Making plastic black again

Craig321 · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:06

My rear fender & the section just above that are both plastic on my CBF125. Over time the plastic has become dull/off black.

Can anyone recommend something that will give it a good clean & restore some of it's blackness again please?

Thanks.

cwhitehead · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:08

Black WOW, small and expensive but great for things like this.

Craig321 · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:11

Wow, it is expensive! :eek:

Anything cheaper around? I've not really got that sort of money to spend on stuff that's not necessary for the bike at the moment.

Thanks.

p1RATE · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:14

Boiled linseed oil is good, back to black works for a short period of time. Your best bet is to use a can of satin black and spray all the plastic parts with that imo

fornowagain · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:24

Poorboy's Trim Restorer.

eidolon · 24 Jul 2012 at 14:49

Peanut butter. (I'm serious!)

Morbius · 24 Jul 2012 at 16:04

Thinking out loud a bit, but would some metal polish work?

Luke · 24 Jul 2012 at 16:06

Wouldn't have thought so. I suspect you'll end up with something more white than black.

famas · 24 Jul 2012 at 17:36

wd40 will bring it up nice but wont last for long.

once its faded there's not much you can do other than applying something every week to keep it looking fresh.

FunkyCowie · 24 Jul 2012 at 18:37

agree on wd40 on unpainted plastics, if used after every wash it seems to last longer.

p1RATE · 24 Jul 2012 at 18:51

Vaseline works too, but the long term affect is pretty minimal. painting it satin black i have found to be the best solution.

armed_gorilla · 24 Jul 2012 at 19:41

If you dont mind spraying it how about Plasti Dip? I'm sure a few people in the main motors section have used it for various bits. I'm thinking about getting some to do my bike.

Morbius · 24 Jul 2012 at 21:30

armed_gorilla said:
If you dont mind spraying it how about Plasti Dip? I'm sure a few people in the main motors section have used it for various bits. I'm thinking about getting some to do my bike.

If you're going to paint then why not just use regular paint?

Draeger · 24 Jul 2012 at 21:58

Baby oil also works incredibly well. Seriously.

englishpremier · 24 Jul 2012 at 22:34

Brake fluid on hard solid black plastic works a treat. Don't use it on rubber (leaves a **** colour behind) or painted surfaces though.

thumperslaw · 24 Jul 2012 at 22:39

Baby wipes work a treat.

wazza300 · 24 Jul 2012 at 22:44

you can buy some cheap bumper paint,used for cars,it comes in grey/dark grey/black satin black ect

id use that,i used some on a grey plastic car bumper and it works a treat

armed_gorilla · 24 Jul 2012 at 23:09

Morbius said:
If you're going to paint then why not just use regular paint?

Because if I remember rightly there isn't as much prep involved with the plasti dip, Just giving it a good clean/degrease. And if it doesn't look how you want it you can just peel the stuff off without to much hassle.

Thread HERE on it.

Craig321 · 24 Jul 2012 at 23:23

Thanks for the suggestions all, I'm going to give the WD40 a try tomorrow as that's what I have available without buying anything for the time being.

I may well go the plasti dip/spray route when selling it, having those plastic parts nicely black & clean will make everything look a whole lot better

Hector · 24 Jul 2012 at 23:28

When I get home I'll post what I use, £7 for a bottle and it lasts ages. It also stays black for months.

edit: Carplan Black Trim Wax; can get it from £3.20 for a 375ml bottle on ebay.

I do all my black bits and even my seat with it, after a good rub off so there's no excess left on the seat it'll stay looking new for a year. I also showed a mate and his old man the stuff, they restore cars and sell them at silverstone and bonhams. They thought it was very effective at getting faded stuff looking fresh..