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Trim Coating Review-11 Year Old Volvo DD


BRZN

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The product arrived early this week. Perfect! Friday looked like it was going to be a great day to give it a try and it could overnight in the garage without much of an issue.

Cool packaging

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Everything needed was included, there was even a nice set of nitrile gloves hidden under one of the Edgeless Utility Towels in the box.

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Instructions were included, however I'd strongly recommend you take the time to watch the video!

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I washed the car last Sunday. After I took care of the wheels, tires, and inner fenders/wheel wells I cleaned all the lower plastic body cladding, and front and rear bumpers with Tire & Rubber Cleaner. I scrubbed them using a Wheel Brush as well as a short bristled stiff bristled nylon brush and followed that up by wiping with my 10x10" wash pad; the one I use on the wheels. Figured I'd get the jump on all the required prep work.

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The cladding on this car is routinely dressed with VRT, In & Out Spray, or a combination of the two. Twice a year I even scrub everything with APC to make sure it's all good and clean. This is an 11 year old daily driver that sits outside 24/7/365.

 

Yesterday (Friday) arrived, and it was time to get started. Out went the GTO and into the garage came the Volvo. It was a sunny and breezy day with the temperatures in the high 50's.The car hadn't been driven much at all since being washed last Sunday, but I gave her a decent cleaning again with Rinseless Wash.

 

I started to go over the plastic cladding again using the Tire & Rubber Cleaner provided in the kit and found absolutely no oxidation coming off, I must have done a decent job last Sunday, so I stopped. I did catch several areas though I'd not scrubbed when washing last week; mirrors, cowl, door sills, and the cladding that wraps up in under the doors with the Tire & Rubber Cleaner and an Edgeless Utility Towel.

 

A buddy of mine, Charlie, came over to lend a hand and check out what the product would do to this trim. He went over all the areas to be coated with the Coating Prep while I finished cleaning. This step was far less time consuming than the actual cleaning process. No scrubbing was required, just a good, thorough wipe down. The Coating Prep has a purplish color to it with a grape scent, too close to Undercarriage Dressing for my liking. There'd be a heck of an issue with the Trim Coating adhering if the wrong product was used for prep.

 

On the the application of the coating. I used the kit provided applicator while Charlie used a foam applicator. He used the small grey one that used to come with the Patriot Wax. There was no difference using either applicator.

 

The coating went on nicely, with just a few drops on the applicators. Instantly the grayish, chalky cladding turned back into an as new deep dark black! The Trim Coating has the smell of ammonia.

 

There are the dreaded tiger stripes on the plastic of this vehicle, they're most pronounced on the horizontal areas on the front and rear bumpers. It almost appears the pigment's gone in the stripes. The coating darkened the stripes considerably, but didn't remove them completely.

This picture is after two applications of the Trim Coating:

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The spots shown in the grille have been there since we bought the car in 2007, I have no idea what they're from. I coated the grille too, it brightened up the gray plastic, but did nothing to hide the spots.

 

Any where I'd gotten a little of the coating on the paint or chrome it wiped right off with the supplied Single Soft Microfiber Towel.

 

Here's a couple before and afters:

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Mirror (sorry no before)

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The mirror actually looks wet, it's not. I took this picture 17 hours after application.

Here's one of a bit of the rubber trim and the cowl:

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The product looks so much better than any of the dressings I've used in the past and is absolutely dry to the touch. The tiger striping is still there but much less pronounced than it is with a more traditional type of dressing applied.

If it has the longevity it's claimed to have it's going to save me a good hour per car wash on this one by not having to pay extra attention to cleaning and dressing the cladding.

 

Oh, and I didn't even use 1/4 of the 50mm bottle of Trim Coating on this car.

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Edited by BRZN
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Looks nice, what a difference it made! I used it on my 2015 Tahoe, the trim wasn't faded so I didn't notice much change in the color. However, I have noticed since applying the Trim Coating the rain and water just beads up and rolls right off. Highly recommend giving it a shot.

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I've used the heat gun with decent success.  It's a  little tricky to get it "even" but it does work.  Might be best to practice on something first.  As long as your not looking for concours perfection, like it said, it does indeed work.  

 

It would be best to use the heat gun, then put the trim coating on it to preserve it.  

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I just reviewed several You Tube Videos of guys using a heat gun to restore the plastic cladding on Chevy Avalanche's, and one with a propane torch! Yea, it darkened the plastic but none of them were dealing with the tiger striping I have. I'm not sure how the surrounding areas would be effected with the 1,600*F heat coming out of the gun; paint, rubber seals, plastic headlights covered with Headlight Armour, side view mirrors glass/plastic reflective material, gray plastic inserts in both the front and rear bumpers, chromed plastic of the grille surround, the plastic headlight squirters on the front bumper, and the chrome inset with the Volvo script on the front door sills.

 

Until I get something to practice on I don't care about, I'm more than happy with the results gained from Adam's Trim Coating, but hey, thanks for the info, gives me something new to think about...

Edited by BRZN
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