Vegetable oil... (not as fuel!)

[ekjdm14]

Just wondering if anyone else uses this on their black plastics (like bumper inserts/rubbing strips etc), or has come across a proprietary brand that does the job better/lasts longer?

Interested because I've still yet to beat it as a treatment for aged plastics, although it goes a bit sticky if one uses too much it lasts a lot longer than Back to Black from what I've seen. (Diesel has actually worked pretty well in my younger days too, but that stinks!)

[Michel]

Heat them gently with a paint stripping gun. This draws out their natural oils and makes them go black again.

I've also used that shine spray with good effect but I can't remember it's name. It's made by the same lot who make muc-off though.

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[ekjdm14]

I've heard that a few times too however I feel that, in the long-term, drawing out the oils within the plastic would be detrimental & maybe contribute to it going brittle/crumbly so I've always swayed toward adding a surface dressing. Could be useful on really badly faded stuff though.

I think my dad has some muc-off stuff in his shed, will have to see if there's any plastic treatment amongst it & give it a try. If it lasts longer than good old veggie though I'd be surprised,

[Stickyfinger]

Heat them BUT feed them with a product based on a natural wax immediately after treatment. I never use silicon based products on any plastic as that breaks down the cross-linking of the polymers under UV (sun light). This is very much a danger with the "dash-shine spray" stuff on softer interior plastics and vinyl.

[daviemck2006]

I never use anthing other than soapy water on interior trim and plastics. I utterly hate the spray on instant shine with a passion. I wont use it on exterior plastics either.

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[ekjdm14]

Agree there, I'd never want to put any silicone/chemical dressing on the interior trim. Just keeping that clean is sufficient, and the silicone etc stuff for exterior trim is way too shiny IMHO and also feels horrible, not that I fondle my bumpers very often but... Maybe one place I would use it is on window runners and door seals to prevent them sticking, specially on the white car so they don't mark the paint.

May give the heat/wax treatment a go on some scrap plastics and see what that turns out like too, how well does it last when you've done that Alasdair? And is it something you'd do to every bit of trim on a car or just to rejuvenate badly faded/patchy items?

[Stickyfinger]

Daffodil's is still good....has not been long. I have done it on other cars and after a good wax not needed to apply anything other than waxes to keep it black/dark grey

Try an old piece of trim....., once it starts to "wet" use the heat like a paint brush

[ekjdm14]

Mmm, yummy plastic trim never looks blacker than when it's set against Blanc Banquise paintwork. Never really appreciated just how bright a white it is until Tuesday when White arrived at her new home. Noir Onyx however, shows up the slightest imperfection in the trim inserts!

[demag]

Linseed oil I heard is good.

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[van ordinaire]

There was, briefly, a firm called Raceglaze that made some amazing products, every one was a different, wonderful, colour (all came in clear containers) & different scent (good enough to eat - or wear!) but their plastic reviver was extraordinary, it would restore, to all intents & purposes, permanently hard plastic parts that had gone milky. Never found another product like it.

Heat guns? No, sorry - not that brave!

At one of the CCC rallies last year, someone was advocating engine oil for black plastic trim, particularly soft bumpers. Not inclined to try it myself - it'd only show up the bodywork!

[elma]

Wd40 always worked well for me.

[ekjdm14]

WD seems to look nice for a day or so but soon dries out. Also, for a 'Water Dispersant', it always washed off bloody quick when the rain came. Over a week & 300+ miles since "treating" the plastics to some cheap veggie and it's still looking fresh, if a little bug splattered, and that's with the weather being a typical British summer mixture of strong sun & heavy rain.

Worth a try, if you never have...