Classic Alfa Forums

Hi All,

Spent most of the last weekend stripping all the trim off of my 33 ready for prep and paint... lots of fun.

Now that i'm looking at the assorted bits of trim, i'm wondering how to improve their appearance before re-fitting to a freshly painted body? I've tidied up some bumpers previously with a hot air gun, but the window trims, for example, are so thin that this method would more than likely melt them. Any tips/advice on product, or methods, for making black plastic components look black again?

Peace & Progress,

Joel

fvk1976 wrote:Hi All,

Spent most of the last weekend stripping all the trim off of my 33 ready for prep and paint... lots of fun.

Now that i'm looking at the assorted bits of trim, i'm wondering how to improve their appearance before re-fitting to a freshly painted body? I've tidied up some bumpers previously with a hot air gun, but the window trims, for example, are so thin that this method would more than likely melt them. Any tips/advice on product, or methods, for making black plastic components look black again?

Peace & Progress,

Joel

Hi Joe
I have used black shoe polish , satin black spray and dashboard spray on various trim parts over the years.

yowzer.. how long did each last?

Some time ago, i was restoring a vintage games console which had turned yellow, and jif cream bought it back pretty close to white. Sadly, it seems this particular bathroom product is no longer available, and given how brittle some of these bits are, i'd like to try non-abarasive methods first

Baby oil. honestly, try it! Check my bumper!
Chris

Baby oil does work well on clean bumpers, smells nice too! Lol!

Can it restore crusty old ones too Chris?


I've used Plasbak many times to recolour even some nasty crusty, but straight, trim and bumpers.

that's the thing innit.. when the black trims look to have faded, have they lost their colour (been bleached out), or has the surface oxidised? Perhaps a fine abrasive is needed to get back to healthy plastic, then the product (babyoil etc) will work better (more evenly)?

the best success I had was with the car plan stuff, very messy to apply but gave decent results which lasted fairly well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carplan-Black ... SwwbdWO25a

I even found it in a pound shop once so bought a few tins

fvk1976 wrote:that's the thing innit.. when the black trims look to have faded, have they lost their colour (been bleached out), or has the surface oxidised? Perhaps a fine abrasive is needed to get back to healthy plastic, then the product (babyoil etc) will work better (more evenly)?

thats exactly when i reach for the plasbak.

its not a treatment, it is a self priming vinyl and plastic paint, in a very good match to the natural bumper charcoal/black.

rub to a fine key, panel wipe or similar, and paint, job done!

http://www.conceptchemicals.com/node/90

Shrew's not wrong, that Plasbak is good stuff. I painted all the plastic on my Ti with it and looks great and didn't take long. Think it's something like £7.50 a can, made a tedious job a breeze!

well that's two firm recommendations for plasbak!!

Thanks chaps

never used plasbak but used a similar product and yes its amazing! kind of a real rags to riches story

What's the thoughts on plasti-Kote for the same reason?

Wonder if you can advise folks

Have had my painted bumpers soda blasted, and must confess they have come up great. However there are a few rough patches that have been painted over in the past. How do I restore the original texture - or do I spray the Plastbak in fine coats and simply wet and dry back between coats to get a smooth finish. What would you advise?

If it was me.

Wet and dry to the desired texture or a fraction smoother, then build coats of Plasbak until you're happy, but fully cure each coat before the next.