What is the best way to get the black trim on these vehicles clean of wax without leaving them oily?

 

Meguiar's M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner, easily removes wax on plastic and rubber trim.

Next time, might I suggest taping off first?

 

I would but waxing takes so long as it is. Generally I don't get much wax on the trim, but occasionally I have the occasional slip.

 

Mr. Clean's Magic eraser or a pencil eraser work as well!

 

Be VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY careful with the MrC ME. There have been a few here that have TRASHED their plastic pieces on the 04+ with it...

 

I'm going to try the pencil eraser today.

 

I agree with RP .. tape it off .. no need to get crazy with it ..

this tape job took under 10 minutes ..

M39 works well .. as does peanut butter, in a pinch ..

 

hey cskrmetti did that pencil eraser trick work? I got 2 spots from my wax job this weekend I need to get rid of.

 

Never did get to try. It rained yesterday and I was alternating between two jobs today. I'll probably try it tommorrow, I'll let you know how it works.

 

I use Mothers Back to Black...works great on all trim colors but a pain in the *** to get off the windows when it accidentally gets smudged on...other than that, it works great for me.

 

Why use B2B? In my experience, and others, it seems to leave a white residue on the plastic after about a week, and seems to speed up the aging process. I find that there aren't many good restoring chemicals for black, except for BONDO's Restore Black. This stuff is a dye, and instead of masking away the ugliness, it colors it. It has so far worked on a friend's truck for around 4-6 months, with fantastic results. No fading, etc. (if you insist on using it, though, I'd use stoners invisible glass to clean the glass that gets b2b on it. ) Silicone Spray works well, too as a protectant and cleaner-type stuff (makes it look pretty nice).

As for the wax on trim, I have found that Meguiar's Natural Shine Rubber/Vinyl protectant works wonders. Aside from that, it leaves a protective UV coating, and can be adjusted gloss wise (ie: wipe on = glossy, wipe on then wipe dry to get a rich and flat finish.)

Other methods I'll vouch for are the pencil eraser, and the best one...PREVENTION---Mask off the truck if you have anything 04 +. Anything older than that doesn't really have that many plastic parts, so it doesn't pose a real problem, especially since there are much fewer curves to follow, that can easily lead to wax/polish getting in places it shouldn't.

 

I use S1000 engine restorer to spray my engine cylinders (black) on my bikes when I get wax on them. Makes them look brand new.:santa:

 

tape off your moldings with masking tape before you wax. The sell that bright green 3m tape for that at pretty much every auto-parts store, its the same tape body shop painters use.

it may be time consuming at first but after a few times takes only a minute or 2.

 

More of a before suggestion but I always treat the trim/tires before I wax/polish the truck. I do the initial 303 spray and wipe then tape off. After wax I pull the masking tape and buff the trim/tires to complete. Wax won't adhere if it does get by the masking.

 

Once you get the trim back to the condition you want, here is another prevention method you can try.

Use Adam's Butter Wax. Get it on the trim if you want, it wipes right off and doesn't stain vinyl, plastic or rubber.

I can't see spending all that time to mask off the trim then have to pull it all off after the job is completed. I would rather spend my time putting on 2 coats of Butter Wax.

www.adamspolishes.com