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Sun Fade on black plastic

Slippin

Active Member
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
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City, State
Illinois
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003
On my 4 door 2003 XLT,My roof rack,door handles,lower black plastic rocker panels and bumpers are not as black as they once were.They all turned a light uneven charcoal grey today..I was wondering if I could buy some SEM brand Flat Black Trim aerosol spray & paint them all a uniform deep matching black again like when new.
Has anyone attempted this,and can it be done easily in my garage with some masking?..or is there another recomended color/brand,or procedure?
Will it stand the test of time against salt/sun damage?
Thanks for any replies/opinions..
Rick
 



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I did this to the front and rear pillars on my 96, actually a lot of people do. I used Krylon fusion paint. It's an aersol spray can so I cant imagine that the SEM flat black would be any different. It can be easily done in your garage with some masking and I think it would come out great, mine did looks new!
 






For black plastic trim parts, I found the Mother's brand "back to black" stuff really works, if you slather the stuff on, wipe it, then repeat a few times until it's deep, deep black.

For metal, the Wal-Mart colorplace brand spray paint in Satin Black (not flat or gloss black) seems to be a pretty good match for the factory paint.
 






I did my rear pillars on my '02. The thread is here. I still haven't put the clear-coat on yet and they are holding up great.

Here are some other threads that discuss this topic:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282906

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216871

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278579

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194547

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226500

You can probably tell that I have researched this topic in detail. I plan on doing all the trim on my Ex. So far I have just got the rear pillars done.

Hope this helps out.
 






It's easy stuff. The second link Rondo posted is my thread. That link was to the "touch-up" work I did. I originally painted everything as one of my first "mods" back in '04. It's help up amazingly well and, was very simple. I would suggest using the paints I used, pictured in that thread. Good luck.
 






I saw that,and might I add that two piece compilments you well..
Thanks guys,this is all very informative & helps me alot.
Rick
 


















The trick that always works for me is just using armor-all and a brillo-pad. What I do is wash the faded part then spray the pad and the plastic and just kinda scrub away. This works on textured and smooth plastics.

I've done this on my x and on every car I've ever restored or simply detailed. It saves a lot of money on NOS parts for the classics and I prefer it to painting on top of plastic since paint can chip and fade and can be difficult to match with the plastics that don't need refurb.
 






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