Rubber trim?

[rascal]

Hey everybody,

To help out with my question, here is a little story on my car.

I purchased this car back in July of 2005 from a local Ford dealer. The car had only 12999 miles on it when I bought it. The salesman told me an older couple (who pruchased the car from the same dealer new) use to pull the car behind their motorhome on trips. Now most people who pull cars behind motorhomes don't keep up the exterior to par alot of times. The dealer had buffed and use the "Auto Butler" paint protectant system on it when the car was brough in to be traded. I know the the paint wasn't kept up due to the tell tale signs of paint neglect under the spoiler and near the edges of doors. I used Mequiar's consumer brand cleaner/wax on the paint and it brought out the shine again. I then used the consumer polish and carnauba wax system to finish off the project. I noticed that the rubber around my windows are faded and look like they have water spots or something. I have cleaned them really good while washing my car and then using Armor All (I know, bad word lol) to help bring them back, but it only shines them and not restore them. Do you guys have any tips or suggestions on how I can get these pieces to look like new again? I have posted some pictures up to show you what I mean. The rubber trim around the quarter panel glass looks okay, it's just where the driver side window area that is ugly. The passenger side isn't as bad, but it's still distracting. Thanks for your help!

[Top Down]

Works awesome. Wipe on, let sit a couple of minutes, and then wipe off. Not a permanent fix, but lasts weeks.

Gold Class Trim Detailer



For something permanent, they sell some kind of dye I think. Never looked into it.

[rascal]

Thanks for the fast reply. I just bought Exterior Trim Detailer today from Autodetailersolutions.com and will see what I can get with that. Does anybody know what might have caused the rubber to do that, besides not taking care of it of course. Makes me want to smack the original owners for not taking better care of her.

[05PhillyStang]

It's caused by sun damage. I don't think there are any other factors. I hate rubber trim, well some types...Ford especially. I have a 2005 Mustang GT and even when I've just finished detailing, I notice that ugly trim. It's not faded b/c it's new, but it's a horrible contrast against the black paint.

I'll have to try the detailer. I usually use Meguiar's aresol trim product, which works, but doesn't last too long.

[rascal]

05Philly: Which aresol did you use? The Exterior Trim Cleaner I just bought comes in a aresol can. I looked at the one trim detailer in a bottle, but didn't say much about doing exterior trim like the aresol did.

[sneek]

i think it looks like

[rascal]

Yep...that's the stuff I just bought.

[Murr1525]

I think if you find yourself with a lot of trim to work on, then you may even try something like Hyper-Dressing or All-Season Dressing, etc, that will be a bit more product for the money.

ASD seems to last quite well.

[zr123]

Try using this stuff to clean out the trim, and then apply one of the trim detailers... you may have to scrub hard with the cleaner, but it'll definitely work.

more info: http://www.meguiars.com/?pro-vinyl-r...-Vinyl-Cleaner

[rascal]

Thanks for all the replys and suggetions guys. I will check out all the products mentioned and give them a try. I will post pictures when I get everything done. Thanks again!!

[05PhillyStang]

Originally posted by rascal
Yep...that's the stuff I just bought.

Yeah, that's the stuff I was talking about. After re-reading my post, I realized that I sounded like I didn't like the product. That's not the case. It's the trim itself that bugs me. Even if I clean it up with the trim detailer, it still looks like junk. The top of the trim that archs to the window's shape actually looks pretty good when cleaned. The bottom part, though, forget it. It's rougher than the otehr trim, and seems very porous.

[rascal]

Yeah, I will give it a whirl on the trim cleaner. Anything has to be better than what it looks like now. I will try that ASD to see how it will do as well. Thanks for everybodies output on this, you have really helped me.