Black Plastic, Keep it Black

"Turn your gray door handles black again"

Modern cars like this SHO have lots of that rough black plastic that turns gray or worse with age and misuse

Put the Black back in that plastic!

    The reason those rough black plastic parts turn gray or white is mainly due to wax getting into the "grain."  Chances are you have tried taking a tooth brush, different compounds, alcohol and everything else on the shelf to try to turn those parts black again.

     First I must ask that you try to change from a typical polish/wax that turns powdery white to a more modern wax that won't do this as badly in the first place.  For now I recommend a couple of products: Meguires Gold Class in the paste version, and Collinite Carnuba No 915. I haven't found a product yet that will leave ZERO residue behind, but these are much better than most in that respect.

     Second, order from DC CarCare a product from Wurth (the German chemicals people) called Rubber Care.  This spray product is clear and will instantly turn those handles and other parts to pure black.  Now that gray look WILL come back in about two to three weeks, but if you keep applying the Wurth Rubber Care every time you wash the car and wax it, your handles will get to the point where they stay looking nice for months.

     This product works better than anything I have tried and it goes a long way.  You can use it to spray on under-hood hoses for that detailed look, and you can wipe it on rubber seals around the doors and windows.  Do NOT use it for tires.  It won't last long at all that way, and Vinylex from Lexol works much better and goes a lot farther for your money.

     To apply the Rubber Care, I use those blue paper "shop towels" sold at Sams/Wal-Mart etc.  They don't leave lint and are nice and thick.  Spray a circle of Wurth Rubber Care on the towel and wipe it on the door handles.  Do this after waxing the car, and be careful since the Rubber Care can smear the paint (it won't hurt it though).  Done this way one spray can will do most exterior and interior rubber  (not vinyl, but rubber) on cars for 10-20 details or more depending on how many places you use it.

    Rubber care is just $9.95 plus S&H 

    The next topic will be about applying wax the right way.

    As always, if you have specific detailing questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me.  30 years of caring for national award winning cars has left me with more information than I bargained for!  :)

Email: dmall@mwonline.net