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Faded Plastic for the zillionth time...

H3ALPHA

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Location
Los Angeles
Oh, I so hate this.

I have used Carworx to great success, but that success lasts for all of 5-6 months.

I am looking at pricing to simply replace these plastic pieces, so that in a few months time, my H3 doesn't look ragged.

Aside from the above, anyone know of a real way to permanently restore these stupid plastic pieces?

Pieces I am talking about:

- Plastic on either side of front windshield
- Plastic on either side of back door
- Cowl Grille
- Luggage rack plastic

Thoughts?
 

Jeepwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
980
Location
WI
Sure. Good question.
They make a plastic paint that works really well. Body shops use it all the time on bumpers and trim. They have a variety of colors. I used to work at a body shop and I've personally used it a bunch. You want to get a good quality paint made by SEM or another company that serves the industrial business. It comes in a spray can. Probably buy it on Amazon or Ebay. It's more expensive than most spray paint. You might need a primer, not sure. Follow the instructions to an absolute "T". Make sure to mask off really well. I'd personally cover the car in plastic b/c it's a lot easier to buy a $3 piece of painter plastic than spend 2 days removing overspray. Buy good quality 3M (yellow or green) masking tape that removes easily (but no risk of lifting paint), not the el-cheapo stuff. You probably don't like the idea of painting over plastic, but once it's UV faded, it's a viable long-term solution.

What a guys DOESN'T want to do is use wax or any kind of silicone appearance product like Armour-All, STP, etc. I mean you can, but it's short-term as you've found out. Silicates actually kind of goof up plastics and rubber. If you HAVE used either of those recently, you might put the job off a little longer a couple months ..and let the weather and rain remove most of the residual, especially if any gets between the micro-cracks in the plastic ...or thoroughly use a wax and grease remover. Paint not only DOESN'T stick to wax or silicates, it repels it. If you try to paint over plastic that still has wax or silicates in it it'll look like total crap b/c it'll fish-eye all over the place and generally not adhere well. Keep silicates away from your vehicle and it'll be happier in the long run.

The first coat should be a somewhat 'dry' mist which will lessen the chances of fish-eye on subsequent coats. Then the next coat (wet) should lay out nice. Don't overcoat. Don't use common el-cheapo spray can paints b/c they don't have enough UV inhibitors to stay looking black (or brown ..whatever color yours is) long enough. The temptation to save a few bucks is high, but I personally would only use the good stuff, but it's like $18-$20/can. But still, 1 or two cans is probably all you'll need. SEM has some videos on youtube I believe.
If you do it right it should look great for a long time. I have bumpers I've painted that look good 8 years down the road and counting (never garaged).

Good luck, report back your results!!
 
Last edited:

Traxx

Well-Known Member
Messages
682
Location
PNW
Take it all off and take it to a paint place and have the spray it. Or LineX it and never have to bother with it again.
 

H3ALPHA

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Location
Los Angeles
Sure. Good question.
They make a plastic paint that works really well. Body shops use it all the time on bumpers and trim. They have a variety of colors. I used to work at a body shop and I've personally used it a bunch. You want to get a good quality paint made by SEM or another company that serves the industrial business. It comes in a spray can. Probably buy it on Amazon or Ebay. It's more expensive than most spray paint. You might need a primer, not sure. Follow the instructions to an absolute "T". Make sure to mask off really well. I'd personally cover the car in plastic b/c it's a lot easier to buy a $3 piece of painter plastic than spend 2 days removing overspray. Buy good quality 3M (yellow or green) masking tape that removes easily (but no risk of lifting paint), not the el-cheapo stuff. You probably don't like the idea of painting over plastic, but once it's UV faded, it's a viable long-term solution.

What a guys DOESN'T want to do is use wax or any kind of silicone appearance product like Armour-All, STP, etc. I mean you can, but it's short-term as you've found out. Silicates actually kind of goof up plastics and rubber. If you HAVE used either of those recently, you might put the job off a little longer a couple months ..and let the weather and rain remove most of the residual, especially if any gets between the micro-cracks in the plastic ...or thoroughly use a wax and grease remover. Paint not only DOESN'T stick to wax or silicates, it repels it. If you try to paint over plastic that still has wax or silicates in it it'll look like total crap b/c it'll fish-eye all over the place and generally not adhere well. Keep silicates away from your vehicle and it'll be happier in the long run.

The first coat should be a somewhat 'dry' mist which will lessen the chances of fish-eye on subsequent coats. Then the next coat (wet) should lay out nice. Don't overcoat. Don't use common el-cheapo spray can paints b/c they don't have enough UV inhibitors to stay looking black (or brown ..whatever color yours is) long enough. The temptation to save a few bucks is high, but I personally would only use the good stuff, but it's like $18-$20/can. But still, 1 or two cans is probably all you'll need. SEM has some videos on youtube I believe.
If you do it right it should look great for a long time. I have bumpers I've painted that look good 8 years down the road and counting (never garaged).

Good luck, report back your results!!

Thanks.

Never used Armor-All, etc. Carworx Refinish Restorer is silicone-free.

Plastic Paint? Like these:

https://www.amazon.com/slp/plastic-paint/mjpakk39629uach

And would the results come close to looking as it did?
 

Jeepwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
980
Location
WI
No problem. I wrote "SEM" (It was right there in my text, hey?). It should work great since you didn't use those silicates or waxes.

Pro Tip: If ya want to take adhesion a step further (recommended): hit the plastic with high-solvent spray just before coating with the trim paint. It'll 'soften' the exterior a little and increase adhesion even more. Then you get more into a 'chemical bond' than a mechanical bond (not nearly as good). A bodyshop would probably use a plastic adhesion promoter. The adhesion promoters are like an extremely high ketone solvent ...similar to a PVC pipe solvent.

Traxx is probably right, if you don't feel comfortable doing it and want an A-1 job, take it off and to a shop and specify what you want done ...and what color. Probably cost $125-$200 but if it was a great job you'll be glad you did. Bodyshops buy these adhesion promoters in larger quantities. These items are really expensive to buy on a onsie-twosie basis.

thumbnail.asp
 

fanugy

Well-Known Member
Messages
150
Location
Phoenix, AZ
The SEM product is incredible- lays flat and never looks like a can job. I sprayed front grill and both bumpers on a ram 2500 after 200,000 miles and 8 years in Arizona sun and it looked brand new for several years (then I sold it and it still looks good whenever I see that guy).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

fanugy

Well-Known Member
Messages
150
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Lots of dust here too (though you will win that one) and nothing noticeable as far as build-up or more frequent wiping needed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Gadsden

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Location
The Mitten
I used a heat gun when I was removing some chrome trim. It worked pretty well

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


I used a cheap blowtorch on mine. Worked perfectly. I used a 1/4" piece of plywood to protect the bits of trim I didn't want to hit...Just need to run the heat over it very quickly. Looks brand new in a matter of seconds.
 

Jeepwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
980
Location
WI
Before ya spray the Sem coating (or any coating) over plastic, I would properly *prep* the plastic pieces for paint. That means spraying each piece with an aggressive solvent prior to topcoating so you can get a better bond than just scuffing. Otherwise it'll flake off and look even worse! That's how a bodyshop would handle painting a new replacement bumper. A bodyshop will use an Adhesive Promoter which is a high-ketone solvent that makes the outermost surface slightly 'gooey' long enough for the topcoat (or primer) to really bond to it. I'm convinced Adhesive Promoter which body shop supply places sell for $50 a Qt is the same as PVC pipe solvent for $3 a can. SEM probably has a prep product too.

But if I were doing it, I would get some non-died PVC pipe solvent and try that first. In fact that's what I do on plastic. Make sure ventilation is good and you have a good paint-safe respirator (not dust mask). There's a short window from when ya spray it to when the plastic becomes "Un-gooified" due to the rapid evaporation, ...so maybe apply 'promoter' to a couple pieces at a time then topcoat ...rather than use Promotor on all at once. The surface might be re-hardened (and less 'sticky' for topcoating). It's very temperature and humidity dependent.
 
Last edited:

Jeepwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
980
Location
WI
BTW, I like the 'flaming' idea trick with a torch. That's a good idea. Never tried it, but would be a lot less work than painting. I know they do it on other plastics. I have a couple plastic pieces starting to get hazy, I may look into it. Worst case a guy could always paint if it didn't work out. Great idea!

Personally speaking, if I were considering the paint method, I wouldn't actually use the SEM spray can paint. That's good for a parking lot quickie job, but wouldn't last nearly as long as a good quality coat of single-stage urethane PPG Deltron paint. This is based years of bodyshop experience and painting my own vehicles with various paints/methods. You'll get 4-5, maybe 6 years out of the SEM, more if garaged. But a person could achieve a good 12+ years, maybe 15 out of a good single-stage paint. That's leaving it outside all day everyday (not under the AZ, TX or FL sun though). Much longer if garaged or shaded. A UV-protecting clear rises to the top of the paint after it's sprayed (Clearcoat has more UV protecting). I would add some Flattening Agent to the paint (to achieve a medium-gloss look), maybe a dash of flex-agent. Use the same prep as I've described above. Ask yourself how long the shine on an OEM painted bumper lasts? That's how long the trim would look good for.

If a guy took the trim to a bodyshop they'd have all the stuff I just described. That's how they would prepare painting a replacement bumper. Taking it to a bodyshop would be a wise idea for most H3 owners and just pay them a couple hundred bucks or whatever they charge (bear in mind paint products are EXPENSIVE). Body guys like doing easy jobs like this where someone brings the parts in already off (no major prep time). But word of warning: don't use any silicone-based miracle shine products for at least 6 months prior. It's hard to get that stuff off and it's one sure way to screw up a paint job.

But the torching idea is great. That might be the first stage since it's non-invasive. Good for a few years maybe more if ya keep it garaged. I suspect there's a UV inhibitor that's applied to the OEM trim to keep UV from attacking the shine. Once ya burn that off I suspect it'll look good for a while, but not retain the shine as long as new trim would. But I could be wrong on that too.
 
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lc7404

Well-Known Member
Messages
69
Location
ohio
I did the torch method. Lol I used my torch lighter that I use for cigars . Came out great
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,677
Location
Scottsdale
Applied Wipe New again Saturday. Not sure how long the first coat lasted but I'm guessing 2-3 years. For me, I didn't want to have to torch the hood insert, the A pillar trim, the entire roof trim and the plastic trim below the doors. Don't trust myself to not burn up other stuff.
 

amrg

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,317
Location
Qatar
I have had positive experiences with wipe new on my truck. I applied it back in 2015 amd it was a big difference on my 09. I reapplied it earlier this year and it restored it again. My truck is parked outside mostly and its sunny and hot all year around.
One thing I noticed is that a layer of plastic is starting to peel. I can only assume is that it got backed by the sun and peeling off!
 
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