What have you done to your vehicle lately?

[orbitup]

 

[Lead Belly]

I'll share a useful trick for reviving dull or oxidized plastic. This works on unpainted car trim (interior or exterior), kayaks and even firearms- Glock frames, old colt stocks, etc.

There are chemical treatments, but those are oily and temporary. I use the heat method with amazing results.

1) Clean the part with stiff nylon brush and bucket of water with few drops of Dawn in it. Get off any tar or overspray paint.

2) Wipe it down with acetone to remove any contaminants remaining. This step will make the part look worse as it strips the oil off top layer that gives the sheen.

3) Hit it with 1000W heat gun on high (Milwaukee red gun is my choice). Treat it like you are spraying paint- keep heatgun moving and don't dawdle- interior edges especially. Start on back of piece or inconspicuous spot to get the feel- I hold gun 1/2-3/4 inches away, set on high, but it's about speeds and feeds. You can come back after it's cooled a bit to get any missed spots or blend lines. I treat it as I do when painting a vehicle and mind the contours.

4) Don't overdo it- as soon as you see the sheen, move on. Is a quick process and high heat just "melts" the surface briefly without softening the entire piece as lower heat tends to do. It's like soldering surface connectors: is counter-intuitive as high heat for less time gets 'er done better. Keep gun perpendicular to surface for even results.

You can do it on or off the vehicle, but keep heat off paint less it bubble. I remove the trim for better results.

There are many applications for this process and it's how they restore entire stadiums full of those plastic seats- they use a propane weed torch. The process brings the oil to the surface and will get rid of tiny scratches, but not deep gouges. Pebble and textured surfaces turn out great. try it on a rubbermaid storage container or hose reel to get the feel.

Here is trim from 2008 F250 SuperDuty done today that has lived outside it's entire life in the sun.

 

[TheDan]

Not mine of course. Just sharing here as DT comes up often.

 

[Lead Belly]

Not mine of course. Just sharing here as DT comes up often.
View attachment 481225

Looks like lost lug lock removal done with small drill bit. Much easier to go on ebay for correct key or just weld a nut on the offending lock to remove. Notice how clean the other lug nuts are, so not corroded.

 

[TheDan]

Looks like lost lug lock removal done with small drill bit. Much easier to go on ebay for correct key or just weld a nut on the offending lock to remove. Notice how clean the other lug nuts are, so not corroded.

They're capped lug nuts. If they are over torqued the caps can slip and then it becomes a pain to get them off. You'd think tire shops would be aware of the tricks to get them off, but apparently not DT or the other hack places they took it to.

 

[Lead Belly]

They're capped lug nuts. If they are over torqued the caps can slip and then it becomes a pain to get them off. You'd think tire shops would be aware of the tricks to get them off, but apparently not DT or the other hack places they took it to.

Had an '02 Durango in the salt belt, so am too familiar with those. I just hammered an impact socket on them when they got like that.

Lotta ways to skin that cat, I guess- this being worst option, lol. You can slit them with screwdriver and a hammer, too.