Regarding the trim on the T-top (the one that is about 3 inches away from the intersection with the window, and continues down each side of the windscreen to meet the bonnet) does anyone know how to restore it back to black again ? It appears to be fading to a greyish black with white-ish cloudy areas.

 

Thanks

 

 

John

A cheap fix is black electrical tape!

 

Clean the area up first then apply the tape (don't stretch it as it will flex back!!)

 

Also don't forget they come in different widths, obviously the bigger the width of the tape the more you cover without any stupid looking joins half way across.

 

It's a cheap but effective fix to the problem.

 

Matty.

Matty

 

Thats an excellent fix.........I just tried it, I only had 18mm wide electrical tape, but it looks like 25mm will be perfect, I will be off to the electrical store tomorrow to get some 25mm wide.

 

 

Thanks

 

John

peanut oil works and brings the colour back.

 

Vijay

I doubt if peanut oil can turn white cloudy areas to back.

 

 

John

I used Back to Black on mine last week and it worked really well. Took a couple of applications though. Used it on interior door handles too as they were cloudy.

Hi

 

What is Back to Black ?

I just realised..... back to black is that tyre blackener, I had some left, just tried it, works great, dont know how long it last tho, off to Halfords to get some more now. I looked everywhere for the wider (25mm) electrical tape, RS components is the only place I could find that has it.

 

John

Vijay,

 

Where do you buy peanut oil? Been looking around and only place I found it is a Health food shop and they wanted a fortune for it. Any ideas?

 

Nick

:cool:

Nick

 

I believe Sainsbury has peanut oil

or use Back to Black, about £4.99 at Halfords

 

 

John

Back to Black is a plastic/rubber treatment for all colours. Its by Simoniz I think. You can get it in most car product places. The trim on my Z literally drank it up, looked like it did the plastic the world of good, not just in terms of colour.

Nice one John, gonna try some ArmourAll stuff on it first, if that doesnt work then will send the missus down the sainsburys this week.

Ta

 

Nick

:cool:

Armour All should work well, in fact, Vijay's suggestion of peanut oil does make sense, the sun has bleached the carbon black (pigment) out of the plastic, many types of oil will darken the colour. Probably will have to be re-applied several times in the summer months, but well worth it. Had Armour All been used when new maybe the strips would be perfect today.

 

John

I tried all of the usual "back to black" and some other makes, none of them lasted. The only way is to use a spray. I used Plasti-Kote satin black, there are other makes including Hammerite. The plasti-kote looks brilliant and is about as permanent as you can get.

 

I did the seal at the base of the door glass with it as well.

Grant,

 

Is this spray a type of paint ? if it is I guess there is a lot of masking to do.

 

John

Or if you wanted to of course, you could buy brand new ones....

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/interior/trim_seals.htm

Grant,

 

When you used 'back to black' on the trim strips, did you remove the strips to paint them ? If so, how do you get them off ?

 

John

John, I masked up the trim and used magazines and newspapers to cover up the car. I sprayed the PlastiKote straight on, it didn't need priming. The results are just like new and the PlastiKote was less than a tenner.

Thanks Grant,

 

I bought the Plasti-cote yesterday, I will have a bash at it right now, its not windy out now, and with some masking, should be great

 

 

John

Grant,

 

Where did you get the Plasi-cote from??

 

I have been looking for some today and drawn a blank!!

 

Matty.

Matty

 

 

I GOT IT FROM HALFORDS

 

JOHN

Sods law..............

 

The only place I never looked, I'll get some this week and do it the weekend.

 

Cheers fella!

 

Then she's off to get a T-Cut, colour restore, stone chip sorting, wax and polish at the local body shop.

 

All set for Billing then!!

 

:D

 

Cheers,

 

Matty.

I did not trust myself spraying the paint on (bit too much of a breeze today) so I masked off the areas, sprayed some paint into a jar, and brushed it on, brush marks dissapear, dries smooth and shiny. Looks great

 

 

John

Cheers for that, I'll be spraying mine into a jar then painting it on........

 

Sounds like top advice!!

 

:D

 

Matty.

Cheers Guys.

after all this heat we're having my black bits are now silver and need doing too.

:mad:

Looks like I'll be doing mine too next week.

:D :D

Originally posted by Matty

Grant,

 

Where did you get the Plasi-cote from??

 

 

ISTR it's a lot cheaper in Focus than in Halfords!

 

HTH,

Zack