Removing polish/wax from rubber and plastic trim?

Hunders · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:05

Ever since I bought my car there has been polish/wax on the black plastic and rubber trim pieces like window seals and washer jets. I tried 'back to black' type products but these simply mask the problem and within a week the white/grey marks from the polish are back.

Is there any effective way to remove this? :confused:

Toker · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:16

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/wax-blaster-wax-remover/prod_346.html

Hunders · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:53

Ah! Awesome.

Cheers dude.

lordrobs · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:57

WD40 also does a really good job at removing wax and polish marks. If you go that route give the area a coat of back to black a couple of days later.

rmuir · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:58

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...1_productId_254685_langId_-1_categoryId_77321

This stuff does the trick, and is cheaper to boot :cool:

bah... if only i hadnt looked for the link..

Scuzi · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:08

I was just going to post a thread very like this. I must give the WD40 a try.

Can anyone recommend a method for getting polish/wax residue out of panel gaps and other such crevices where it has dried hard? It seems almost impossible to remove and looks awful.

[TW]Fox · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:17

Scuzi said:
Can anyone recommend a method for getting polish/wax residue out of panel gaps and other such crevices where it has dried hard? It seems almost impossible to remove and looks awful.

Cotton wool buds.

Scuzi · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:20

Ahh, good call. Do you wet them with water or anything else? Some of this stuff has been dried on for months and even hard scrubbing with a microfiber only shifts some of it.

divuk83 · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:27

Meguairs APC and a toothbrush is one of the best ways to remove blobs of wax and polish on plastics.

Dave

[TW]Fox · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:33

Meguiars APC is a con. Tesco APC costs 79p.

Scuzi · 14 Jul 2008 at 00:34

Hunders · 14 Jul 2008 at 01:33

Scuzi said:
APC?

Yes. Do tell?

I will give some WD40 a go tomorrow.

Cheers.

EDIT: It seems APC means All Purpose Cleaner.

[TW]Fox · 14 Jul 2008 at 01:36

Yes APC is All Purpose Cleaner.

divuk83 · 14 Jul 2008 at 01:43

Whats the tescos stuff like? I used to use muc off however its not as good as APC. The megs stuff is 12 squid for a 4 litre bottle that can be watered down 10:1. I rate it pretty highly.

How much do you get from tescos for 79p, will it water down and work OK, is it designed for cars (ie no salt etc)?

Cheers

Dave

Hunders · 14 Jul 2008 at 03:31

I just had a thought. Is it ok for WD40 to get on paint? Ofcourse I would clean it off soon after if it did but I am wondering if it will do any damage.

Cyanide · 14 Jul 2008 at 07:20

Hunders said:
I just had a thought. Is it ok for WD40 to get on paint? Ofcourse I would clean it off soon after if it did but I am wondering if it will do any damage.

My bike gets a coat of WD40 instead of wax and polish

Meridian · 14 Jul 2008 at 07:25

[TW]Fox;12083627 said:
Cotton wool buds.

I use an old toothbrush, but it can't get into the very narrow gaps. But then a cotton-bud would take all day.

M

Scottland · 14 Jul 2008 at 09:06

[TW]Fox;12083676 said:
Meguiars APC is a con. Tesco APC costs 79p.

1.5L for 65p now

Tesco/Daisy APC is actually very good, and can be used on all manner of things. A scrub on plasitc trim with this, and then finish of with some WD40 brings up black plastic well.

Having said that, the glossy 'new' look of WD40 doesn't last very long. I beleive products like Black Wow and AutoGlym Bumber Care last longer though.

Toker · 14 Jul 2008 at 09:21

if using wd40 i'd make sure to tape up any paintwork surrounding the areas as it strips everything

an unusual method that's very popular on detailing world is smooth peanut butter

Hunders · 14 Jul 2008 at 11:11

Cyanide said:
My bike gets a coat of WD40 instead of wax and polish

Toker said:
if using wd40 i'd make sure to tape up any paintwork surrounding the areas as it strips everything