I have a long list of car cleaning products to keep my MINI detailed in the summer, but there is one thing that I can’t seem to keep looking good: the plastic fender trim. After about a year, the trim starts looking worse and worse, holding dirt and wax residue in its texture. I have tried a number of products to keep it looking good but they never seem to last more than a few days. The forums have even had long discussions such as this one on NAM on products to use but don’t really come to a great conclusion.
So I decided to take things into my own hands and rounded up all my trim cleaning products, including some new ones I picked up over the winter, and applied them next to each other. The goal of this test is not to see how they look immediately after applying, but how long they last, and their resistance to rain. So after a wash, I taped off eight sections of a fender, and applied each product. (click photos for larger)
The products applied, in order, are:
Sonus Trim & Motor Kote
Vinylex
Aerospace 303 Protectant
Sonus Tire & Bumper Dressing Gel
AutoGlym Bumper Care
Planters Peanut Oil
Armor-All Protectant
Zaino Z16 Perfect Tire Gloss
Then after a few days (mostly sunny, with one short drizzle), I took this photo:
The Motor Kote and Armor-All were nonexistant. The AutoGlym did not look so good, some areas seemed even whiter than normal. The peanut oil was covered in dust and dirt that stuck to its oily surface. Vinylex ran a little in the drizzle but looked pretty good. The 303 looked almost as good as the best two, the Sonus and Zaino.
But then the true test: We had two days with plenty of rain. Though it never rained hard, nor did I drive in much more than a drizzle, clearly it was enough:
Except for the vertical edge, all products were almost completely washed off, except for the peanut oil. Clearly, everything else is water based.
But I don’t want to say the peanut oil is the winner. It is a mess to apply. The plastic looks way too oily. And it attracts dirt. So, sadly I’m going to have to try even more products. If you know of others, especially any that can survive the rain, please mention them and I may try them in the future.
I didn’t notice any Back to Black made I think by Meguires. I found it the best but I live in SoCal and out weather is less harsh.
Comment by giacomo — April 30, 2006 @ 9:01 am
Looking forward to further tests and hopefully better results. Thanks for sparing me time wasted messing with peanut oil!
Comment by Steve OH — April 30, 2006 @ 9:10 pm
So, Josh …
Now that the test is over, what did you end up using to cover the test area? Zaino, 303 or Sonus?
Theo
Comment by Theo — May 1, 2006 @ 10:32 am
I like your test as I have the exact same problem. I find that Meguiars plastic and vinyl protectant works pretty well for a few days. But I wonder if like tire shine needs to be reapplied about once a week to keep up the shine.
Comment by mdsbrain — May 1, 2006 @ 1:46 pm
I have also tried the Meguiars and it works better than Armorall here in SoCal.
Something that I have found to help is when applying products to either the tires or the trim, is to not wipe it off. I just pull the MINI out into the street (which is covered with oil anyway) and go to town. I let it sit for a minute or two then pull back into the driveway and don’t drive for at least an hour.
Even in rain, Armor-all lasts about 3 days like this. Without rain almost a week.
Comment by db — May 1, 2006 @ 5:38 pm
BACK TO BLACK is still the best… not the vinyl dressing stuff. You put it on leave it alone for a while then buff it. It will last quite a while.
Comment by giacomo — May 1, 2006 @ 7:22 pm
giacomo…I will be testing back to black and similar dyes in the next test.
theo…not sure what you are asking.
db,,,the armor-all didn’t last more than a few minutes. As soon as it dried, it looked like nothing was there. Maybe you were using a different product. I wouldn’t use it anyway as their protectant can dry out certain vinyls.
Comment by Josh Wardell — May 1, 2006 @ 11:04 pm
I stopped using almost all Armor All products years ago. Slimy stuff. I think MINI manufactures better dressings than that stuff.
Comment by giacomo — May 2, 2006 @ 8:42 am
Just wondering which product you picked to retreat the area you used for the test. This assumes that you are ending the test. Put another way. which product do YOU feel is the best?
Theo
Comment by Theo — May 2, 2006 @ 9:40 pm
Josh:
Couple of suggestions for you.
First – for exterior trim, this is a product that lasts and lasts – not greasy or too shiny. It’s the only thing that I’ve found that works when the pebble-grain trim has gotten wax on it, or is chalked-out from age — POR GLO
For window cleaner, I’ve been using One Grand’s window cleaner and their blue window towels for maybe 25 years. This stuff is alcohol based – doesn’t streak. I’ve not found anything better. One Grand glass cleaner.I still use a number of One Grand’s other products on my antique cars and have since high school in L.A. – a loooooong time ago. I’ve switched to Zaino for the modern cars, including the MCS, though.
=Adam=
Hollis, NH
Comment by Adam — May 6, 2006 @ 2:18 am
late reader here… nice comprehensive write-up- saves us all a lot of trouble. i’ve recently read that the “best” product of all, is the MINI branded “trim cleaner”. Any experience with this product?
Comment by iriemanhq — August 9, 2006 @ 12:54 pm
Have you tried poorboys trim restorer or black again?
I have had good results with both.
Our 06 astro mcs is in production week 34 and waiting for a boat!
Comment by paul — August 27, 2006 @ 11:30 am