Detailing World Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Heat gun to restore Black plastic trim

Jump to Latest
26K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  theshrew  
A
#1 ·
Hi all, had a little go at lunch time with some of the black trim on my 01 Octavia VRS - only had camera phone which isnt very good but thought better than nothing

forgot to take before but but other side is pretty similiar.

half and half

picture of passenger side show how it was before

picture of side with heat gun used on it

then I went over the whole lot very lightly with some ground nut oil and buffed off, was quite warm still. not as neatly as i'd like but i was on my lunch break! half that i used heat gun off did look slightly more solid black in flesh.

going to try and give car a wash tonight and see how it looks in the morning.

I just used hot air gun very gently for first 5/10 minutes heating the whole strip, then as was getting through lunch break moved in a bit to get the final colour change, but always moving the heat gun in small circles.

how long it lasts is the next question!
 
A
#4 ·
I have used AG before and nail brush and ground nut oil before, but never had it last long. this is why I had a go with heat gun, sort of as last test before I think about spraying them satin black - dont like colour coded on this car - or buying new plastics

i was worried about paint around which is why i started warmign whole area first. it seemed ok, still had shine, but thats why i want to wash tonight, feeling the plastic I dont think it got much hotter than it does around the exhaust tailpipe. or than black paint feels in sun!
 
#7 ·
It was a while ago but I remember reading L200Steve's thread when he got the Hi-Lux the he applied CG Trim Gel then heated it up with a heatgun/hairdryer and it made it last longer.

I did try it on my last car which had unpainted trim and it did last about one month compared to 1 - 2 weeks. So you could give that a go! :thumb:
 
#11 ·
Here is something i found out a long time ago by accident ( before i new about detailing )

When i first past my test i had a Nova SR which was black. Im sure some of you no the bumpers, bump strips and Door handles on the Nova's used to really really fade. Anyway I used to polish it with that Turtle Wax Colour Magic stuff :tumbleweed. One day spilt a big blob on my door handle which i tried to wipe off but actually spred it along the handle a bit. I just left it thought it would wash off next few weekends, it didnt. I left it like this for a while still didnt come off so thought id cover the hole handle in the polish. I put loads on left it for a 10 min or so then wiped off. Job done Handle was black and didnt really fade. Must be a dye in the polish.

I must stress i didnt ever put it on my bumpers as they were supposed to dark grey not black, but im sure it would work, and never needed to do it since. Why not get a test strip from scrappy or something and try it out. Or just do a small dab on the car see what you think.
 
Detailing World Forum
posts
5.8M
members
105K
Since
2005
A forum community dedicated to UK-based automotive detailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about methods, materials, equipment, restoration, classifieds, troubleshooting, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
The Showroom Detailing Chat Waxes, Sealants & Paint Protection Pre-wash stages: Washing, Drying, Clay & Detailing The Motoring Zone