Fender Flair Black Stuff

I said this in another thread back in August and got crickets as usual:

I guess I'm the only one here who did some "as seen on TV" crap called "Wipe New". Yeah I fell for it one day while shopping in a CVS store and spotted it in their "As Seen On TV" compilation isle. Well I applied it almost 9 years ago on the front valance, the hood cowl, and the rear bumper pad. Still looks like I applied that stuff last week. Granted, my truck is always garaged, but my 9 years means those who apply this stuff on a constantly outdoors truck may only need to re-apply it every few years.

Well now it's still black for over 9 years now and just starting to fade at the edges near the directionals and the line nearest the bumper. I am going to shoot an order on Amazon for more. They guarantee this stuff for two years but it lasted mine 10.
I fully don't expect anyone to be awed by my suggestions but for the price you cannot beat this stuff.

 

I just bought some of this stuff.

It got great reviews on Amazon. I haven't tried it yet so I can't report any results yet.

$17 CAR GUYS Plastic Restorer | Bring Plastic, Rubber, and Vinyl Back to Life! | User Friendly Trim Restorer | Safe Auto Detailing Supplies | 8 Oz Kit with Foam Applicator

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071FRWWRF

 

Going to share the stuff @Uphillshunter used and recommended when I asked him about his flares...

Word of advice - proper prep is a MUST. Use a good cleaner to remove any traces of wax or polishes from previous treatments. If you don't, when you start spraying its going to dry looking like it has some disease.

Paint to use -
Duplicolor PAE102 - Premium Acrylic Enamel, Flat Black

$29 Dupli-Color EPAE102 Premium Acrylic Enamel Spray Paint - Flat Black - 12 oz. Aerosol Can

https://www.amazon.com/Dupli-Color-EPAE10200-Premium-Acrylic-Fluid_Ounces/dp/B07CZB9KZN

I can't remember how many cans I used but I ended up doing 4 coats I believe. 1 light initial coat followed by 2 then 1 heavier coat at the end.

For Prep I hand washed all of the flares using a couple of drops of dawn blue dish soap into a bucket of water. Once rinsed and dried, I followed with a light wipe of duplicolor's degreaser. Sorry, no product link available but I'm sure you'll see it next to the paint. It has a warning about use on plastics - to test in a small spot first - why I just did a light wipe down. No issues.

The PAE102 paint worked so well on the flares, I ended up using it on my toyota hood protector which had faded many years ago and also on the faring for my roof basket.

I'll edit this tomorrow with some pictures. Bottom line, came out great. Easy to touch up as well.

 

There's extensive threads for the window trim.
See: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/simple-how-to-fix-that-crappy-door-trim.154485/
See: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/restore-your-window-belt-trim.561258/
Until I decide what to do for a long term solution, I used two overlapping rows of black plastic electrical tape. See photo below:

 

I tried this product back in the spring and wasn't impressed at all - hope you have better results.

 

303 Aerospace protectant. Works really well. Just used it on a 20 year old taco, turned all the black plastic trim black again from the white haze it had. I also use it every time after I was my pick up. It keeps the plastic from deteriorating. Good for the interior as well.

 

Update-I tried it but it did absolutely nothing to my fender flares.

 

I tried this on a test area with the Magic Eraser, and it came out perfectly. Now I'm trying to do the rest, and I can't reproduce how well it came out in the test area. I don't remember if I did it wet or dry- neither seems to be coming out as well as I got it before. Any tricks or recommendations on how exactly you did it?

 

Cancel that, with some trial and error I figured it out. I kept it wet and rinsed off the residue that it was taking off until it was smooth. After going over it a few times it really started to shine. This is a great technique, thanks for posting this. This picture doesn't really do it justice, it came out really nice.

 

How much time per wheel-arch do you estimate you spent? Just trying to gauge if I want to commit to starting on it...

 

The whole job was less than an hour, and I did the mud flaps, too. This isn't a big project at all, and the results are well worth it.

 

CQuartz DLUX. You're welcome.

 

sorry i missed this but glad you figured it out. after quite a bit of camping and sitting in the sun (my truck stays outside), my fenders are looking a bit rough again but the magic eraser route lasted years for me so i'll do it again.

also, for anyone else looking to do this, i'm not sure the magic eraser brand ones are worth the extra cost. you can easily get melamine sponges on Amazon for $0.25/sponge and it's all i've used for years and they work great.