larry_bar56
New member
I have been performing an experiment over the past 2-3 weeks and I want to report my results.
Like many people here I have had problems removing wax/polish "stains" from textured, black body side mouldings. I have read all the threads on how to deal with this and in fact, even started one a few months back.
I have used Mothers Back to Black, I have tried bug and tar remover, I have tried using a white eraser, all with varying degrees of success, but nothing that was totally satisfying.
So, I decided to experiment with other things, things you might not think to use on black trim.
First thing I did was make sure I was dealing with wax/polish residue on the trim and not just faded trim. I used a magnifying glass and a straight pin to examine the trim closely and poke at the white residue and see that it indeed did flake off.
Next I took an old toothbrush, a small plastic bottle (like an aspirin bottle) and some Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner (the stuff in the orange bottle). This is alkaline based and safe for clearcoat wheels, so I wasn't worried about it harming my paint.
I sprayed some A2Z in the small bottle and dipped the toothbrush in it. I then applied the A2Z to a small section of the trim. I aggitated the areas that were particularly bad. After 20 or 30 seconds I wiped it off thoroughly with a terry towel. I really dried it well with the towel with a buffing motion. I used the magnifying glass to examine the cleaned area. No sign of residue or harm to the trim.
I cleaned the entire trim on the passenger side of the car (leaving the driver's side alone). I have been fooled before by using solvents on trim, only to have the residue reappear a few days later. I didn't do any more cleaning or treatment on the trim for 2 weeks.
After that time, the passenger side trim still looked black and clean. This endured several washings, many days of rain and lot of sun and heat during that time. I was very pleased with the results.
Yesterday I did the same treatment on the driver's side. When everything was clean and dry I topped all the trim with some 303 and it looks as good as the day it rolled of the assembly line.
Some of you may think the A2Z is too harsh for this application, but I found it to be the perfect solution for my situation. If your black, textured trim is looking bad, you may want to consider this solution.
P.S. I took some before and after pictures, but because of the flash and reflections off the trim the pictures don't do justice to the whole procedure so I decided not to post them.
Like many people here I have had problems removing wax/polish "stains" from textured, black body side mouldings. I have read all the threads on how to deal with this and in fact, even started one a few months back.
I have used Mothers Back to Black, I have tried bug and tar remover, I have tried using a white eraser, all with varying degrees of success, but nothing that was totally satisfying.
So, I decided to experiment with other things, things you might not think to use on black trim.
First thing I did was make sure I was dealing with wax/polish residue on the trim and not just faded trim. I used a magnifying glass and a straight pin to examine the trim closely and poke at the white residue and see that it indeed did flake off.
Next I took an old toothbrush, a small plastic bottle (like an aspirin bottle) and some Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner (the stuff in the orange bottle). This is alkaline based and safe for clearcoat wheels, so I wasn't worried about it harming my paint.
I sprayed some A2Z in the small bottle and dipped the toothbrush in it. I then applied the A2Z to a small section of the trim. I aggitated the areas that were particularly bad. After 20 or 30 seconds I wiped it off thoroughly with a terry towel. I really dried it well with the towel with a buffing motion. I used the magnifying glass to examine the cleaned area. No sign of residue or harm to the trim.
I cleaned the entire trim on the passenger side of the car (leaving the driver's side alone). I have been fooled before by using solvents on trim, only to have the residue reappear a few days later. I didn't do any more cleaning or treatment on the trim for 2 weeks.
After that time, the passenger side trim still looked black and clean. This endured several washings, many days of rain and lot of sun and heat during that time. I was very pleased with the results.
Yesterday I did the same treatment on the driver's side. When everything was clean and dry I topped all the trim with some 303 and it looks as good as the day it rolled of the assembly line.
Some of you may think the A2Z is too harsh for this application, but I found it to be the perfect solution for my situation. If your black, textured trim is looking bad, you may want to consider this solution.
P.S. I took some before and after pictures, but because of the flash and reflections off the trim the pictures don't do justice to the whole procedure so I decided not to post them.
