Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

[Joe Cool]

I sure hope I don't seem too stupid but I made a mistake while doing a wash/clean/polish/protect on my car. I lazily got some wax on the bottom parts of some of my trim. It's plastic, of course. I wiped it off but it still remains there a slightly blueish/gray color. What does Meguiar's recommend I do to restore it to the original black?

I was considering using this VHT Vinyl dye. caswellplating.com/vht/vht_spec.htm But I hoped to go to that only as a last resort. If there are any Meguiar's products that can quickly spray and wipe my problems away I'd be absolutely thrilled.

[asim_296]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

Have you tried any of Meguiar's Vinyl & Rubber cleaner?

[TimG]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

I usually just use a small brush and with the car shampoo solution. If its still there, a good spray with APC+brush on the affected area would help. Any good quality dressing would restore the luster. Try the GC trim detailer as it work wonders on all my cars.

But if the trim is really faded out, dyes might do the trick.

[gb387]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

There are countless ways to fix the problem, so here is another option that works well, spray a little quik detailer on the area and use a small brush and/or toothbrush to help remove the wax/polish. Then follow up with a dressing.

[Heatgain]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

Diluted APC and a small brush will do the trick. It's the brushing action that gets into the crevices of the trim and cleans off the wax, aided by the cleaner.
APC does so many things, it's amazing stuff. Wonder if it whitens teeth too?

[ColonelCash]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

I'd say the dye would be a last resort. From what I hear, they are quite messy and hard to apply evenly.

I agree with the APC and #40 suggestions (#39 is a strong cleaner, but leaves no protection)

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

[quote=Joe Cool;263855
If there are any Meguiar's products that can quickly spray and wipe my problems away I'd be absolutely thrilled.
[/quote]

Dried wax stuck into the irregular surface of plastic trim usually doesn't spray and wipe-off, it's usually a lot more work involving a nylon bristle brush and repeated applications with some type of cleaning agent. Depending upon the texture of the plastic this can be even harder.

Just to note, this is the curse of new cars and you're not the only one that's made this mistake and had this problem. First thing to do is to locate a short, but stiff bristle nylon brush, short bristles work better for scrubbing stubborn or tightly bonded residue versus a long bristle brush because the long bristles will tend to flex too much. Check out the household cleaning section of Target or Wal-Mart, and also auto parts sections of these stores and auto stores themselves.

After that our M39 Vinyl Cleaner is really effective as is our All Purpose Cleaner but for the latter you have to order a gallon and dilute it yourself. It would be fast to locate a PBE store and if they don't have M39 in stock have them order you a bottle or two.


How to locate Meguiar's Professional and Detailer products in your hometown

The above "how-to" article can be found in the How To Articles forum which is easily navigated to by the links always post in the center column of the forum homepage that look like the below.

Have Questions? Looking for Answers?
So much good, practical and helpful information in the "Information Station" like these two forum groups and the List 'O Links thread.

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[Mort Corey]

Re: Made a mistake, I hope there is a solution.

If the area(s) is pretty small, a toothbrush works pretty well.....just make sure it doesn't find its way back into yur bathroom

Mort