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Ideas for restoring dull black plastic in the engine bay?


paulngui

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Does anyone know of a good, long lasting way to restore the black plastic in my car's engine bay? The first photo is of mine (2003 Legacy GT), and the next two are of an 03 and 05 GT respectively, from the dealer CarCity in Auckland (stole the pics off Trademe).

I'm inclined to think there's no way the last two were kept in that good condition since new, and I don't think the dealer would've gone to the extent of replacing them with new parts. Though I could be wrong. Thoughts?

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Yea, first youll want to clean the engine bay with a hose, brush and a can of degreaser ( i find Green Stuff quite good as its not as harsh and you can use it for cleaning anything pretty much!)

Then pop to repco or super cheap and look for a can of stuff that blackens plastic. Just make sure its able to be used in an engine bay and your sweet.

If you've got some about, have a look at the silicon spray most pple use for blackening tyres., thats what i used on my black trim, and it bought it up really nicely considering its been outside, sat behind the front wheel of my car for 200,000ks and 15 years!

DSCF8394.jpg

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 Firenza said:

Yea, first youll want to clean the engine bay with a hose, brush and a can of degreaser ( i find Green Stuff quite good as its not as harsh and you can use it for cleaning anything pretty much!)

Then pop to repco or super cheap and look for a can of stuff that blackens plastic. Just make sure its able to be used in an engine bay and your sweet.

If you've got some about, have a look at the silicon spray most pple use for blackening tyres., thats what i used on my black trim, and it bought it up really nicely considering its been outside, sat behind the front wheel of my car for 200,000ks and 15 years!

DSCF8394.jpg

take it to an eziwash or similar place and steam clean, then use tyre shine. quicker and easier

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 slydog said:

iv seen the guys in the bodyshop use a hot air gun just got to be real careful!

how? this sounds interesting... combined with silicone or on its own?

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The reason it discolours is likely oxidiation, heating it up will break the bonds and return original form when it cools and re-crystallises. So effectively, yes you are melting the plastic to return its original molecular structure. The other option is of course chemical restoration - results may vary; I had some mother's stuff that worked for about a week and then the original grey/whitish tinge returned.

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  • General Member

I Googled and best I came across was a DIY on how to lube your cube :

 

GOOD

Silicon-Based

Silicon-based lubricants are a highly popular and effective way to lubricate cubes. Silicone sprays leave a smooth coat of lube over the cube's plastic to make it glide smoothly over other surfaces, thus making your cube turn smoother.

BAD

Petroleum-Based

These include lubricants such as vaseline, WD-40, or Liquid Wrench. It is recommended that you do not use these, but if you really want to, use them with caution, as petroleum and petroleum distillates speed the aging of plastic, and may dissolve the plastic resulting in destruction of the pieces and the internal mechanism. Excessive uses of these lubricants often lead to the center mechanism breaking apart completely. Some, however, have reported success using petroleum based lubricants to speed up breaking in of new cubes. It would be best if you have a tight cube (Rubik's brand) to lube it will a petroleum based jelly for about a month. Then take it all a part and cleaning it and use a silicone base lubricant.

Vaseline Goopy and well known, this is not the best lube. Being a petroleum based lubricant it will speed the deterioration of the pieces as well as the internal mechanism. Some people recommend using vaseline for a while to wear down the inside of the cube (almost like breaking in the cube) before using other lubricants.

WD-40 Known for damaging cubes by wearing the pieces in and making them harder to turn, this does not actually act as a lubricant for the plastic at all. However, there have been some success stories of WD-40 being used on cubes and making them smoother. It is recommended you do not use this. If you must, however, you should wash or wipe it off after about half an hour.

http://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Lubrication

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The silicone oil in Armour All et Al may actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire side wall cracking/failure. It is rumored that some tire manufacturers will not honor warranties on failures caused by silicone based products.

now hang on.. he may be onto something

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/carcare/all_dont_use_silicone.html

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