Piano black protection

bob m

bob m

New member
On my new Mazda, there is a small area around the shifter that is piano black - ya know super shiney and easily scratched. Is there any product available/recommended to lessen/help prevent swirl marks and light scratches?
 
I don`t know of any interior product that would prevent scratches on trim. You just have to be very careful to only wipe it with a very soft MF towel.

I`d love to get ahold of the designers who are slapping piano black trim all over the interiors and smack them on the side of the head. Have they ever daily driven a car and then cleaned it up?!

I wonder if someone could custom cut some PPF to cover those inlays. I`ve seen some people get vinyl wraps on interior trim, so it might be possible with a clear PPF too.
 
Desertnate said:
I don`t know of any interior product that would prevent scratches on trim. You just have to be very careful to only wipe it with a very soft MF towel.

I`d love to get ahold of the designers who are slapping piano black trim all over the interiors and smack them on the side of the head. Have they ever daily driven a car and then cleaned it up?!

I wonder if someone could custom cut some PPF to cover those inlays. I`ve seen some people get vinyl wraps on interior trim, so it might be possible with a clear PPF too.
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Actually, I can understand about no product other than a film of sorts not being able to prevent a scratch, but I`m more concerned with those all but impossible to prevent swirls. Now that I think about it, why wouldn`t an auto coating take care of swirls?
I agree with you about those designers. Probably 99% of car owners like that shiny look and don`t really see or are not concerned about all those swirls.
 
bob m -
I`m with Desertnate on this one..

I have yet to see any Interior trim, any type of finish on it including jet black, that is not marked up and required my careful application of Zaino All In One Cleaner Polish Protectant, to get it back to normal. No one I ever Detailed vehicles for ever asked your question either.. :)

Will a coating protect the trim from swirls ? I have never seen a Coating that does this.. It is not a shield from scratches either.. It may take longer to get damaged, but it is not perfect.

I only clean Interior Trim using straight back and forth motions... No circles - ever... I never make swirls in it..

The only thing that will protect that jet black from defects is going to be custom cut ppf carefully applied.. It is way thinner, stronger, and nicer to work with than ever...

It will take the hit and it will be easier to deal with when it gets marked up too. And you are not risking removing too much of that jet black paint any longer..

We all see what happens to jet black trim on the B and C Pillars of the doors, right? And how does that get there??? :)

Perhaps talk to Phillip Yiu of Detailer`s Domain up there in your neck of the woods ? He has probably dealt with this a zillion times..
Dan F
 
Thanks Dan. Maybe I will give Phil a call. But if there is no protectant other than PPF I guess I have my answer. So, I see you are using Zaino, is Sal still the owner?
 
PPF is going to be your best bet. Coatings are not scratch or swirl proof. It is better than having nothing on it all. But don`t be surprised if you see minor swirling months down the road.
 
I`d either PPF it or not worry about the marring (which I`d consider inevitable). I`ve *NEVER* had a vehicle in remotely regular use that didn`t get such surfaces marred to some extent, and the finishes are so thin that I`ve quit bothering to correct them the way I used to.

Sigh..sorry to be a wet blanket, but...I just don`t see how anybody could be more careful than I`ve been with some of mine and even the S8 would require polishing every few years if I were to keep those surfaces showroom-new.
 
Bob, I`ll echo what`s been said: PPF for real protection, a coating for some minimal level of protection.

Congratulations on the new Mazda. I suspect you`ll be real happy with that one.
 
bob m said:
Thanks Dan. Maybe I will give Phil a call. But if there is no protectant other than PPF I guess I have my answer. So, I see you are using Zaino, is Sal still the owner?
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bob m --
Yeah, Phil will be your best source of what will work to protect that trim now... And you already know him and his work..

I only use 2 Zaino products - the Zaino AIO I talked about earlier, only for clearing up all that Interior hard trim.. I have found it to work great..
It always restores those trim pieces to like new again. Never had a reason to try anything else..

The other Zaino product I use on glass that is not getting a coating is the Zaino Z 12 Clear View Glass Polish.. It is fast, works great with a 3" pad on my Porter Cable machine, and I`m done.. For others that want a specific glass coating, I use their glass cleaner in the same manner..

Not really sure who is in charge of Zaino anymore... I have lost track of my local Reps, who probably moved on... I believe Sal Zaino had a couple of kids who have been doing the car show circuits possibly, if they even do them now... It is as you know, located in NJ. Perhaps still there?
I don`t frequent any Zaino blogs, etc., either.... Bet the Corvette people still know... :)

Good luck with your projects !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
I only use 2 Zaino products - the Zaino AIO I talked about earlier, only for clearing up all that Interior hard trim.. I have found it to work great..
It always restores those trim pieces to like new again. Never had a reason to try anything else..
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Whereas I found the abrasives in it too mild to correct anything on mine :( Which isn`t all bad since those still-imperfect surfaces didn`t get too much of their finish abraded away...

Eh, I almost wonder if I got a bad bottle of the ZAIO, it has never corrected *anything* for me (not flaming it, still use it).
 
Actually, I noticed that each of the doors (where the window buttons are) has that same piano black finish. I`d like to know who thought that would be a good idea? Anyhow, I just may have Phil do a PPF on those areas.
 
bob m said:
I`d like to know who thought that would be a good idea?
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Not only that, but I`d like to see what their cars look like...if they even own one. They obviously don`t maintain it or care about how those surfaces scratch.

At least it is only the area around the buttons. I test drove a couple cars not long ago and they had piano-black buttons! Just touching those dumb things over time will make them look bad. You can`t avoid it...

Maybe we should start a "ban the piano black" campaign.
 
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