# Black trim help on corsa c



## dancoupe (May 8, 2012)

Hey guy my girlfriend has a vauxhall corsa c when ever I give it a detail polish wax and so on I come to the black plastic trim every bit is fine apart from the rear bumper no matter what it will not go back black










In the picture where the lighter parts are are used few different products on the trim they still come back a light colour

She told me her ex bf used sun flower oil on the trim to try and bring it back to life but made no difference just wonder if anybody can help with ideas


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## BJG (Feb 8, 2013)

I have used AG Bumper Care in the past to great effect. 

Some have commented on how it can streak when it rains but I found that as long as you buff it after applying, it is normally okay.

I am sure there are a raft of other products out there which, as a newbie, I am unaware of. But you are in the right place and you will no doubt get a selection of suggestions and then be in the difficult position of having to decide which one to go with!


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## dancoupe (May 8, 2012)

I read last night on here someone talking about a bumper trim dye 

Thanks for the replay

Am thinking the trim maybe be past been able to black back and restore nothing seems to cover the lighter parts up


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## Chrissyronald (Jan 15, 2012)

Gtechniq c4 is an amazing product mate expensive but so worth it!


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

A heat the plastics up with a heatgun or hair dryer, then use nanolex ultra trim restore and that should have them back to new


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Autosmart Trim Wizzard or Trim Ultra should sort that out and leave a really nice fininsh to it :thumb:

Autofinesse Revive is another dressing that can be used for this


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## bero1306 (Jan 24, 2011)

For that mate you need AS Trim Ultra.


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## CEE DOG (Nov 13, 2010)

Scrub the plastic with water spot remover, rinse, apc, rinse, dry, ipa, CarPro Dlux coat and your set for many moons.


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## iPlod999 (Jun 23, 2012)

Was this then one you thought of?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=261162683147&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=68432951664


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## jonnyMercUK (Apr 19, 2012)

You could try Tesco Daisy APC. Dilute it down and give it a good scrub! This won't bring it back to lift but it will remove anything that was previously there.


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## dancoupe (May 8, 2012)

Thanks for the help guys got a few things I can try now


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## jason_price85 (May 16, 2010)

Heat gun, peanut butter, chemical guy new look trim either of them.


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

Based upon the pattern of the damage, and the appearance of the other trim pieces, it almost looks like strong solvent/alkaline products (Possibly a TFR) could be the original culprit.

I honestly wish that I had a secret trick, or a magic product for restoring trims, but I honestly don't. What dressings, coatings, or techniques do or do not work depends entirely on the plastic type, and how far gone the trims actually are. Some will never be restored, and will either need to be replaced or refinished. There is a rule of thumb, that if you wet the trim and it is not darkened to your satisfaction, no product around will fix it. Based upon my own experience, this rule seems fairly sound.

Heating the trims with a heat gun can work on some types of plastic, but can also be equally hazardous, as some respond negatively to even quite low temperatures. Dying is also a process with a success rate that varies considerably, and even the much vaunted nano-coatings have their limits due to being inherently transparent. CarPro PERL (neat) is the strongest 'conventional' restorative product I have ever encountered, and as it can also be used on other surfaces to great effect (Interior trim, exterior trim, tyres, engine bays, etc.), I would give this a go and see if it works. If it doesn't get you close to what you want, nothing probably will, and you won't have wasted your money on something you won't/can't use elsewhere.

I do not know how expensive or available Vauxhall parts are from that era, but it may just be easier/cheaper to buy a new one. If they are too expensive, you could attempt refinishing it using something like this:

http://www.u-pol.com/product-cat/166/plast-x%C2%AE-plastic-bumper-and-trim-top-coat-aerosol-paint.htm

Clean it with the dedicated plastic cleaner, spray on the adhesion promoter, and finish off with a couple light mist coats of black will definitely solve the issue. The only potential problem is, it won't look like any other piece of trim on the vehicle, so for reasons of uniformity you may want to refinish every other piece of plastic at the same time. The same problem occurs with buying a replacement bumper, though to a lesser extent.

As you can tell it's not an easy problem to fix, and despite trying nearly every technique/product on the market to restore trim materials from the 1970's to the present day, I am no closer to finding the 'ideal' solution myself.

I wish you luck ...

Steampunk


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## AdamGill (Aug 28, 2012)

Heat gun then protect simple done it a few times


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## Daveskater (Jan 13, 2012)

Steampunk said:


> I do not know how expensive or available Vauxhall parts are from that era, but it may just be easier/cheaper to buy a new one.


A very informative post as always :thumb:

The strip in question is part of the bumper, so the whole thing would need to be replaced. Fortunately due to the popularity of the Corsa C, bumpers are usually rather easy to come by second-hand. The only tricky part is finding one the right colour. There's a possibility that it could be tricky getting one the right colour for this car as it looks like Silver Lightning which I think was added to the range later on in production, and this is a pre-facelift bumper - that makes this possibly a tricky combination to get hold of. I'd say try local scrap yards first of all.


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## jason_price85 (May 16, 2010)

Same Colour as my car code 163 bumpers are easy enough to come by seen a few on eBay last few months body shops I've been to have no issue with match the Colour halfords even stock the paint


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## Daveskater (Jan 13, 2012)

There are loads of bumpers about, but a pre-facelift one in this colour might be harder to come by as it was mainly used on facelift cars, such as yours. Of course painting is always an option, but it will then bump the price up compared to getting a bumper in the right colour.


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## za.64 (Apr 13, 2010)

auto brite restore will bring them up a treat, ive recentley done my combo van trim, bumpers handles etc.
they were bleached grey, now look like new.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autobrigh...ssories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item35b478518e


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## User2 (Jan 2, 2013)

Try Black Wow, for us its the only product we use on plastic. Works VERY well.


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## 330i (Feb 20, 2013)

if possible get some autosmart highstyle


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## pld118 (Jan 19, 2011)

As an alternate to IPA would a scrub with Daisy be adequate prep before applying Gtechniq C4?

Thanks


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Use a magic sponge and an enzyme aced cleaner to try to descale the plastics and dig out any old trim product and build up. Then use either a nano type product for long term restoration, or something cheaper like highstyle will get the same results but with less durability


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## pld118 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks... whats an "enzyme aced cleaner" please?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

pld118 said:


> Thanks... whats an "enzyme aced cleaner" please?


Forgive me, iPad strikes again. It is meant to say "based"


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