I just bought my 97 F-150 last week and the bug deflector on it is really faded , it looks really really bad. Is there anyway to make it look dark and shiny again? I really dont want to buy a new one, i would rather put my money towards a K&N air filter and new exhuast
Also on the tailgate there was a dealership logo which looked stupid, it was held on by 2 sided tape and so i peeled it off and there is still remnants of the tape left..whats the best way to get that off? Would something like Goo Gone work or does that hurt paint? Thanks

 

Not sure what to tell you on the bug shield honestly... You could, potentiallly, try a product like Meguiar's PlastX. I think this would help it out but, depending on the shape that it's in, it may not come back...

As for the dealer logo, the rule of thumb to removing these is to utilize a heat source like a heat gun or hair dryer.

To remove the excess goo, you can try goo gone or 3M adhesive remover. Both should work. Be sure to rewax these areas post-removal as these products WILL remove the wax.

RP

 

Thanks RockPick for your fast reply, i'll give those a try

 

Plast-X or Scratch-X for the deflector. If these products can clean up 15 year old headlight lenses, they can clean up 5-7 year old bug deflectors.

 

I just did my bug shield this weekend with Meguiars #17 Plastic Cleaner. This stuff worked great! It removes scratches and "bluriness". Follow up with a protectant like NXT Tech Protectant or any type of trim shine/protectant

 

Hey Slippy...

Have you tried PlastX? I am interested to hear your opinions of the two products head to head if so...

 

I haven't tried this yet, but I sure have read a lot on it's success, as you probably already know.

I opted to go for a lot of the professional line of products, so I haven't given this product a try. Not to say Meg's consumer line products aren't good, that's for sure! Next time I'm around an autostore I'll grab a bottle for the heck of it.

 

It's definitely worth giving a try. While I haven't tried #17, we discussed it quite a bit in the class I attended about a year ago out in Irvine.

Overall, it seemed like the PlastX, even though it's a G-line product, was preferred over the older Plastic line but, like I said, I haven't tried both to compare so I was looking for some insight.

I'd be exceedingly interested in hearing what you have to say if you get a chance to try the PlastX.

RP

 

Hey RP, I used PlastX on my bug deflector not long ago. I should have figured this kind of discussion would adventually come up and taken before & after shots. That stuff works awesome, my deflector was looking pretty dull but the PlastX brought it back to it's original shine. I'll take some pictures when I get a chance, probably tomorrow afternoon.

- Chris

 

Try a clearcoat safe swirl and scratch remover.I removed some heavy scratches on mine with meguires swirl remover,keep in mind it takes a lot of buffing and rubbing but works well.

 

Glad that worked out FTM! It's always nice to hear someone report back with excellent results to share. I look forward to seeing some pictures.

Rubbing compound/swirl removers are actually going to work in the same fashion as PlastX will work. You see, most of these products contain chemicals and abrasives that are designed to remove a very thin layer of whatever the material is that you're working on. Often times you'll hear these abrasives called 'diminishing'. This term simply means that the abrasives break-down as they are worked so that they don't continue to remove a layer of whatever you're working on.

PlastX contains these engineered diminishing micro-abrasives and thus, does exactly what the rubbing compounds and swirl removers of the world were designed to do on paint. The difference is that PlastX is designed for plastics...

RP

 

$0.02:
I used PlastX last weekend to try and remove some scratches from a set of clear tail lights I've got, and didn't have very good results. I "worked" the product several times, because I didn't want to get overly aggressive on the first application, but still didn't get any of the scratches out. My read is that PlastX is excellent for removing haze or cloudiness, but may not really be designed for scratch removal. I haven't tried the #17 yet, so I don't know if it'd do any better in the scratch removal department, but generally the pro-line stuff is more aggressive.