black plastic/rubber bumper

R

rasx

New member
I'm trying to detail my gf's car ('88 BMW 525e) but I ran into a problem... the black plastic/rubber part of the bumper is all rough and dull in some parts. I tried Back to Black, but that didn't seem to do much. It seems that the smooth black bumper moulding has actually started to denature in some spots to the point that the surface is all grainy.



Is it possible to sand that down really fine till I get a nice smooth finish again?? Any advice on how to fix this??



I searched but didn't find any threads that addressed this problem. Please help.
 
From what I can see Forever Black just dyes faded black bumpers and trim... my problem isn't just fading it's the damn rough grainy texture that has almost magically appeared on some parts of the bumper.
 
Sounds like UV and ozone have attacked this piece of plastic and the plasticizers in the piece are dried out. There's no simple fix but if you want to experiment on it, I see no problem. Chances are you aren't gonna make it worse than it is.



It really needs to be replaced but its up to you (and her) if replacing a piece of exterior trim is worth it on a 15 year old car.
 
rasx said:
IIt seems that the smooth black bumper moulding has actually started to denature in some spots to the point that the surface is all grainy.
Click to expand...
Wow, I have the exact same problem on my window moldings. I bought the car used and just thought the moldings were textured until I noticed they were still smooth near the mirrors. :rolleyes:



I'm planning to attempt to sand them down and polish them like you say this spring. They have trouble holding a finish when dressed anyway, so I figure I have nothing to lose. The only worry I have is if the vinyl on the outside isn't the same as the vinyl on the inside....
 
4DSC,

I haven't tried the sanding and polishing yet... trying to improve a whole mess of problems with the paint finish first... but I think it'll work. If I do it soon I'll post the results... when you do it let me know how it went. Good luck
 
I had that problem on a 94 integra....after testing a couple things I ended up doing this:



-sanded untill smooth (visually and to the touch)

-3M rubbing compound as much of the sanding marks off I could

-forever black

-Sun of Gun vinyl/rubber protectant (it was all I had at the time)



Did a pretty damn good job, I think. Granted its not perfect, but it looks Waaaaay better than before. The shine fades a bit quickly but with a good dressing its all better again.



I'm new to posting so I don't know how to do pictures or anything but my online album of the job is here:



http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290556847
 
Bah, I'm sorry about that, Imagestation didn't used to be that way there's a button to join somewhere(it is free though and fun if you take alot of digital pics)....



I just uploaded the trim pictures into my gallery on this site if you don't mind searching for them...typing in "trim" should do it.



Ok I'm testing it here now....



Sorry, I'm still learning :D





7295trim2.jpg
 
Welcome to Autopia Louse76! :welcome Thanks for sharing your pics and experience with this.



Good luck to you too rasx. :xyxthumbs
 
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