A new found 'wonder' product for exterior trim! Still in testing on the car but from the years it has been around on the market it seems to work very well and even seeing examples first hand of being applied years prior I think it's pretty good.
The product is called CarPro C.Quartz DLUX.
This is a semi permanent clear ceramic coating designed for trim and wheels that is hydrophobic and UV resistant. This means dirt and water struggle to stick to it keeping everything cleaner. The guys at Detail Depot suggested I try it and even brought around some for me to test out. I liked it so much I bought some. ToyMonsta mentioned a Ceramic paint protection for the car paint further back in the thread but as my paint isn't great I thought it wouldn't be any use.
http://mr2.org.nz/phpbb3/viewtopic.php? ... 90#p126644 This is not for paint but more for trim and wheels where as other products in the C.Quartz range are for paint. If I was to go down this route I'd pay someone as applying this stuff takes practice and knowledge. I still haven't quite got it right on the trim but I'm learning.
Anyway, now to the actual photos of what it can do for 26 year old faded black plastics.
This is a before shot of the rear grille and lights not long after I bought the car back in 2008. This was after a wash too. It shows the biggest contrast in the rear trim. I've tried lots of things to bring the black back so I have made it better since then but nothing comes close to this stuff. Spray on tire shine works for 1 day but then collects dust and gets washed off.
After shots of the lights of which I only put the coating on the black parts.
Starting on the centre grille with a brush. Normally you would apply it with the suede applicator pads but this doesn't work with stuff like this.
Half and half
Finished
Then on to the window cowl. This was one of the most annoying panels on the whole car that I could never fix except for maybe buying a new one. Not sure on price but I expect it to be quite high. Over $250 I suspect.
Before shots
Not as bad as some I've seen but not good enough for what I want.
Preping with masking tape to prevent it getting on the glass or paint.
After
Half and half
Finished.
What you see there is what you get and it stays like this for years rather than days or weeks. This is a semi permanent product so you need to choose where it goes but once you put it on you don't want it to come off. It's that good!
