Scratches on black window trim

[rlestra5]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

I tried following the thread for posting pictures, so I may have done this wrong. If so, please let me know. But this is just one shot of the black window trim with the scratches. Do not be mislead; the scratches are usually NOT this white or shiny. I could tell that the camera I was using made them appear worse on screen than they are when you look at them in person. But this is the area I'm dealing with and have been wondering if PlastX is cool to use on this. I plan on trying the PlastX on this surface - just wanted to see if anyone had any further thoughts/comments about the situation here.

[cnfowler]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

Sorry, Ryan. I can't really help you. I looked up pictures of the 08 Altima and still can't figure out what the finish is. Contact the dealership and if they can't figure out what it is, either live with the scratches or start trying different products to see what works. If you have any areas that are hidden or not as easily noticeable, try on those first. You don't want to screw it up if it's right there in front of you at eye level - you and everyone else will see it everytime the door is opened. Good luck. If I happen to see one of the new Altimas around town in a parking lot, I'll get a close up look and post back. The Nissan dealership in my area is over 30 miles away or I'd go by there.

[rlestra5]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

cnfowler,

After a lot of research, I finally found out that the black surface I'm dealing with in the picture above is a hard, flat black vinyl tape, not a plastic at all. Therefore, a product like Meguiar's Plastx would not be suitable for this surface. I was told that I would need the dealership to fix or replace altogether.

If I open the door, you can see that you could actually peel this tape off and underneath would be the color of my car.

I'm sure other cars have tape just like mine for the "B" pillars. Would you have any insight on fixing this surface now that you know what it is?

[roushstage2]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

Ahh, the tape. I just used dressing on my Neon that had the tape on the B-pillar, and would wax it when I was at it on the car.

[rlestra5]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

I think I'm just going to bring it to the dealership. Don't want to make it worse than it already is. Is it safe to be applying wax to vinyl, albeit vinyl tape, as you said you've done here?

[roushstage2]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

I did it on my 2001 Neon that had it. I wax over the vinyl decals on my car too. Just on decals, you have to be careful so you don't lift the edge. On that hard vinyl tape though, in my experience, wax won't hurt it. Just use a pure wax to be safe.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

After a lot of research, I finally found out that the black surface I'm dealing with in the picture above is a hard, flat black vinyl tape, not a plastic at all.

Therefore, a product like Meguiar's Plastx would not be suitable for this surface. I was told that I would need the dealership to fix or replace altogether.

Two Thumbs Up for doing the necessary research neededo find out exactly what the surface material is made out of.

If I open the door, you can see that you could actually peel this tape off and underneath would be the color of my car.

Can you just order new tape and replace it yourself?

Could you remove the tape and just go with the painted look?

I'm sure other cars have tape just like mine for the "B" pillars. Would you have any insight on fixing this surface now that you know what it is?

At this time Meguair's doesn't make a product specifically for vinyl tape, this would include a dressing to condition and protect and it would include any kind of abrading product for removing scratches.

We make a product call Trim Detailer which could probably be applied to the tape and make it look better by masking the defects but it wouldn't do anything to actually remove the defects.

The problem is vinyl tape doesn't lend itself well to being abraded with the end result looking good or looking like it did when it was new.

See this article we wrote that covers this issue and so many more issues like it...

(Begin article)

What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...

We get a lot of questions on our forum and at our Saturday classes from people trying to remove scratches out of all kinds of things, for example:

How do you remove a scratch out of;

* Glass?
* Clear plastic like a headlight lens, radio face plate, dash gages?
* Chrome, like a chrome wheel?
* Paint?
* Interior plastics like a plastic door sill or glove box door?
* Stainless steel, like a stainless steel door sill protector?
* Aluminum?
* Rubber?
* Pebble textured plastic like trim components?

This article isn't' about the how-to for removing scratches out of the above materials or coatings but about the practical science behind how you remove a scratch or any below surface defect out of any material or surface coating.

Read the below statement and think about it for a few minutes...

"Some materials and/or surface coatings don't lend themselves well to being abraded with the end-result looking good or looking like the original appearance"

In order to remove a scratch out of anything, metal, plastic glass, paint, etc. You must remove material around the scratch until the upper most portions of the surface are level with or equal to the lowest depths of the scratch or defect you're trying to remove.


Does that make sense?

The below diagram is for paint, however the the same idea applies to just about any coating or surface material.





In essence, you don't really remove a scratch, you remove material around a scratch.


Then the big question becomes...

Is the material or coating workable?

As in, can you abrade small particles of the material or surface coating and leave behind an original looking surface.


For example: Some things you can abrade, (remove the scratch), but you can never completely remove all of your abrading marks, thus you can't really fix the problem, all you can do is exchange one set of scratches of a different set of scratches.

The next factor you have to consider or at least understand is;

How thick is the surface material or material you're working on?


You are limited to what you can do with any material or surface coating. By this we mean there is usually a limit as to how much material you can remove before you run into the risk of removing too much and exposing the underlying surface or removing so much material that you change the component you're working on in a way that it won't look good and you can't undo the damage.

There's a saying on this forum we use often when discussing different members detailing projects and it goes like this,


"Sometimes you don't know what you can so until you try"

It's always a good idea to test your choice of products, applicator materials and application process, (by hand or by machine), to an inconspicuous area. If you cannot make a small area look good with your product, applicator and process, you will not be able to make the entire surface look good.

It's always a good idea to test first and error on the side of caution, versus make a mistake you cannot undo over the entire component or vehicle.


(end of article)


The ultimate fix would be for all the Altima owners to band together and demand Nissan start making cars that their owners can work on an maintain, this would mean making components out of materials that can be cleaned, polished and protected by the average person.

[rlestra5]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

Can you just order new tape and replace it yourself?

I don't know. How would I know exactly what tape to order? I wouldn't know how to do this without asking the dealer what I need and if I asked the dealer, they'd probably tell me that they could order it and replace it for me. Plus, I don't know the first thing about getting this tape off my car. I'd probably make a mess attempting this and I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing this.

Could you remove the tape and just go with the painted look?

I like the way the black trim looks and it is only one "B" pillar that is scratched; the rest are fine. It doesn't seem logical to me to remove all my window trim just for this problem. Otherwise, I might consider it.

[roushstage2]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

You would probably have to order that tape from the dealer who would charge plenty for it. There are chrome covers, etc. on eBay. You could buy a set and paint them gloss black. This would probably cost 1/2-1/4 of what the dealer would charge for new vinyl.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

Can you just order new tape and replace it yourself?

I don't know. How would I know exactly what tape to order? I wouldn't know how to do this without asking the dealer what I need and if I asked the dealer, they'd probably tell me that they could order it and replace it for me. Plus, I don't know the first thing about getting this tape off my car. I'd probably make a mess attempting this and I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing this.

Could you remove the tape and just go with the painted look?

I like the way the black trim looks and it is only one "B" pillar that is scratched; the rest are fine. It doesn't seem logical to me to remove all my window trim just for this problem. Otherwise, I might consider it.

They were just a few ideas... trying to think outside the box, don't really know your abilities for this kind of thing.

Sounds like the best thing to do is to take it to the dealership and pay them to do it for you and then in the future be very cautious when ever you touch these areas and share this with all your Altima friends so they don't make the same mistake you made.

Best of luck to you...

[rlestra5]

Re: Scratches on black window trim

Sounds like the best thing to do is to take it to the dealership and pay them to do it for you and then in the future be very cautious when ever you touch these areas and share this with all your Altima friends so they don't make the same mistake you made.

Mike, I could not agree more. This way I know I'm having the exact same material installed as it was when I bought the car. Could I do it myself? Maybe. But it would probably never come out the same. Thanks for your input on this.