DIY: Black Plastic Restoration

[Thizzelle]

how is it easier than painting?
I took grilles off, cleaned, dried then sprayed 3 coats of trim paint on them. They look brand new.
This way you have to mix chems together then wipe them a bunch and get all the nooks and crannies, doesn't seam worth it, sorry.

[Aleman]

This method will never chip

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[Ijl]

It's preserving rather than covering up I guess


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[jhaurimn]

how is it easier than painting?
I took grilles off, cleaned, dried then sprayed 3 coats of trim paint on them. They look brand new.
This way you have to mix chems together then wipe them a bunch and get all the nooks and crannies, doesn't seam worth it, sorry.

-You dont have to take pieces off of the car to paint them.
-You dont need to worry about paint peeling, uneven paint, and imperfections from painting basically.
-You keep pieces original, no one likes cheaply painted pieces.
-Works on all plastic, not just black plastic.

[Semblance]

Actually this did nothing to change the faded plastic of my window circuit breaker. But it worked great on everything else, I'm a big fan. "Mixing chems" here is about as hard as putting cream in your coffee. It's not a scientific thing, you're just thinning the oil a little. I'd much rather do this than paint. But hey, to each his own.

Anybody tried seatbelt receptacles yet?

[jhaurimn]

Actually this did nothing to change the faded plastic of my window circuit breaker. But it worked great on everything else, I'm a big fan. "Mixing chems" here is about as hard as putting cream in your coffee. It's not a scientific thing, you're just thinning the oil a little. I'd much rather do this than paint. But hey, to each his own.

Anybody tried seatbelt receptacles yet?

Yes. It works great if the receptacles arent too far gone yet.

[GutenGirl]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd share my experience. This has been documented but the pictures show how well it really works. Here is what you need

Boiled linseed oil
Paint thinner (mineral spirits)
Isopropyl alcohol (optional)
Cloth/towel



The alcohol is to help clean and prep the area. You can do this by other means. Make sure you get boiled linseed oil and not non-boiled.



So here's what inspired me to give this a go. My air filter housing for my m3 is pretty nasty looking. I just got the AFM refurbished from Greg, so there's no way I can use the housing as is. I tried using other dressing sprays but it didn't work very well.

Well, after cleaning the area with isopropyl alcohol, I mixed the linseed oil and paint thinner about 50/50. Then I dabbed my cloth in it and applied it to the housing. I waited a minute then wiped the excess.





I think the pictures say it all. The plastic looks so much better, almost new. I wish I knew this before I painted all my trim pieces with trim paint, because this would of restored them perfectly. You can expect to pay about $15 for everything you need.

So I'd strongly recommend this to restore door trim, bumper trim, any black plastic pieces really. I was about to spend $160 on a new filter housing, no need to anymore.

So this will work well on bumpers? I have a mk2 golf that has the black plastic bumpers and I've been dragging my feet about what to do with them.
Thanks for this, really useful and easy. (Looking.)

[squidmaster]

Gave it a whirl on some plastic parts on my 190e. Just used Maguire's 'Back to Black' on the other cars and this method blew BtB away by a long shot. (As a note I used BtB on these handles when I bought the car 6 or so months ago.)




Thank you for the write up!

[mr2peak]

So I scrubbed everything down with the alcohol, and it already looks factory fresh. What's the point of the linseed and thinner? Is it a protective coating?

[E30NJ]

I have to do that to my airbox. Nice write up.

[MuddyDuck]

DIY: Black Plastic Restoration

Will this work on the hatch cover for my convertible top? The plastic cover has faded and looks dried-out in spots. Would it work even thought it is blue, without changing the color?

[fresh_TD]

Will this work on the hatch cover for my convertible top? The plastic cover has faded and looks dried-out in spots. Would it work even thought it is blue without changing the color?


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it should..just try it, it won't hurt anything

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[Semblance]

Will this work on the hatch cover for my convertible top? The plastic cover has faded and looks dried-out in spots. Would it work even thought it is blue, without changing the color?

no, it does nothing for that.

all my trim has already faded after doing this. not worth the effort imho.

[jhaurimn]

no, it does nothing for that.

all my trim has already faded after doing this. not worth the effort imho.

Sorry to hear that, my air intake is still nice and black.

[Semblance]

Yeah, it must be a different plastic. Or maybe the UV. Still I appreciate the post, it was worth a shot.