Avoiding bumper cladding discolouration

[wader]

I would avoid using Armoral for exterior/interior plastic - Armoral dries out the plasiic out which c

[wader]

I would avoid using Armoral for exterior/interior plastic - Armoral dries out the plastic which either fades or crack the plastic sooner. I would avoid using wax on the cladding since the plastic is "open pores" which causes wax build-ups and gives it that fading appearance - I had my 2003 XC Plat Green with black bumpers just over a year now and I live in Southern Oregon where we get the hot (100 degrees) and dry summer days for most of June through August - The products I have been using and is very satisfied with is Zainos Brothers Z-16 Perfect Tire Gloss - Yes, TIRE GLOSS - works really well on the cladding and I apply it on after every three to four washes - works great and no streakiness and it seems to last longer than any other products I have tried in the past. Good Luck!

[JRL]

Just sand it all down and paint it body color, that will solve the problem for good.
(My 01 XC painted)

[littlewaywelt]

That does look really great, but it's an expensive solution.
Won't it crack over time? I always had that problem with my Jeep painted fenders.

[skibo]

I use the water-based 303 stuff that was advocated on this forum some time back, but I find it doesn't last long, and doesn't seem to have slowed the fading any. It is supposed to have some sort of 'sun block' functionality, in addition to making the plastic look better.

[webo]

There is no cure for discolored plastic, unless you use a dye, there is products on marked for black bumpers, but will not work on blue bumpers, i have sent a request to the makers of one product to make the product in other colors, but no luck.
Some people say not to use certain products becouse it dryes out plastic, but with ours allready discolored bumper, we cant just stand there and look at it, its ugly.
i have used alot of stuff, best so far is Silicone products, the more silicone it contains, the longer it stays on, only trouble with that, it contracts dirt.
my 2cents.
Im still working on develop some stuff that last longer
thanks.

[doublecheese]

Sun and driving on snowy roads makes my bumper plastic look pale and old.

However I got a solution for this, I had my car cleaned at "Ziebart Tidy Car" and became friends with the manager. I asked him if he would give me a bottle of the bumper cleaner.

He gave me a bottle of this fluid, this fluid is White and it looks like milk. It doesn't have a brand name or something I think this is Ziebart's own ingredients. I just apply some on to a cloth and then wipe a certain area then repeat the same prodecure until all bumper are cleaned. You could easily see the difference. It lasts more than a month easily.

When I wash my car, all water just slips off the plastic parts , this fluid is water repellant and water can't stay on it.

Here is a picture, see how clean my bumpers look after applying this fluid :

[dcawd]

Does it last long? How long does it take before the bumpers get discoloured again? thanks

[doublecheese]

I think it depends on the weather, according to my experience driving on snowy roads it won't last very long as the roads have special chemicals and salt spread on them to melt the ice/snow. These chemicals and salt are destroying the layer on my bumpers so they become paler again.

However in the summer time, (when everything is dry)once I apply this fluid, it lasts pretty long. I would say a month easily.

I think this fluid is very good at summer time and average at winter time.

BTW I only started using this fluid just recently when my bumpers started to look pale and old. Maybe if I had used it much earlier , maybe my bumpers wouldn't be pale at all ??

[PJ810]

I accidentally got polish on my plastics when doing a quick polish job at night before handing the car to my mechanic for a week. The polish set in making the plastic white in areas. I tried various things, but Back to Black appears to have fixed it. I'll let you know how it holds up. Previously I've found two coats of Back to Black does the trick and then it holds up for a long period of time. Wait several hours between coats.