Mottled plastic parts

Fender flares are mottled and black plastic part of my grill look like something was poured on it. Any thoughts on how these can be fixed? I’ve tried all sorts of spray and wipe on finish restorers, hand rubbing and even buffing the fender flare and they still have these spots.



And the grill looks like something was poured on it

 

That looks to me like the trim pieces are beginning to fade, and you are seeing the actual plastic and how it was distorted as it flowed thru the mold. I would trying using Cerakote Trimcoat. It's an actual coating for plastic & rubber trim parts, and it does a great job of restoring them to a like new condition/appearance. It comes on wipes, and is VERY easy to apply. The packaging says it will last for about 200 washes.

$17 CERAKOTE® Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Ceramic Coating Black Trim Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing

https://www.amazon.com/CERAKOTE-Cer...prefix=cerakote%20trimcoat,aps,85&sr=8-1&th=1

 

Thanks for that. I think what I’ll do this weekend is pop one of the flares off and wipe down the backside with acetone just to see what it does to the plastic. If it doesn’t destroy it I’ll try it on the front side to try and get all the oily crap off before I try the Cerakote. When I look really close the spots on the flares appear to be a different texture, they are smoother than the surrounding areas. I’ve come to suspect that the truck was polished or compounded and the smooth spots are where the buffer hit the flares.

 

Fair warning, acetone and any other hydrocarbon solvent degrades plastic. Acetone doesn't get as bad of a rap because it usually evaporates before it can do extensive damage, but it is a very harsh chemical otherwise, and will wreck all things organic. (the chemistry definition of organic, not the grocery-store/soccer-mom definition. Plastic is an organic.)

 

That”s why I’m trying the back 1st. Acetone did a great job rejuvenating a windshield gasket on an old Ford I had years ago but I need to test on one of the flares before I really f it up. Funny that the only thing I retained from Chem 105 is organic means anything with a carbon atom.

maybe mineral spirits would be a better idea?

 

Still a solvent. Basically what you are doing is "polishing" the plastic by dissolving a microscopic layer along the surface. And while that may give the appearance of smoothness or rejuvenation for a while, keep in mind that the solvent also breaks a number of polymer chains as part of that process. So every time you do this, your plastic is going to start ageing faster, and faster, and faster... The solvent cleaning process is opening up microscopic points of attack for UV and dust to collect "under the skin". The more you do it, the more chinks in the armor you create, the quicker you find yourself back at square one with ashy fenders.

That was my warning. I'm not saying "don't do it," I'm just saying you might shorten the lifespan of that part if you do that.

 

The picture of the grill looks like someone used a heat gun on it.