# Transforming faded trim with a heat gun. Video attached



## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

I'm currently turning round a tired old Corsa and I'll be adding a write up soon but I wanted to share my experience of restoring the horribly faded trim with a heat gun.

I find the trick is to keep the heat gun moving until the oils start to bleed through and then "spray paint" the oils into the plastic, you'll see what I mean. Avoid staying in one location for any length of time and obviously don't get too close to the paint work.

I used the heat gun on its low setting and found a distance of around an inch away gave the best results. The video shows how quickly the trim is transformed and the finish is fairly uniform once complete. 
I know the heat gun is noisy, the bearings in the fan have gone, and yes there were some areas left but I went back to finish them I promise. I just wanted to get the video on here as I haven't seen one yet.

Click on the image to view the vid :wave:


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Yep, that's a good trick!


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## zcomputer5 (Aug 31, 2007)

Great video, I was just wondering how hot the trim actually gets because it is very close to the paint work and if I done this I would be very concerned about burning the paint!


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## who45 (Feb 8, 2008)

think your heat guns had heard better days lol


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Great stuff...:thumb:


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## twistedframe (Nov 16, 2010)

Great tip! Is it s permanent fix, or will it fade quickly again?


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

zcomputer5 said:


> Great video, I was just wondering how hot the trim actually gets because it is very close to the paint work and if I done this I would be very concerned about burning the paint!


It gets hot too the touch and yeah I think if you were holding it on the paint for the same length of time it would probably damage it. The key is to do the areas close the paintwork last as they heat up from doing the other areas and so the heat gun doesn't need to be held near them for long.



who45 said:


> think your heat guns had heard better days lol


LOL yeah. Time for a new one methinks.



twistedframe said:


> Great tip! Is it s permanent fix, or will it fade quickly again?


Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't know how long my colleague intends on keeping the car but i'll up date over the next few months. I would assume it's semi permanant. It also has been reported as being more effective on certain types of trim over others.


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## TubbyTwo (Apr 14, 2011)

thats pretty good, what state is the plastic in after? still got its texture?

Impressive.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

I could've done with one of these the other day, after bleaching some trim with solvent (on my own car) :wall:

Tried a hairdryer on full, but to no avail 

I shall be trying some forever black stuff soon, might be wise anyway, since its on a painted plastic wing mirror... so everythings close to the paint! . :thumb:


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## johnnyh (Jun 20, 2011)

Thats a great idea, any idea how long it lasts?


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

TubbyTwo said:


> thats pretty good, what state is the plastic in after? still got its texture?
> 
> Impressive.


Yep plastic texture still completely there.


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## Skodaw (Mar 19, 2006)

_I've used that trick a few times myself - had a few strange looks from neighbours lol._


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## PaulTheo (Sep 26, 2010)

Great tip never knew about that thanks


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## swiftshine (Apr 17, 2008)

Great to see it being done so thanks for posting the video. :thumb:


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## beany_bot (Oct 6, 2008)

That heat gun sounds healthy


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## Stewart H (Jul 4, 2011)

Great tip, my Fiesta could do with this. I do have one daft question though - when you say you used the low heat setting, is that on a two setting gun (probably about 300/350 degrees) or have you got one that has a lower setting? My gun has a 50 degree setting, so before I waste too much time, I thought I'd ask.


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

Stewart H said:


> Great tip, my Fiesta could do with this. I do have one daft question though - when you say you used the low heat setting, is that on a two setting gun (probably about 300/350 degrees) or have you got one that has a lower setting? My gun has a 50 degree setting, so before I waste too much time, I thought I'd ask.


The gun is an old Challenge one and it states that the temperature settings are 275° and 495° so I was using 275°. The reaction took a few seconds to occur and to avoid the heat sitting on the paint for too long I simply heated the outer edge of the trim first and let the heat transfer to the inner edges on its own. That way when I focused the heat on the inner edge near the paint the plastic was already hot and so took very little time to pull the oils out.


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## SJW_OCD (Dec 30, 2009)

Always heard about this, but never actually seen it in action. Thanks very much


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Yep often heard about and good to see a vid of it.


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## Mr_Prud (Aug 7, 2009)

Wow what a transformation. Like most others on here I've heard about it but not seen it done before. Thanks for the video.


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## Ming (Oct 16, 2007)

Good tip and thanks for the video.
Was the paint hot to the touch after the trim had been done?
I would think that it would be quite easy to make some sort of heat shield to put over the paint to protect it.
Think i am going to try this as I have a hot air gun in the garage.:thumb:
Thanks
ming the impressed


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

Ming said:


> Good tip and thanks for the video.
> Was the paint hot to the touch after the trim had been done?
> I would think that it would be quite easy to make some sort of heat shield to put over the paint to protect it.
> Think i am going to try this as I have a hot air gun in the garage.:thumb:
> ...


Cheers Ming.

I'd say the paint was warm to hot after a pass close to it, honestly though no hotter than a hot day in the sun.

I did think about a heat shield, my dad used to use a soft pad when "burning" lead though thinking about it and given this was 20 odd years ago it was probably laden with asbestos LOL


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## zedzedeleven (Jan 16, 2009)

good video. I had a problem with a faded patch on a Transporter rear bumper. The problem was a bit self inflicted really, what happened was some tow rag daubed paint on the bumper and I got it off with turps and a lot of elbow grease, My efforts left a faded patch so I got the heat gun onto the job and it worked really well. It is only a temporary fix and with time the faded patch returns. Transporter rear bumpers are a bit strange, the surface has the appearance of leatherette and the colour isn`t black, more of a dark grey. I got some bumper gel off a guy in a bodyshop but I have no idea what brand it is, he just poured me some out of a big container. Anyhoo, it does work and regular application keeps the fade at bay. Container is nearly empty now so time to try summat else.


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

zedzedeleven said:


> good video. I had a problem with a faded patch on a Transporter rear bumper. The problem was a bit self inflicted really, what happened was some tow rag daubed paint on the bumper and I got it off with turps and a lot of elbow grease, My efforts left a faded patch so I got the heat gun onto the job and it worked really well. It is only a temporary fix and with time the faded patch returns. Transporter rear bumpers are a bit strange, the surface has the appearance of leatherette and the colour isn`t black, more of a dark grey. I got some bumper gel off a guy in a bodyshop but I have no idea what brand it is, he just poured me some out of a big container. Anyhoo, it does work and regular application keeps the fade at bay. Container is nearly empty now so time to try summat else.


Cheers for the heads up. How long did it take for the fade to return?


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

I wouldnt advise any closer than 3 inches away tbh. The heat build up can be quick at times so the key is constant heat but constant movement at the same time. Old corsa's, micra's and gti golf's were major culprits of trim fading. Once its been restored by heat source its best to keep on top of it with a few coats of thick trim gel every so often. Something durable to consider right now is Valetpro dyonisus trim glitz. My vans been wearing it for 3 weeks with very little reduction in finish bar a slight less gloss. Hasnt streaked nor faded so worth while applying this afterwards.


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## zedzedeleven (Jan 16, 2009)

valetpro dyonisus eh? that`s good to know Beau (hey, I`m a poet...) Dingo, the fade will come back in a fortnight, quicker in the sunny weather. God knows how those ford Ka`s go on, they have acres of black trim. Must be a nightmare trying to keep it looking black.


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

I find I have better results when I slip something over the end of it :doublesho...

Now now, calm down :lol:. One of these I mean ..... http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-bosch-hot-air-gun-nozzle--75mm-wide-prod824255/

With the wider area covered by the nozle, the result was much better than using the heat gun without :thumb:


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## daffyduck (Apr 6, 2009)

Would this work with rubber car mats, if not then what should I use to bring rubber car mats back to black without leaving them greasy and slippy of course?


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## jamie_s (Jul 10, 2009)

I tried this on 1 of my roof rails the other day, it does work quite well although I find it leaves a slightly patchy finish.


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