Door handles dilemma - need blacking.

K

KenSilver

New member
I've tried everything I can think of to get my matt black plastic door handles to stay black, but nothing lasts after the next rain/wash.



I've tried Mothers Naturally Black, their Preserves Protectant, as well as Meguiar's Endurance for tires... which works great on vinyl by the way.



Any ideas? I have 3 cars with this problem, and it would be great to get it solved.



One set of handles on the 4x4 I've just bought has old polish on it, which is part of the problem too. What should I use to get rid of that?



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
Boy-o-boy, I feel your pain, KenSilver. Are these handles greyed-out? If so, I can't offer much hope. My Benz handles and bumpers are in the same shape. I've tried some of the same products as you -- Forever Black, Back to Black, Mothers Preserve, 303, Griots Vinyl Dressing, and Zaino Z16. Many of those make my faded rubber parts look marvelous for a couple of weeks. But none of them "restores" the aged rubber. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I just need to get a new car and keep it conditioned from the get-go.
 
Certain shampoo's make black plastic door handles etc turn white if they get on them. If you use forever black, make sure you wash with water only or keep the car shampoo far away from them, mask them if necessary.



I hate cars with those kind of handles, especially white cars with black handle. It looks grose. Body color coded ones I have on my car and are way better. Some asian built cars are still using black plastic on their cars.



All aussie cars use painted ones and I'd guess that the USA cars would be the same.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. It reminded me that a couple of my vehicles also have matt black areas along the bottom of the windscreen with this problem.



But I just had a thought - a couple of years ago a salesman cleaned up the handles of a Honda station wagon I bought. That stuff he used was great. I'll ring him tomorrow and see if I can track it down.



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
Lynn said:
...Many of those make my faded rubber parts look marvelous for a couple of weeks....
Click to expand...

That's a long time Lynn - mine don't last more than a few days!



What's the best of your selection that you've found?



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
I've had good luck w/Poorboys Trim Restorer, but even with that it needs to be reapplied every couple of weeks. It's just the handles though...
 
If the texture on the trim isn't too rough, you might try using a non-staining sealant or wax on it. Smooth black plastic surfaces really seem to darken up, and stay dark for quite a while when I use WG, FMJ, AIO, etc. on them; perhaps the textured trim would benefit as well.



If the texture is too rough, buffing the sealant residue out of the texture could prove to be difficult, though . . .



Just a thought,

Tort
 
~One man’s opinion / observations ~



On a ’84 Mercedes 380SL Forever Black Bumper & Trim Dye truly worked miracles it made the 20-year-old bumpers and trim look shiny and restored like brand new. I used P21S Total Auto Wash (undiluted) to remove wax/dirt/grime etc on the door handles and then applied the trim dye (let dry and then apply multi-coats (4) Everything came out looking great.



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *
 
Krylon now makes a spray paint that is made to adhere to plastic. Perhaps you can spray paint them, then wax them after the paint has cured a while.
 
You might want to take IPA and a rough cloth and rub the black to get off as much oxidization as possible .. might take 3 or 4 tries till no more black transfers to the rag then use Forever Black Bumper & Trim Dye like TOGWT suggests .. I use the Forever Black tire gel dye on my lower black valances and it lasts upwards of 3 months and I was 4 times a week and I understand the bumper stuff workes even better.
 
I've use PB's Trim Restore on a 1987 Tracer's faded gray bumpers and side mouldings and it's lasted a month so far (applied 4 coats at once, though). Another thing I've notice is using a resin based product (I used TR-3, but I'd guess others would work as well-Reflections, etc.) seems to help blacken textured door handles. It's worked for me on old wax residue too. (Probably just hiding it, but it seems to last for weeks (3 and counting!) so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to re-apply every so often.
 
Where did you guys get the Forever Black Dye, i can't find it anywhere by me, or maybe im just blind.
 
You could also clean them, and spray them with one of the SEM exterior trim paints. It's a more permanent fix and works very well.
 
Quote. Where did you guys get the Forever Black Dye, i can't find it anywhere by me, or maybe im just blind.



~One man’s opinion / observations ~



Autogeek or Groit’s (similar to FB)





~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *
 
Maybe try 3M Wax, Tar, and Adhesive Remover...I remember someone posted a thread about this product, there was even before and after shots. I was wondering has anyone tried Top Of The Line Trim and Molding products?
 
Sheesh - there's a lot of options in those answers.



As strange as it might seem, I can't source any of those brands locally in my country. I was hoping someone would come up with a Meguiar's that would do it.



Still hoping...



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top