black plastic of varying textures and hardnesses. I use AIO topped with SG (beaters) or BFII/ P UPP (Audis). I used to use Souveran, but I like these sealants better. I've done this sort of thing on a few previous Audis, Subarus, Benzes, and Mazdas, some of which I had for quite a while (and a VW Quantum that I had for AGES), and it worked fine over long periods of time. Better, for instance, than I've seen on many OTHER cars where the owners used "conventional" ERV methods, but of course there a lots of variables there and I'm NOT saying that this is a "better" method.
 
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