Black plastic becoming very faded and white

I saw something some time ago a guy used a heat gun to bring back the gloss on black faded plastic fender flares. Basically it melted the surface. Might be worth a look

 

I used a kit that they sell to restore headlights. Think it was McGuire's. Did a good job. Maintain it with 303. I use it on the dash and all the door seals.

 

Not the detail guy but I've been using mothers back to black on all outside plastic.
The first application sucks it right up then a second to even it out.
I do it a couple times a year it really brought my plastic back to like new when I first bought the truck.

 

This.
Once it fades...Mothers Back To Black works well. Looks nice and purdy

 

The black plastic steps on my chrome step bars looked pretty ugly. I spent some time with a battery-powered dremel (lower speeds) and the little wire wheel, or if you have one they make a sort of fat-tire looking wheel that is rough. I used that slowly and carefully and cleaned the surface up to a nice flat black finish. Then some "back-to-black" and they looked brand new. Note that this was a couple of hours of effort, as you want to go slowly and carefully. Don't want to gouge, cut or melt anything by getting in a hurry and cranking the dremel up to 28K rpm or something.

 

+1 for the 303 product. Great stuff. Best UV protectant out there. Won't slime up or dry out plastics/vinyl like ArmorAll.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9tDq1oRy9U

 

awesome!

 

That heat gun you tube video looks promising.
I'd give it a try and then protect with chemicals.

 

see also:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/restoring-faded-plastic-with-heat-gun-works-my-review.348248/

 

I watched a friend of mine do this and it worked extremely well... I was truly impressed. His application was an old quad that was sun faded on the plastics. Some careful passes with a heat gun and he had his plastics looking like they were brand new (excluding scratches) on a 15+ year old quad. Actually even some of the light scratches disappeared while doing this, just not the larger ones.

 

I've used a number of Meguiar's products including Ultimate Black Plastic. I've also used 303. They all wash off as soon as it rains & they stain the body paint they run onto. 303 is made by Gold Eagle. I like their other products like Sta-Bil & Start your Engines so I called them. I followed their advice and cleaned with Simple Green, sprayed on 303, wiped off and polished - rained today - same results - washed off. Has anyone had luck with 303 not washing off or streaking in the rain ? If so PLEASE tell me what to do. Thanks for any reply.

 

I had a Jeep Wrangler with faded flares (typical) and used the heat gun method. Works good but you have to be careful not to leave the heat on too long or it will distort the plastic. 303 works wonders but for plastic that's not too far gone use Lemon Pledge. Sounds crazy but I've used it on everything from Harleys to Tacomas .

 

I'll try the Lemon Pledge. You say 303 works wonders but for plastic. How did you keep it from running off and streaking the paint on the body if in fact you were able to do that ? Thanks for your answer and any help.

 

I like using Turtle Wax Ice, works wonders and lasts a long time. New wipe does work, surprisingly well for an " As Seen on TV" product. I know some guys have used ATF. I wouldn't recommend it, but I have seen guys do it and it works for awhile.

The best product I recently tried on my 95' LR Disco was the New ArmorAll Outlast.

 

I used a magic eraser first then meguires back to black from then on. I have to do it every couple off washes but it makes a big difference.