Faded Plastics

I just used That Black Stuff. Works pretty good so far.
 

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Looks great! They don't give that stuff away though! Hopefully can do all the bike's black plastic parts with the small size ($20 for 3.5oz.). Let us know how long it lasts.
 
After 6 months…I have to say it’s not worth the money. The parts that have stayed black have a very oxidized appearance. The ones that didn’t have lost most of black and look splotchy.
 
Sorry to hear that, but thanks so much for your update. The search continues.....

Cliff
 
coaster said:
I have noticed that also and if the same material was use on all the black pieces there would be no fading. The fading was especially bad on the rear facing part of the bike, my bike spent a lot of time parked by a open south facing garage door.
I painted the rear fender and the tail piece a couple of days ago with VHT high temperature for Plastic Paint (available at Auto Zone) and it looks good, time will tell how well it holds up.
Click to expand...

After eight months the painted sections still look as good as the day I painted them.
 
If the black plastic is severely grayed from the sun I believe it changes the composition of the plastic and thus is difficult to restore to like new with chemicals. Catching it early you may have better luck and can at least protect what is left.

Mine sat out uncovered at work parking lot in the strong Arkansas sun. The tail piece especially did not look or FEEL anything like a new one. It had been changed into a different material for all intents and purposes. I eventually replaced the inexpensive pieces.

Arknt
 
ARKNT said:
If the black plastic is severely grayed from the sun I believe it changes the composition of the plastic and thus is difficult to restore to like new with chemicals. Catching it early you may have better luck and can at least protect what is left.

Mine sat out uncovered at work parking lot in the strong Arkansas sun. The tail piece especially did not look or FEEL anything like a new one. It had been changed into a different material for all intents and purposes. I eventually replaced the inexpensive pieces.

Arknt
Click to expand...
It is the plasticizer that give the plastic components their flexibility and to some degree their color. When you do the heat gun/torch trick outlined above, that brings out the deeply imbedded plasticizers to the surface to make the plastic appear new. This only works a time or two as once the plasticizers are "bloomed" out of the plastic, they are gone forever and cannot be restored. The plastc then turns brittle and crumbly. The only solution then is a paint that seals over the plastic part and give the part the new color. The underlying part while improved in appearance is no longer as flexible as when first molded.

Mike
 
I recently tried two different products that promised to "restore weathered and faded plastics to like new". Both lied.
The first was Armor All Outlast restorer. It struck me as being just regular Armor All in a gel formula. It very slightly improved the look of the plastic.
The second was Mother's Back to Black. It also was a gel and just a little went a long way. I feel the Mother's product did better than the Armor All, but the improvement was not to "Like New".
 
I had a shelf lined with all kinds of restores. None really worked. A finally painted the parts. End of story.
 
There is, or was, one product that worked. "It really did do what it said on the tin."

It fed the vinyl/plastic and was non-greasy to the touch after about 12-24 hours depending on the temperature. It would last between 3-6 months depending on the amount of sun exposure and was really easy to apply.

The only problem is I can't find it any longer. It's not on their website. It's not in the shops. It's vanished. Sites that show it show out of stock :(

I've tried lots of other products but none come even close to this one.

Oh, and the name of this wonder product: Mer Ultimate Bumper & Exterior Vinyl Cleaning Gel

There was a review of it some years ago: Auto Express

If anyone has any or knows where I can buy it, please let me know as I have about enough for one treatment of the bike left in the bottle.
 
Tried all sorts of renovation products, with no real benefits, so finally ended up painting the panels. Used Halfords own brand bumper paint. So far, so good. Looks like new now!
 
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