Plastic Trim Fading, Restoration Options?

[RPD]

I've done a lot of reading and searching about this topic, didn't find anything here so here goes...

I have an '07 Avalanche, the trim parts (dark plastic) have a very known problem of fading. I've kept mine looking pretty good going on 5 years, but the upkeep is wearing on me.

If I don't want to continue the fairly often cycle of applying some product like Armor All, Turtle Wax's ICE etc etc I have 3 options:

1. Pay a body shop to sand/grind down the plastic flat and have it painted. Lots of $$$ here, I'm guessing 4 figures easy, but I haven't requested a quote (the newest models are painted now).

2. Semi OEM backed Gatorback coatings, not nearly as expensive, but it company's claim is it lasts for years or an almost permanent solution to the fading. The application looks simple enough, that I'd do it myself if I can use a roller, the kit for this option is $163 (otherwise I'd have to buy 4x$23 aerosol cans, something I wouldn't be as fond of doing).

3. The last option I've found is Carwox's Refinish Restorer, technical details here. This would set me back $53. It seems to be very well accepted and yields good results, what I don't know is how long the finish would last.

I recently lost interest in the whole undertaking, but saw a commercial for "Wipe New" that had me thinking again. People seem to think this product is basically option 3 above repackaged and significantly marked up.

I'm leaning towards option 2 because some dealerships (so I've read) provided it under warranty as a fix to unhappy and vocal customers, plus the difference in cost to the 3rd option isn't that large.

Has anyone had any experience for a long (minimum of 6+ months to a year with no fading) lasting options? I already know all the usual suspects, (back to black, Armor All, etc etc) and they aren't what I'm looking for.

Closing because of necro-bump.

Zenmervolt - AnandTech Moderator

 

[phucheneh]

Ironically I just started seeing commercials for this magic 'as seen on TV' product...can't remember the name. They put it on a beater XC70 (wagon with similar plastic trim to the Avalanche) and run it through a billion car washes or whatever, and it still looks like new! Yeah right...

You don't have to grind the pieces to paint them. I mean, they'll be textured, but imo, it wouldn't look that bad. You could always just paint them...gray. Or black...something other than body color.

The 'Gatorback' option looks nice. Again, though, I wonder if it's really that much different front just painting the stuff grey and then maybe clearing it. Or you could just get them sprayed with bedliner...

Essentially, I can offer no worthwhile experience. But I'd be looking at a 'DIY' method...I'm assuming you're willing to remove all the trim before painting/coating?

Also of note...what kind of 'Armor All' are you using? Water-based stuff won't last, but a quality silicone-based dressing may hold up a lot longer.

 

[pandemonium]

In for some opinions too.

I have some fading on my darker (black and dark grays) exterior trim and the last time I detailed my car, I decided what the hell, and used Mequiar's interior protectant in ample application after being thoroughly cleaned. I was very impressed with how much of the fading/cracking the wax covered up and it lasted for about 6 months of car washes and being parked 24/7/365 outside. Time to do it again, however.

I've seen plenty of DIY canned-paint jobs that look decent enough right after they're done, but I'm not convinced with their longevity (they never post updates years later).

I'm not sold on the Gatorback stuff. It says it lasts 3-6 years. That doesn't seem very effective for the cost of it. The Carworx refinisher from TRCS seems like a much more effective purchase. You could get at least 20 applications before it runs out, and also use it on just about anything. Also, I did a bit of browsing through the thread about the product and found that most people are reapplying after about 1-2 years (starting to see signs of minor fading).

I think the Carworx RR is the best way to go and I'm actually interested in it myself now (even though I don't drive anything that's even remotely close to an Avalanche; not that this matters).

 

[phucheneh]

Speaking of opinions...

I think I misspoke on the water/silicone thing. That was always my understanding concerning the, eh, milky white stuff, vs the clear or maybe bluish tinted 'conditioning and/or protecting' products. But I believe 'silicone' products are still water-based, and water-based products have silicone in them...one and the same, with varying mixtures, of course.

The longer-lasting, more expensive stuff (clear-ish liquids) are 'solvent-based.' Read: don't get it on your paint. But it seems to 'penetrate' the plastic trim a bit better and have a longer-lasting effect.

edit: with the pretty damned massive (no offense intended) chunks of plastic trim on an Avalanche, the latter products kind of make sense to me...I would try and saturate that stuff pretty well, much like applying oil to a blued gun.

But...again...I don't have an Avalanche, or any car with non-bodycolor trim that I maintain, so I'm just being speculative. One early Vibe in the family, but we just kind of gave up on the plastic. I basically just keep a little wax on the paint for them and touch up the occasional rock chip.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'd be really tempted to try Krylon Fusion paint for plastic.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?topic=112257.0

 

[NutBucket]

How about spray on bed liner? It'll make it look "tougher" too.

 

[SuperSix]

Clean, prep with TSP, spray with adhesion promoter, then spray with a few coats of vinyl paint. SEM low gloss black for vinyl.

Proper prep/cleaning is the key.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisodium_phosphate

 

[RPD]

Ironically I just started seeing commercials for this magic 'as seen on TV' product...can't remember the name. They put it on a beater XC70 (wagon with similar plastic trim to the Avalanche) and run it through a billion car washes or whatever, and it still looks like new! Yeah right...

You don't have to grind the pieces to paint them. I mean, they'll be textured, but imo, it wouldn't look that bad. You could always just paint them...gray. Or black...something other than body color.

The 'Gatorback' option looks nice. Again, though, I wonder if it's really that much different front just painting the stuff grey and then maybe clearing it. Or you could just get them sprayed with bedliner...

Essentially, I can offer no worthwhile experience. But I'd be looking at a 'DIY' method...I'm assuming you're willing to remove all the trim before painting/coating?

Also of note...what kind of 'Armor All' are you using? Water-based stuff won't last, but a quality silicone-based dressing may hold up a lot longer.

I typically used Turtle Wax's ICE wax on the trim, it seemed to hold up for atleast a few months. The Armor All products I'd try were whatever I'd use to dress the tires. What I really dislike about any of these type of products are the slimey/slippery finish they leave.

I haven't looked into how much labor would be involved in removing all the trim and how difficult that would be, ideally I would rather just tape and cover off the painted parts to avoid carry over.

 

[RPD]

I'd be really tempted to try Krylon Fusion paint for plastic.

I'll have to look more into painting. I'm hesitant because I have zero experiance painting anything and I'd be afriad when I'm done I wouldn't be happy with my crap paint job.

I'd be OK with the current texture just being painted over, I just thought the paint really wouldn't bond properly the the surface unless prep'd in some mechanical (sand/grind) fashion.

 

[SuperSix]

I'll have to look more into painting. I'm hesitant because I have zero experiance painting anything and I'd be afriad when I'm done I wouldn't be happy with my crap paint job.

I'd be OK with the current texture just being painted over, I just thought the paint really wouldn't bond properly the the surface unless prep'd in some mechanical (sand/grind) fashion.

See if you can find a similar panel/surface and try it on there first. Any automotive plastic panel should work. Junkyard?

 

[RKS]

303

weird named Gummi stick

 

[RPD]

See if you can find a similar panel/surface and try it on there first. Any automotive plastic panel should work. Junkyard?

Excellent idea, I should troll a junk yard/pick o part place to see if I can find an extra Avalanche bed panel.

 

[SuperSix]

Excellent idea, I should troll a junk yard/pick o part place to see if I can find an extra Avalanche bed panel.

Any plastic panel from a close year should work, interior or exterior. ABS is ABS. I only say try to get close to the vehicle year so the composition is similar.

 

[RPD]

I think I am warming up to the idea of painting knowing I don't have to sand, just clean it properly.

 

[phucheneh]

I would still lean toward removing everything. The fender flares probably detach fairly easily. The bigger concern is those pillars on the bed, though...they're, well, big. And high. If you just mask and start spraying them, I'd be worried about paint wafting around and leaving specks on other stuff as it settles.

And obviously the bed topper comes out pretty easily. Dunno about the side rails, but I'd say just masking them would be okay. Same with the fenders if you're not comfortable removing that stuff...trim like that is usually pretty easy to remove, but can be unusually hard to get reinstall properly. Kind of like bumper covers- once someone inexperienced R&R's it, you tend to get little edges poking out and whatnot...takes a bit of a 'touch,' I guess.

Alcohol is probably all you need for prep.

...job sounds like a twelve-packer to me.

 

[phucheneh]

Oh, and I would say definitely use some of the experiences on Chevy forums or whatnot. Really, anyone who has refurbished grey trim on any vehicle. I wouldn't say 'plastic is plastic,' as there are infinite formulations out there. But that textured stuff is all going to take paint about the same.

Don't cheap on the paint, even if some guy says rustoleum or whatever works fine. For one, cheap cans usually have cheap nozzles that make it hard to get good results from a rattle can.

You'll also want to figure out what kind of 'gloss' you want. Flat paint, even just a light dusting of it, might look good at first, but it will probably fade unevenly over time and you'll be back to square one. A 'satin' or even semi-gloss paint would probably be better. Clear is a good idea, but I don't know how that would end up looking.

The best thing about doing this is that it's easy painting...if you mess up, it's easy to redo, and any little particles that settle in the paint are going to be pretty hard to notice, since the surface is neither flat nor glossy.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://semproducts.com/index.php/download_file/564/313/

That looks like the right stuff. Don't know what it costs, though.

 

[Imported]

Plastidip?

 

[RPD]

Plastidip?

I may be trying that on a portion of my chrome grille to make it black, but I don have experience with it to know how well it's apply on this material.

 

[zerocool84]

I've used many products for fading black trim, Mr Clean Magic Eraser works good but they're expensive for how long they last and a ton of work. Peanut Butter works EXTREMELY well for plastic trim. The oils in it make black trim look like new but it's messy and gets everywhere and hard to clean out of the nooks and crannies. Back to Black has never worked well enough for me IMO. Just tried this new stuff called Turtle Wax Trim Restorer. Used it yesterday and it worked pretty darn good on all my black trim. We'll see how long it lasts though.

 

[styrafoam]

Would something like soda blasting be too abrasive? The plastic is basically oxidized right? I think any sort of lasting result would have to come from removal of the surface layer.

 

[ino uno soweno]

PLASTIC PAINT.

Hey Guys,
I am just curious as to your experiences and opinions with long term plastic paint chipping, I agree painting plastic is an option, but what I see is tiny and big chips close to the body, using some of the above paints,
I think it is not easy to mask a full size truck perfectly, especially for someone without a lot of experience in masking like me, , so if the paint gets on or to close to the body paint work, resulting in movement causing cracking and chipping,
Also it would be great to get updates from previous posters or OP’s please,

Please note the easiest way to tell the difference between painted plastic trim, and unpainted plastic trim, is to look for paint cracking or chipping around the masking lines,
Also, I have observed the top layer of colour has chipped away showing a bright or light coloured primer, From that observation I would suggest any one painting their plastic should only use same coloured plastic primers, woof, that looks crap,
Also, another recent observation is there is a new paint stripper “ for plastic “, if you do not know and would like to know, I can prove that some Auto paint strippers will burn the surfaces of plastic, please do your homework before paint stripping painted plastic,
Hop that helps someone,

 

[Throckmorton]

Just go to a parts store and buy the stuff that Meguiars makes for this purpose. Stop over thinking. It's just trim

 

[ino uno soweno]

Styra,

Would something like soda blasting be too abrasive? The plastic is basically oxidized right? I think any sort of lasting result would have to come from removal of the surface layer.

I never thought about it before, but I think, plastic being soft, and blasting pressure high, heat build up might cause problems, impregnation could be a problem,
As to the oxidation being all plastic, I would suggest you might have some oxidizing polishes and road grim on top there too; perhaps you could look for a specialized solvent to wash it off,
I totally agree removal is the key to a lasting finish, but so is adhesion of the new paint coating to the plastic, I think the second key to a lasting finish is “ the first linking coat” between the plastic and the top layers of paint,
Good luck,