Comments on: The Trim Test

By: paul

paul — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:30:30 +0000

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!

By: iriemanhq

iriemanhq — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:54:40 +0000

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?

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 06 May 2006 07:18:58 +0000

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

By: Theo

Theo — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:40:08 +0000

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

By: giacomo

giacomo — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:42:44 +0000

I stopped using almost all Armor All products years ago. Slimy stuff. I think MINI manufactures better dressings than that stuff.

By: Josh Wardell

Josh Wardell — Tue, 02 May 2006 04:04:28 +0000

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.

By: giacomo

giacomo — Tue, 02 May 2006 00:22:53 +0000

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.

By: db

db — Mon, 01 May 2006 22:38:52 +0000

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.

By: mdsbrain

mdsbrain — Mon, 01 May 2006 18:46:15 +0000

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.

By: Theo

Theo — Mon, 01 May 2006 15:32:41 +0000

So, Josh …

Now that the test is over, what did you end up using to cover the test area? Zaino, 303 or Sonus?

Theo