Using A Heat Gun To Bring Plastic Back To Black.

[Guest BrainFluid]

...at least it did'nt work on my bumper!

 

Thought I'ld give it a shot seen as I had a heat gun in my hand at the time. Gave a test patch a real good heating but no joy.

 

So thats that myth out of the window.

[Alastairh 47]

Are you sure?

 

looking at old threads Paint guy uses it daily.

[DTORU 0 1 Cars]

Trust me on this one use a spray detailer called motorex protect and shine.

Work a treat on all serfaces inc paint ad leaves a lasting glossy shine.

 

Thanks

DTORU

[hengti 2]

not done this myself, but suspect the problem is that the original bumpers aren't actually plastic (not like the side mouldings anyway) - they're made from some kind of reinforced plastic material - i smashed one once and it splintered, a bit like fibreglass. i wouldn't have thought it'd melt as easily as the side mouldings. pattern bumpers are cheap plastic like the side mouldings though.

i'm sure someone'll be along to explain properly

[sonofsam 5]

Yeah i think the bumpers are made from GRP (glass reinforced plastic)

as they do splinter.

WD-40 brings a shine up on them..for about a day!

[notamondayfan 44]

goto the pound shop, and buy some back to black! granted it only lasts a few weeks, but at that price you just reapply!

[Guest BrainFluid]

Hmmm, I'll try it on some of the side trim next then to fully test.

 

The glass reinforced bumper would explain it, the bumper just got VERY hot, lol and tinges of brown started to appear.

 

Good. In my mind it made sense that applied heat would re-black plastic, maybe i wont be as dissapointed as I was now.

 

tnx.

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

Old engine oil also works!

 

I use the really back minging oil I drain out the oil diesel. I apply it with a brush, then leave it for a couple of hours the wipe off with a cloth. Can look odd when theres water on it!

[calvinhorse 870]

im telling you old dirty used black engine oil!

accept no substitute!

[PugAddict 0]

Would a session with wet and dry paper do the trick, maybe rub away the awful faded grey?

[hengti 2]

Would a session with wet and dry paper do the trick, maybe rub away the awful faded grey?

 

not sure it would. i think the black colour of the oe bumpers is just an impregnated 'coating' (the material they're actually made from is quite light) - i reckon you'd just be removing whatever's left of the colour by wet&drying it

 

old engine oil sounds interesting

maybe old chip fat?'lol'

[Paintguy 0]

not done this myself, but suspect the problem is that the original bumpers aren't actually plastic (not like the side mouldings anyway) - they're made from some kind of reinforced plastic material -

Yep, that'll be the problem. The technique works fine on 'proper' plastics, but not GRP.

 

Only solution is to try one of the instant, but short-lived methods described above, or repaint them. Something like Halfords vinyl paint, or PlastX textured paint would do the trick.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I work in a VERY big main dealer and used car centre.

 

We have a man who sorts out all our plastics on site.

 

I asked him about this.

 

The ONLY answer to get it back to a nice solid colour is to stain it again using the proper paints.

 

I will show you some before and afters when he does all my trim.

[Paintguy 0]

Well either he hasn't learned this trick yet, or he'd prefer to paint them, for whatever reason. Take it from the horses mouth - it DOES work. Granted, it doesn't work in every case, as I've said above, but it does work.

[cybernck 400 1 Cars]

The ONLY answer to get it back to a nice solid colour is to stain it again using the proper paints.

i don't know why people mind doing that.

 

easy to do, with amazing results, as shown here:

 

http://www.205gtidrivers.com/articles.php?data=m-trimrefurb

[Andy_C 50]

My method is to clean the plastic trim - and I mean clean it. I use Meguiars Trim & Vinyl Cleaner (pro range) and an old toothbrush, scrub the plastic, rinse and dry then apply 2 or 3 coats of Meguiars no. 38 trim dressing and it seems to work a treat.

[Rob_the_Sparky 9]

My method is to clean the plastic trim - and I mean clean it. I use Meguiars Trim & Vinyl Cleaner (pro range) and an old toothbrush, scrub the plastic, rinse and dry then apply 2 or 3 coats of Meguiars no. 38 trim dressing and it seems to work a treat.

 

How long does this last? Bumper snot works really well on the side mouldings of a ph1 car (dark grey) but struggles more on the GRP. This lasts a couple of months on my cars, which isn't too much hassle.

 

I'm assuming the paint technique is not liked because if not prepared correctly it can peel off...

 

Rob

[Butler 0]

I'm assuming the paint technique is not liked because if not prepared correctly it can peel off...

 

This would be my concern. How long has Robbie_G (author of article above) had his car since doing it, does it still look as good as it does in the article. I agree with cyber the results are very nice.

 

Jon Murgie's topaz looked excellent too after the trim paint he applied, but we don't know if it peel off the following week because he sold it.

[kevcomdude 0]

Have any of you guys tried using VASELINE ????

 

My Mum bought a second hand 106 from an experienced home seller, and we found residues of vaseline around the sides of the black bumper. I would also imagine that it would repel water also.

 

Give it a go with your chap stick and will smell nice also

 

Kev

[PugAddict 0]

Would a session with wet and dry paper do the trick, maybe rub away the awful faded grey?

 

 

The only reason I say this is because when you take a fingernail to the trim, the faded top layer scratches away leaving a not so faded second layer (on my '88 GTi). Haven't tried it on all the trim and bumpers though

[GLPoomobile 958]

old engine oil sounds interesting

maybe old chip fat?'lol'

 

 

Or maybe not wash your hair for a week and then rub your greasy head up and down the trim!

[PugAddict 0]

Or maybe not wash your hair for a week and then rub your greasy head up and down the trim!

 

[Ahl 4]

Bringing up an old topic here.

 

I tried this on a bit of both my front and rear bumper of my GTI and it went black a treat.

 

I did it to the sidetrim and it bent and deformed rather quickly (as well as going black) even though I was being very slow and careful!

Is there a prefered temperature/technique to doing this?

[Ahl 4]

Paintguy?

[Paintguy 0]

Is there a prefered temperature/technique to doing this?

Not the one you've been using, clearly!

 

I've not done any 205 side/arch trims, so it may be their flimsy nature and the type of plastic that's the problem, but saying you did it slowly concerns me a little.

 

I tend to do it quite quickly, with the gun less than an inch from the surface, so that it melts the surface (slightly) before the heat has time to 'soak' into the rest of the item and distort it. I'll start the gun away from the item, so that it gets up to full heat, then waft it quickly and closely over it.