Recommendation for cleaning seal residue from vinyl door?

B

Biotechee

New member
Hello-



I was cleaning the wife's car yesterday and noticed that the vinyl door panels have black residue from the door seals. I never noticed it before and it is pretty horrid when you have the door open. Anyway- I tried Meguiar's #39 and it got some of the rubber (?) off, but not nearly all of it- there's a lot left.



Are there any other products which someone could recommend that I can try?



Thanks in advance!



Jim aka Biotechee
 
If you could post some pictures we might be able to help you out a little better as I cant picture what you are talking about.



Sort of like a paint transfer am I imagining it right?



Jim
 
Hi Jim-



Nope, not paint transfer. It's actually transfer from the rubber / EPDM (not sure what it is) seal that seals the door against the vehicle frame... The continuous black seal around the door opening. On a Pilot, it is mounted to the body and the door panel (and door) seal against it when closed. So, the door panel (hard plastic / vinyl / PP) rests against the rubber seal and has acquired nice black stuff from the rubber seal.



I'm not set up with my digital yet, plus it is in Florida right now with the wife, so pictures are going to be hard to come by.



Thanks!
 
My suggestion to you would be to try a "Mr Clean Magic Eraser". I have had really good results using these on plastic interior pieces to remove scuffs and transfer like you are describing. Get the magic eraser wet, then try to wipe the scuffs off. Occasionally, I have noticed a little white residue left over on the surface I am wiping (I think this is residue from the sponge itself that comes off due to the friction created while rubbing a "rough" plastic surface), but I have been able to wipe over the same area again with a damp terry cloth towel, and that seems to get rid of the residue.
 
Thanks! Will give it a go and see what happens. The good thing is if I cause damage to the door panel, it will only be visible when the door is open, and then only on the bottom- where most do not look anyway. Win-win no matter what....
 
One final thing about the magic eraser...

My wife has an '06 Element (plastic trim galore on the exterior). I tape off the trim with painters tape when I detail, but inevitibly, I still get some polish/wax on the black plastic trim. Just this past weekend, I wiped some polish/wax off the trim with the magic eraser, and it left the white residue I was referring to. I then followed up with a damp terry cloth that got rid of 90% of the residue. I was then able to apply some Mother's back to black to all of the black trim, and that seemed to make all of the trim look "perfect" again.



What I am getting at is if you still see residue on the interior panel after wiping with a damp terry cloth, apply your favorite interior dressing/protectant to the panel, and that should make it look like new again.
 
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