There are a few products out there, all of them more or less the same. Some people use heat gun, which actually works, but gotta be careful. My friend who worked at an auto body shop before opening his repair garage tells me that he would paint those for the best result. He told me but I forgot what he used, he used some special sorta paint specifically made for this purpose. I don't think it was off the shelf stuff.
The outside plastic area just below the windshield.
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Once the plastic has turned a lighter shade of black, all you can do is temporary restorations BUT it'll look much better for a couple of months.
Here in the intense sun and heat of the PRK, I use 303 Marine (White Bottle) OR Auto (Blue Bottle) Protectant on all exposed rubber window gasketing as well as the plastic tray under the wipers.
303 will restore the rich black color for a couple of car washes, and eventually you'll have to re-apply.
In a cool, non-sunlit area - first clean off the plastic, then spray on the 303, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it off with a micro-fiber rag. Take a few steps back and smile at your handiwork
I've also heard good things about the Turtle Wax Ice line of products - but haven't given them a try.
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Here in the intense sun and heat of the PRK, I use 303 Marine (White Bottle) OR Auto (Blue Bottle) Protectant on all exposed rubber window gasketing as well as the plastic tray under the wipers.
303 will restore the rich black color for a couple of car washes, and eventually you'll have to re-apply.
In a cool, non-sunlit area - first clean off the plastic, then spray on the 303, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it off with a micro-fiber rag. Take a few steps back and smile at your handiwork
I've also heard good things about the Turtle Wax Ice line of products - but haven't given them a try.
Back in the day, 303 started their business in FL making detailing products for Cigarette boats.
Traditionally these boats have no top, and thus the entire interior is exposed to intense FL sunlight.
Also, traditionally, Cigarette boats have paint jobs that are easily 1/4 of the value of the boat.
In my experience - 303 products are good to go in my book; they stand up to the harsh sunlight of we encounter here in the PRK.
As far as overspray - I try to minimize that by folding a clean micro-fiber towel until I get a "sturdy" folded over edge, and then spray the product directly on to the micro-fiber cloth (MF Cloth hereafter).
From there, I rub the sturdy edge onto the rubber gasketing - exerting elbow grease. An exchange takes place where the sundrenched gasketing stains the MF Cloth, and the gasketing soaks in the protectant. Any 303 that gets on the glass or paint is wiped off immediately with a clean MF Cloth.
The renewed semi-shiny finish is easily touched up when necessary and lasts a few car washings before it needs to be renewed.
In 17 years, I haven't seen any signs of glass or paint damage using this product.
Inside the cockpit, on the hard plastic dash and porous/easily scratched upper door cards, I use a German product called Nextzett Cockpit Premium.
It's a low shine product, smells great, and is safe for the speedometer clear plastic cover and dash plastics. It's sold on Amazon for around $16 a bottle. Spray it on a MF Cloth, wipe the dash and door cards clean, and you'll see the "exchange" take place. Dried, sunbaked plastic will be removed and adhere to the MF Cloth, and the revitalized dash/door card plastic will be moisturized and have a matte type of shine to it. To wind my review of it up, the product smells good.
For the soft door gasketing and sunroof gasket, I use their Gummi Pflege product. It's so good that Mercedes Benz used to "rebrand" it and sell it as their own. Made in Germany, and about $14 on Amazon.
Hope that helps -
I‘ve use Maguire's restore to black black on all our vehicle. The black plastic’s on the 500 are really cheap. Going now, on 12 years of ownership.
Don’t use anything but this product for the power sunroof. It’s what Fiat recommends. I bought it at the Mercedes-Benz dealership we go to.
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This is the weather stripping lubricant that I use on all our cars. You can purchase it at the Honda dealership. It’s the best thing on the market.
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Don’t use anything but this product for the power sunroof. It’s what Fiat recommends. I bought it at the Mercedes-Benz dealership we go to.
This is the weather stripping lubricant that I use on all our cars. You can purchase it at the Honda dealership. It’s the best thing on the market.
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