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Who has painted their faded trim? I plan on painting my windshield wiper shroud/housing and see some people have used SEM Trim paint with good results.
Anyone use anything different that might be worth looking into?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I wouldn't go that route, paint on plastic never lasts very long. Meguire's has an "Ultimate Plastic Restore" that works great. You could also save the $8.99 and use peanut butter. I have seen the results, and it's oddly amazing. Just rub it in lightly with a microfiber cloth, as if it were car wax, and polish dry.
I wouldn't go that route, paint on plastic never lasts very long. Meguire's has an "Ultimate Plastic Restore" that works great. You could also save the $8.99 and use peanut butter. I have seen the results, and it's oddly amazing. Just rub it in lightly with a microfiber cloth, as if it were car wax, and polish dry.
Thanks Hemlock. I'll give that a try first and see how I like it.
You can paint plastic with great results, the keys are this:
1) Proper prep
2) Quality paint
3) Protecting the work afterward
SEM is the same brand of interior/trim paint sold by Late Model Restoration. I've used it before and it is very good quality. You can follow this video to learn the steps in both dying vinyl and painting plastic.
After it's painted and cured, you'll want to use some sort of dressing with UV protection, of which there are many options. I personally like Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant and Duragloss #271. I found "Back to Black" to be pretty worthless, personally.
My recommendation is to try the #271 first and see if it restores the trim to acceptable levels. If you're dead set on painting the piece (maybe it's bad enough to require painting?) then you might just go for the Wolfgang product. Either way, you HAVE to protect the trim or it will eventually fade again.
I have had good results using semi gloss enamel made for plastic. Just take time to cover the things around the area being painted to prevent overspray.
The reason trim seems to look faded is because of oxidation.
My neighbor's trim looked almost white/ light grey, and he followed a tip some one told him about, and just used a heat gun on the trim.
The heat removed the oxidation, and today the trim on his pickup looks as good as new.
He didn't need to paint, just the heat gun.
Bob.
Look for bumper/trim paint. You want an auto specialty paint w/ flex additive. Some people have had good luck with the Krylon fusion from Wal-Mart. I have used it in the past, it did work, but I wonder about long term UV exposure (sold the car soon afterward). The specialty bumper/trim paint should have UV protectors in it to prevent fading in sunlight for many years.
This is a, do it once cry once sort of thing. Whatever you do do NOT purchase dyes, they don't work long term and they are incredibly messy and will run when they get wet. The more prep required the longer lasting the treatment will be.
I have seen the heat gun trick and it works better on some trims than others. It also does not last as long as proper trim paint.
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