Move Over Plasticare, Make Way For Gtecniq C4

[GLPoomobile 958]

Just wondered if anyone has used Gtecniq C4 on GTI body trim. I think this could well be the new 'Top Dog' on the block, knocking Plasticare from it's perch, but obviously can't endorse it until I've tried it on GTI trim.

 

I've long been an advocate of Plasticare. £10 for a bottle that will do a GTI several times over, coats well, totally restores chronically faded trim, and lasts for years. What's not to like? Well, it's not perfect (I'll get to that in a minute). Let's park any discussion about peanut butter, shoe polish or heat guns for a moment, as it's been discussed a million times before, so frankly those suggestions can get their coat and f*** off out the door right now.

 

I first saw Gtecniq C4 mentioned on VPCUK and immediately dismissed it on price alone. I then saw the results when someone used it on their S60 scuttle and was impressed. Then I saw the demo video by Gtecniq and was even more impressed. After using some of the left over black Plasticare that I've had kicking about for years since doing my 205, to treat my faded V70 body trim, I remembered why Plasticare isn't perfect. Firstly, it's messy as f*** and I spent longer masking off my paint work than I did actually applying the dye. God forbid you get any on your clothes or skin! Secondly, it can go on a bit patchy on some plastics, or not at all on others. On my V70 it wasn't a fan of the smoother plastic on the top of the rear bumper. I found the same on my 205's front bumper, which I believe was a pattern part so a different plastic than the OE bumpers. So it does have it's limitations.

 

Anyhoo, I decided to bite the bullet and get some C4. It's expensive at £25 posted for a VERY small bottle, but a little goes a long way, and this stuff is supposed to last 2 years and also makes moisture wick off the surface like waxed panels.

 

I've just used it on some of my engine plastics from the V70 and first impressions are great! Indeed, you only need a tiny amount. I've used 3 miniscule drips on a cotton face pad and covered a couple of panels. And unlike Plasticare, it's a breeze to use with no mess. Although it's recommended that you mask surrounding areas, it's a clear solution and you can go over edges without discolouring other parts.

 

If anyone is interested, I'll post some pics when I'm finished with these bits.

Edited August 10, 2013 by GLPoomobile

[Rippthrough 98]

Yeah, it's great stuff, not cheap, but damned good.

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

Lets see some photos then as I agree plasticare is a ball ache to apply because of the masking off etc.

[Vili 17]

You can also use heat gun to restore the original color on plastic trim.

[GilesW 41]

You can also use heat gun to restore the original color on plastic trim.

Yes. And peanut butter.

[White Pugs 6]

Yes. And peanut butter.

 

ooo yeah and erm, shoe polish

 

[GLPoomobile 958]

3 people have proved themselves gay

[GLPoomobile 958]

Lets see some photos then as I agree plasticare is a ball ache to apply because of the masking off etc.

 

OK.

 

So, to put this in to context, the parts shown here are supposed to be a sort of charcoal colour, so near black. I'd scrubbed them in white spirit to remove some horrible engine lacquer that Volvo applied at the factory, which meant that some of the colour was stripped off at the same time leaving the plastics light grey. The only other step I took between the before and after shots was to go over them with IPA to remove any remaining contaminants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a half 'n' half....

 

 

 

Whereas Plasticare is a dye and actually puts a layer of colour on, so you can turn what was originally grey trim in to black, the C4 just revives the plastic back to it's original shade, so gives a perfect OE look. I know in these pics it looks like quite a shiny finish but that was partly to do with using flash. The finish is actually very nice with just a subtle sheen to it.

 

I've got more bits of body trim to do on the V70 so I'll get to use it in situ and will be able to see how easy it is without spending ages masking bits off. Very happy with first impressions and if a £25 application lasts fora couple of years I think it's worth the money even if it's not the cheapest solution.

[Vili 17]

Result looks much the same as with the product I tend to use. I've found out that the treated parts need light buffing after treatment to remove the excess stuff. Otherwise dust will catch into the surface very quickly. By light buffing I mean by hand with some cotton cloth.

Sorry about the heat gun comment. You were giving the product such a praising that even their marketing people couldn't have done it better. I just couldn't resist.

[jord294 87]

Well I for one will be trying the c4 on my mi.

 

Seems good value aswell

[NFS 32]

So its not a replacement for plasticare then? as this wont treat faded trim that we get on the gti's. it restore plastic that already has colour and just brings its sheen back. a different product and use completely.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Are you asking a question or making a statement?

 

The C4 doesn't simply add a sheen. If your plastic was grey originally it'll still be grey after using C4, and if it was black and has faded to grey, the C4 will make it look black again, not simply shiny grey as you are implying.

 

All faded trim still has colour. Which is why trim can be restored temporarily by use of a heat gun or peanut butter. As my pics above show, those pieces had lost some of their colour through being scrubbed with white spirit, and the C4 revived them back to a healthy dark charcoal. I have seen photos of other parts (such as the S60 scuttle panel I mentioned in my OP) that have been badly sun bleached and restored nicely with C4.

 

I have little doubt that this would work on GTI trim because I read enough reviews before jumping in my self that showed it to work well on many different cars. The proof is in the pudding so it does need to be tested on a 205 GTI (which I can't do at the moment).

 

So as a restoration product, it works. Plasticare is not a restoration product, as it is a coloured dye used to change the colour of plastics rather than revive them to their OE appearance. But Plasticare has been used by this community for a long time as it's results are proven to be good and last long.

 

Clearly they are different products working in different ways, so the choice of product will depend on what result the buyer wants to achieve. Clearly C4 will be no good if you have Ph1/1.5 trim and want it to look as dark as Ph2 trim. For that you need to change the colour and hence you need a dye. Based on my experience, if I wanted to restore colour for an OE appearance I would take the C4 for it's ease of use and 'clean' application.

 

If this has come across as a sales spiel, it's not. Times change, products advance and I simply wanted to bring this product to the attention of those who may have been unaware of it (as I was until a couple of weeks ago) and let people know that Plasticare is no longer the defacto solution for 205s.

Edited August 12, 2013 by GLPoomobile

[Anthony 1,000]

Good write up Steve

 

Always good to hear about what others are trying/using and how it compares, and just because something is the norm, doesn't mean that there's not something better out there. Plasticare works very well, but it's certainly not perfect and has its limitations.

 

Do you have a feel for longeivity compared to other solutions? Plasticare seems to last years for example so long as it's not in regular contact, whereas say Autoglym Bumper Care only seems to last for a few months tops. I ask as your description makes this product sound like a more refined version of the later, and hence not sure how it'll last.

[NFS 32]

More of a light hearted comment, but you have explained your self clearly in the post above. good right up!

[cRaig 265 1 Cars]

I remember when I joined the forum, halfords bumper spray paint was all the rage, so times do move on! When I eventually run out of plasticare/bumper snot, I'll give this stuff a go.

[jord294 87]

Steve.

 

Have you tried this on internal trim?

[MiniGibbo 142]

Been around for a while now, fantastic stuff and actually lasts years.

[Alastairh 47]

Sounds like its worth ago even for the fact of how messy plasticare can be. I applied some to my white 205 and it was a pain to remove all the black residue that dropped onto the paint.

 

Al

[GLPoomobile 958]

Do you have a feel for longeivity compared to other solutions? Plasticare seems to last years for example so long as it's not in regular contact, whereas say Autoglym Bumper Care only seems to last for a few months tops. I ask as your description makes this product sound like a more refined version of the later, and hence not sure how it'll last.

 

I don't personally have any evidence of longetivity as this is my first use of it. It's been around for a couple of years so there are reviews on the net and I've read feedback from other users who have had over a year of lasting colour and protection from it. Gtecniq claim it should last for ~2 years. How similar it is chemically to AG Bumper Care I don't know, but in use it is very different. Bumper snot is thick gel and you need plenty of it to coat your trim, it is very greasy in feel, and IME it's results on faded trim are quite limited. The C4 covers with far less solution required, is not gel like, and has a much less greasey feel to it, and seems to bring back the colour much darker (or nearer OE I should say) than what I've experienced in the past with bumper snot. Then again, that's perhaps an unfair comparisson without doing a back to back test on the same item. Gtecniq make lots of claims about Nano technology and how this bonds to surface and becomes part of the molecular structure blah blah blah, so they are either very clever chemo-geeks or it's very well marketed snake oil.

 

Steve.

 

Have you tried this on internal trim?

 

I haven't yet. I am going to try it on some faded bits of interior trim on my Volvo (window switch trim) soon though. So long as it's applied to bare plastic (i.e. make sure you thoroughly remove any surface contaminants from previous products) I expect it will work just as well on any plastic, but that obviously remains to be seen (one could assume the same of Plasticare but I know in practise it's not always the case).

[GLPoomobile 958]

Sounds like its worth ago even for the fact of how messy plasticare can be. I applied some to my white 205 and it was a pain to remove all the black residue that dropped onto the paint.

 

Al

 

My advise for anyone using Plasticare is to have a piece of cloth dipped in IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol a.k.a. panel wipe) to hand, and use this to wipe off any spillage as soon as it occurs. It'll come off no problem if you do it straight away with the IPA, so much easier to just do this as you go. Or just make the effort to mask up at the outset. You probably end up with the same effort and cost by the end no matter which option you go for (a roll of 3M tape is perhaps a few quid cheaper than a bottle of panel wipe, but the panel wipe will last you longer).

[Basset 4]

I used wurth bumper dye, £35 a tube but had excellent results, found plasticare came out a bit patchy.

[Symm 0]

Is the finish from the c4 still looking good? Any further thoughts/reflection on whether its a good option for tired, old phase 1 205 gti external trim?

 

Cheers guys,

 

Ken

[Robbiedundy 58 4 Cars]

Rather than masking trim off or wiping the surrounding areas after using plasticare I found using a piece of card just held up against the trim worked fine. I don't like how plasticare leaves a matt finish though, would the bumper snott leave a good shine on it? and maybe even protect it even longer?

 

That gtechniq stuff looks good, I can't imagine it'd work well on the badly faded trims though.

 

Robbie.

[GLPoomobile 958]

That gtechniq stuff looks good, I can't imagine it'd work well on the badly faded trims though.

I wish I was in a position to test that, but I'm not. I can see why you'd be sceptical though. One doesn't expect something that's not a coloured dye to achieve significant results on something badly faded. But it does seem to work, going by the Volvo bits I treated, and pics I've seen from other people who have treated really faded trim.

 

Until someone tries it on some really poor GTI trim we can only guess how well it would work.

[acox99 73 1 Cars]

I thought I would give this a go on a set of tired and faded ph2 bumpers. I was a bit sceptical at first, but I must admit, it's very easy to use with no streaking, just wipe it on and buff off. And it goes a long way, 2 bumpers (haven't done the side trims yet? But it's only used a 1/4 of the bottle. I certainly won't use dye again even though c4 is twice the price. I can't comment of its durability yet and the bumpers haven't been fitted.