Cleaning lower, exterior plastic trim?

[rtphokie]

Yeah my OCD don't allow for that I've got one mit for the rims and tires another one for the wheel wells and lower plastic, then two more for the paint and windows.

Don't apologize, mitts are cheap, clear coat and wheels are not.

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[Toddman45]

Don't apologize, mitts are cheap, clear coat and wheels are not.

Yeah I'd much rather sweat for an hour and a half in my driveway knowing I cleaned it thoroughly and that I'm happy with it, versus driving 20 minutes to the nearest club car wash to wait in line for a half hour and pay a monthly membership for them to have it half-assed to decently washed.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

Yeah I'd much rather sweat for an hour and a half in my driveway knowing I cleaned it thoroughly and that I'm happy with it, versus driving 20 minutes to the nearest club car wash to wait in line for a half hour and pay a monthly membership for them to have it half-assed to decently washed.

Same as I do! I call it occupational therapy

 

[chrisofpa]

What was happening in my case, the product was on the sidewall of my tires and when I drove it spun off onto my paint making a mess. I heard they're tire treatment products that don't do this but I never really looked into it.

 

[chrisofpa]

I like either Mothers Back to Black or Meguiars Black Plastic Restorer. A little goes a long way there if you are doing it fairly regularly. Know that these both have a little black tint in them so dont use them on anything but black plastic.

Ask a pro detailer and they're probably going to mention Solution Finish. It's great but it's also 2-3 times as expensive as the above. It was my choice when my wife's RAV4 came back from the body shop with new trim that didn't match the 4 year old trim. Solution Finish on all the trim made them all look brand new.

I'd steer clear of ArmorAll especially the hasn't-changed-in-50-years multipurpose cleaner. It leaves a greasy finish that attracts dirt, especially on exterior trim. I tried their Outlast black trim restorer on a minivan I used to own and it lasted two days before going right back to chalky grey. Mothers looked jet black for 2 months at half the price.

I like Harbor Freight for these products. Their prices are competitive with Amazon and the selection is much better than all. the auto stores. This is where a lot of detailers shop.

Thank you for these suggestions, the price of the product means little to me if it last long and saves me the labor/time of applying it constantly. I don't have the time/energy anymore to detail/wax my vehicles and when they need it, I pay for someone to do it.

The Armor All so far is doing fine on my trim, I rinsed my truck down twice since then and don't notice any excessive dirt. However, I know its a dated product and better solutions exist. That's why I will be using something else based on the suggestions here, Armor All is just what I had on hand at the time.

 

[chrisofpa]

The only time I break out my pressure washer for any vehicle is if I went through a shit ton of mud or during the winter to get all the salt off the undercarriage.

I use it weekly on my vehicles, it really helps getting the bugs and road debris off my vehicles. Since the Maverick is so new, I am trying to avoid using rags and mits on the paint to avoid micro scratches in the clear coat.

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