Are the black plastic trim pieces on your car fading? Or maybe you have a bumper that is starting to look more grey than black. You will be happy to hear that not all hope is lost and you can actually bring back some of that shine back to your plastic and trim pieces by using a high-quality restorer. Vehicles that are often exposed to UV rays, rain, dust, road grime, or normal wear and tear will experience oxidation on its plastic trim pieces, leaving an unsightly mark on your car.
If you’re looking to restore your plastic and trim pieces to their former glory, there are several products available at an affordable price. These are designed to make faded plastic look like new without having to use a lot of effort.
“Designed” is probably the key word, however. The worse your plastic is to begin with, the more work you’ll have to do to bring it back, and the worse your results will be. If you have endless expanses of old, faded, and pitted plastic, like we do on the AutoGuide project Dodge Magnum RT, you can expect to see an improvement, not perfection. If you make reapplying part of your car care routine, and do it once a month or so, it’ll be a lot less work. And if you start using it preventively at the first sign of fading, you have a good change of heading off damage altogether.
To learn more about plastic and trim restorers, refer to our Table of Contents.
Formulated to restore and renew plastic, rubber, or vinyl, CarGuys’ Plastic Restorer features patented additives to boost longevity so it lasts for months. Available as an 8-ounce kit, the CarGuys Plastic Restorer is a bit more expensive compared to the competition. The company says its Plastic Restorer will survive rain unlike some of its competition, because it repels water instead of leaving ugly streaks down the side of your car.
Environmentally safe and completely safe to use, this formula has no harmful chemicals and won’t leave behind an oily mess. It’s designed to restore and leave a finish that is completely dry to the touch while leaving a durable UV guard to protect against harmful UV rays that cause fading, browning, and cracking.
You can also use this product on your RV, motorcycle, vinyl seats on a boat, indoor or outdoor accessories, or home restoration projects such as shutters, furniture, and siding.
Lithium Trim Cubes stand apart from the other products on this list. While the other options are all bottled liquid restorers, Lithium Trim Cubes are actually sponges that come pre impregnated with a material called Graphene that is fused with ceramic. According to Lithium, the Graphene bonds to the plastic to bring back the deep, rich color of your factory trim.
Lithium Trim Cubes come as part of a complete kit that includes four individually wrapped Trim Cubes, one bottle of prewash spray, and a pair of rubber gloves. According to Lithium, this will be the best Trim product you have ever used or they will fully refund your money. No questions, no hassle.
Best of all, this is a long-term solution, as Lithium boasts that one application will last for 250 washes—giving you years of protection to keep your vehicle’s trim fully protected and looking like new. Here’s a link to a video where a user put the Lithium Trim Cubes through 1450 washes.
*This is a sponsored placement.
Meguiar's is one of the best plastic restorers available, but still needs work to apply. Photo credit: David Traver Adolphus / AutoGuide.com.
We can’t think of a car care product that Meguiar’s doesn’t make, and make well. Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer is one of the highest rated and most popular items on Amazon and is designed to restore all exterior plastic, vinyl, and rubber trim including bumpers, moldings, door handles, rearview mirror housings, and windshield cowlings. Meguiar’s says its product uses an advanced hybrid polymer technology that seals non-porous surfaces with UV protection, allowing it to significantly outlast conventional protectants and trim care products. This formula dries almost instantly and is non-greasy. It also won’t streak if the treated surfaces get wet.
After several applications, you can see the improvement. But there’s still damage visible. Photo credit: David Traver Adolphus / AutoGuide.com.
We tried Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer on the old exterior plastics of AutoGuide’s Dodge Magnum RT. It was easy to use with a microfiber cloth, but really struggled with the badly damaged and pitted horizontal window trim. It did a much better job with smoother vertical plastics that hadn’t suffered from UV as much. You can still see some fading, but the difference is obvious. Meguiar’s says you should apply the product monthly, and our exterior plastic trim is continuing to improve as with regular applications.
Rust-Oleum’s Wipe New Trim Restorer is designed to restore and protect worn automotive trim and plastic. It works best on door panels, trim, side mirrors, bumpers, dashboards, as well as leather and vinyl seats. The company promises a long lasting shine with the product, and it’ll continue to work even after the car is washed. It comes in a 1.5-fluid ounce bottle and each kit includes two wipe new applicator cloths, one headlight applicator, one headlight prep pad, and one detail brush. The 1.5-ounce bottle is enough to treat the interior and exterior of an average mid-sized car.
The Rust-Oleum Wipe New Trim Restorer is safe to use on plastic, rubber, chrome, vinyl, leather, acrylic, ceramic and metallic surfaces, but not on glass. Unlike other products, it doesn’t use silicone, so the Wipe New Trim Restorer doesn’t require constant applications. Its formula also protects from oxidation, fading, and sun damage, while offering a two-year guarantee.
Compared to other products, Wipe New Trim Restorer is relatively more expensive, since you are paying for a 1.5-fluid ounce bottle.
Another popular mainstream brand in the world of car detailing is Mothers. An affordable trim and plastic restorer, Mothers Back-to-Black comes in an aerosol spray bottle and features an original all-in-one formula that cleans and protects exterior trim of all colors. It easily removes light oxidation, dirt, wax residue, and surface film while protecting against further deterioration caused by sun, smog, ozone, water, chemicals, and airborne contaminants.
Mothers Back-to-Black is designed to work on trim, molding, bumpers, door handles, vents, and seals. Simply apply some of the restorer onto a dry terry cloth or sponge and massage it into the surface before buffing to a back-to-new look.
Some users do note that this particular product won’t last very long and leaves streak in the rain or when your car gets wet.
Solution Finish offers a black plastic and vinyl restorer in either a one- or 12-ounce bottle. Specially formulated to restore original black surfaces to a deep, rich, black finish without the wet look, this product is a bit more expensive than the competition. It features “ancient ingredients” with advanced polymer technology and is a silicone-free solution that uses all natural oils.
It’s designed for professional use, so make sure you read the instructions carefully. The product will stain clothing and skin and should not be used on painted or glass surfaces. If you accidentally get any on paint or glass, you will want to wipe it off immediately with a clean applicator pad, terry cloth, or microfiber towel. The company recommends not washing the vehicle for at least four hours after applying the solution.
Like similar products, users have said it runs streaky when it rains, so keep that in mind if you live in an area that often gets rainy weather.
Designed to work on trim, rubber, vinyl, polypropylene, and rubberized plastics is Torque Detail’s Plastic & Trim Restorer Spray. It’s formulated with no harsh chemicals or oily residues, which means no harsh fumes or sticky surfaces once you’re done applying it. The company says it’s made with an environmentally-friendly formula that features zero volatile organic compounds.
It’ll work to turn all that faded grey plastic to black and can even remove oxidation. Applying this is as easy as spraying it on and wiping it off, leaving behind at least six months of protection. The hydrophobic formula will keep water beading off the surface of your trim, while antistatic properties and UV protection keep it looking like new for months to come.
Torque Detail says this solution deeply permeates the plastic and will actually change the chemical chemistry to bring it back to its original state. No dyes are being used and rain won’t wash it off.
Chemical Guys offers a tire and trim gel that works for plastic and rubber, quickly renewing faded trim, bumpers, rubber seals, and weather-stripping. Offered in a 16-ounce bottle, this is an oil-based trim dressing that gives protection against dirt, water, and harmful UV rays once it is properly applied. It’s considered a premium dressing that is formulated with special waterproofing agents to help it last through multiple car washes.
After applying the product on your trim pieces, it will be absorbed quickly and finishes with a dry-to-the-touch feel, despite a super high shine appearance.
When using this product, apply a thin, even layer to the area of your car for best results. For an extra glossy shine, you can wait 10 minutes after the first coat and apply additional ones as desired.
Users say this product lasts a couple months on trim pieces, but it will be less effective once it rains and could streak on your paint.
Another brand you have likely heard of, Armor All’s Outlast Trim & Plastic Restorer comes in an 8 ounce bottle at an affordable price. This product is designed to restore plastic, vinyl, and rubber trim, while claiming to protect for over 100 car washes. The formula also helps prevent fading, discoloration, oxidation, and damage caused by UV rays and is safe to use on all trim colors.
This product can be used on bumpers, side mirrors, door handles, vinyl roof tops, as well as interior trim so long as it’s a plastic, rubber, or vinyl surface. Like other plastic and trim restorers, you’ll want to quickly wipe off any product that comes in contact with glass or a painted surface.
Using Armor All’s Outlast Trim and Plastic Restorer is straightforward, simply apply it onto a damp microfiber towel or directly onto the surface, spreading it evenly so it leaves a light coat. You’ll want to let it sit for five minutes to penetrate the surface before using a damp terry cloth or microfiber towel to wipe up any excess product.
The final plastic and trim restorer on our list comes from Vinyl Magic. Sold in an eight-ounce bottle, this solution offers advanced protection in rain or shine. It features a powerful and effective formula that fights against fading and cracking and is said to not leave streaky residue after rain or a car wash. Vinyl Magic says its restorer will last up to three months.
In addition to shining and darkening surfaces back to black, Vinyl Magic’s product repels water, dirt, and salt. It’s safe to use on faded plastic, vinyl, rubber, and other car surfaces and works on any vehicle with black or dark grey faded trim.
This product is not a silicone-based solution and is made in the U.S.
Plastic and trim restorers are car care products designed to restore black plastic and trim pieces to a “like new” appearance. A quality plastic restorer will do more than just dye the plastic or sit on top of the surface, instead it gets absorbed by the plastic and breaks down any oxidation that has occurred causing the black trim to look grey. When properly applied, these restorers will nourish the plastic and could even last several months depending on your weather conditions.
Most plastic and trim restorers are affordable and doesn’t require a lot of effort to apply.
If the plastic or trim pieces on your vehicle are fading and looking more grey than black, then you want to invest into a quality plastic and trim restorer. Not only will it bring the shine back to your bumper or trim piece, some products offer a layer of protection against harmful UV rays and other grime or dirt, extending the life of your trim pieces. Generally, the jet black appearance of plastic trim pieces look much better and cleaner than faded or even cracked grey plastic.
More importantly, most of the products are simple solutions to apply and use, and doesn’t requires a lot of time for them to work. It’s a small monetary and time investment in making sure your plastic trim pieces last as long as your car.
Most plastic and trim restorers available in the market advertise similar features and properties. Some are oil-based while others are liquid-based. You ideally want to avoid silicone-based solutions as they generally do not last as long and will require constant applications. When shopping for a product, make sure it’s not simply just a dye that goes on the surface of your trim. You’ll want a quality product that not only makes your plastic trim pieces shine black, but help protect them from further wear and tear.
Just keep in mind that these products aren’t permanent fixes. Eventually you will need to re-apply the product, so find something that’s easy to use so you don’t mind doing the process often if necessary.
You’ll also want to look for a product that doesn’t leave behind an oily or greasy finish. Most products will advertise a dry-to-the-touch feel.
August 23, 2022: Removed sold-out Turtle Wax Trim Restorer .
July 14, 2022: Added Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer hands-on test results.
May 10, 2021: Added a new promoted product recommendation.
April 21, 2021: Removed promoted product recommendation.
