Thanks for the Cladding Care Info

With all the wet weather we've been having here in Alabama, I really haven't had a chance to clean the VX up to my satisfaction since we bought it in April (my wife is the daily driver of SABR2TH). This Sat. after I had cleaned up my Celica, I got my wife to leave the VX home at lunch and I washed it. I had known all along that I needed to give the cladding special attention, but it became particularly obvious after washing it the third time that soap and water wasn't gonna bring much of a shine to it. We both agreed that we needed to talk to someone at the local AutoZone or the like to see what was best for that type of material. Before going that route, Monday morning I got on here, did a search on cladding and clean, then care and got exactly the info I needed. Monday evening I went to Wal-Mart and picked up the Turtle Wax 2001 Protectant and applied it last night. It looks like I replaced all the cladding with brand new pieces. Absolutely amazing how much difference it makes. My wife was tickled and I was quite proud of how good it looks. I had to check it out a coupla times this morning before we headed to work. We both absolutely love our VX and it sure is great to have such a thorough and committed community with a great aficionado site like this one. Thanks all...
Mark & Beth

On a brand new VX that was on a showroom floor.

Was the cladding -

a. Shiny (like it was just sprayed with Armor All)

b. Flat (like a high grit sandpaper

c. Somewhere in between

d. all of the above (... oh, sorry.)

'c' would have been my first guess.

Now I don't know if I should take any wax off that may be on mine (was my intention) , or just leave it be.

One of the posts here, someone said that the plastic was pure black. I dont know, I see some grey in it, even in sections that don't get high exposure to light.

On the showroom floor it had dressing on it.

Do you think a home made raspberry vinegarette would work?

Thanks,
I will take a trip to pep boys and get overwhelmed with the selection.... then try something out. Maybe that Turtle wax 2001...

Has anyone tried this yet?


http://www.justonce.com/

Elliot,

I saw a post for that stuff somewhere before
If you want to go in on an order together, I am game... save on shipping.

Let me know.

Never have tried the Turtle Wax product, but I love plain 'ol Son-of-a-Gun protectant spray for this purpose. Whatever you do, don't ever use actual wax. :-)

I'm kinda partial to good ol kerosene on the trim and bumpers of my Amigo. Granted...not the SAFEST thing to do, but it works. I met an old timer a long time ago that used to Kero his cars twice a year...and he never washed them between treatments...his cars looked AWESOME all the time.

All you need to know...

Collinite on the painted surfaces

RainX on the glass

Blue Magic on the rims

McGuire's Tire Dressing (clear purple grape-scented stuff) on the cladding and sidewalls. This stuff hangs-on like armor until driving through heavy rain and road-spray.

Well, I got the Rain-X and Blue Magic parts right, then. :-) I use Armor-All tire foam on the tires, Son of a Gun on the cladding, Zymol wax on painted surfaces.

I use Mother's "back to black" on my cladding. It works great! You have to be kind of careful with it though. Cladding has to be cool, if it's in the sun, it doesn't work very well. And if it rains within a few hours of applying it, it will streak.

I've used the Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance (the gel stuff for the tires) on the cladding before. It lasts a long time, but you have to make sure and get it even. It will look streaky if you don't.

hi, guys.

1) rain-x on windows.
2 )clay bar, meguires 3 step on paint.
3) meguires grape scented gel on sidewalls.
4 )stoner's trim shine on cladding. i don't spray directly on cladding, but rather, spray on an applicator made for applying tire dressing. i think, the brand i use is 'eagle'. the applicator's got a yellow grip area so you don't get the stuff on your hands. i then wipe it across the cladding. i, personally, don't like it shiny - so i wipe off any excess - gives the cladding a new 'black' look!

-jose

Skullcap is dead on correct....
Those products are all you need to know.
I've tried everything out there and those are the best for each item.
Son of a Gun, Armor All, and most other "spray on" items, on the cladding, are worthless once they get wet.
________
BDSM LESBIAN

The really nice thing about the Collinite insulator Wax is the oil-base (not water). I've found it's a little tricky to get buffed-out, but once I do, my black beauty can go for weeks without a reapplication. I just wash, dry, and go! As Johnnyapollo pointed-out, Collinite imparts a waxed orange-peel texture to the finish, which compliments the slightly finer teture of the cladding. The texture of the gloss is likely going to show up more on dark paints, but I can imagine this slightly increased glossy surface-area would enhance the reflectivity of even Proton and Ironman White.

The Meguire's dressing not only improves the appearance of the cladding, but I think it nourishes the poly, too. A buddy who's a Porsche afficianado has advised me to keep the ArmorAll, inside and out to a minimum. When he runs his 911 in Concordes, he says the Armor-all is removed as soon as the show is over. It sounds as if, left on in the sun, Armor-all might actually contribute to premature weathering of the interior and exterior plastics. Can anyone confirm this?

I've found a product that works great on the cladding. It last several weeks, HP-94 Onyx Bumper & Molding Restorer. It's made by Kar Kraft if you call them they'll tell you a local distributor.

http://www.karkraftsystems.com/Products.htm

I read somewhere (on old posts here I think), that over time Armor All can actually dry out the dash and other interior plastics and make them more brittle and prone to cracking/warping. I think this was because of it having some alcohol content and that the alcohol strips away moisture.

I have heard that Son of a Gun was safe inside and for the cladding, and it is very easy and looks good. It is sort of hard to apply to the interior plastics in my experience (doesn't take to the plastic in there real easily for some reason in my experience). And you're right - if it doesn't stay dry for a little while after application, you'll have lots of streaks. And after any wash there are certain places the water tends to run down the cladding and I will have streaks to touch up in those places. So I would be open to trying Meguiar's for that. I couldn't find it the last time I looked, though.

I have heard that about Armor All. I use Black Majic or any other tire shine product and it works really well on my cladding. I think the only permanent fix is Line X. I just wish I could find an alternative with less texture and more shine.

If line-x had similar texture to the cladding, that would be great.

Don't get me wrong, it does look good from the pictures I have seen. But it definitely changes the look of the VX.

At the same time, I disagree about shine. I think low to moderate shine looks best on the VX, especially when the paint is polished up nice. Gives it a nice contrast.

Granted, I haven't tried any of these high-shine products yet. I may change my tune in the future.

For users of Back-to-Black, I'm thinking I've seen warnings about that similar to those about Armor All. Not positive, but worth looking into. May be nothing wrong with it, but make sure.

The dealer I bought mine from tried to spray down the cladding (with either Armor All or Back-to-Black), and did a real half-arsed job of it and it was real spotty. Not that the product wouldn't have made it look nice if done right, but the salesman was very surprised by how much better it looked a couple of days later when I was there again picking up a new front turn signal cover. I had wiped it down good with Son of a Gun.

I'm sold on MOTHERS BACK TO BLACK, I tried Turtle wax 2001 but it only lasted 2 weeks. My first application of Back to Black is still holding up after 1 month.

Quote:

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Originally posted by VX4EJR
Has anyone tried this yet?


http://www.justonce.com/

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I tried Just Once and it will look great after the second time you put it on.
But, I will not use it again because this stuff last way too long. It like adding another coat of paint every time you use it and I can't take it off now. It's been almost a year since last time I used it and you can still see traces of cloth smear of Just Once residue in some area.

I put Son of a Gun and I like it better even if it doesn't last as long.

Next time I will try the McGuire's Tire Dressing.

Michael

Quote:

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Originally posted by BlackVX
I tried Just Once and it will look great after the second time you put it on.

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Is that, like, an existential car-care joke?

Quote:

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Originally posted by WyrreJ
Is that, like, an existential car-care joke?

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No, I'm dead serious. the first time you put this product you will see smear all over the place. It's only at the second coat that the product makes ther cladding looks great. It's just like painting. No kidding, no jokes.

:)

BEEN USING THE MOTHER'S ON THE CLADDING. BUT I WILL GIVE THE MEGUIRES A SHOT-
TRIED "JUST ONCE" JUST ON THE HOOD- WASN'T HAPPY WITH IT - MAYBE THE HEAT. BUT IT DOES WORK GREAT ON INTERIORS- NON GREASY/NON SLIPPAGE- WORKS EVEN ON THE STEERING WHEEL- SHIPPING IS MINIMAL AND THE PRODUCT IS INEXPENSIVE AND LASTS.
IF AMORALL IS A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT MAKING INACCURATE CLAIMS WE SHOULD HEAR ABOUT A HUGE CLASS ACTION SUIT SOON- I DON'T KNOW ANYONE WHO HASN'T TRIED IT ONCE OR HAD IT APPLIED AT A CAR WASH!!!
I STILL USE THE AMORALL CLEANER/ PROTECTOR COMBO ON SOME AREAS I WANT SHINEY AND SLIPPERY ;pr;

I've never used anything on my cladding and after two years it still has that same smooth flat off-black finish that is came with. I really don't think you need to put anything on it!

mrtew is right- let's stop "rubbing the cladding" and get out and drive!:eek:

I am having a tough time finding the Meguiars Tire Dressing? Is that the actual name? If not, can somebody post the actual name, or maybe describe the color or shape of the bottle? I realize this is a dorky question, but the HUGE wall of cleaners at the local Pep Boys scares me a little. :)

The bottle is usually filled with purple gel / liquid.

MANNY AND MOE ARE O.K. BUT THAT JACK IS A REAL FREAK- I'VE READ HE USES TIRE DRESSING ON THAT HIGH FOREHEAD OF HIS TO ATTRACT THE CHICKS.;eeky;