Protecting Painted Plastics

[avimore]

My wife's car has some painted plastic areas on the grille that are annoying to clean and keep protected:

 

 

 

 

It might be hard to see from the pictures, but the grille has a combination of glossy painted plastic, plastic chrome trim and some textured plastic in the back.

 

Any suggestions on the best way to keep this area protected after cleaning so it's easier to maintain?

 

I know I can use VRT on the textured plastic, but what about the painted plastic and plastic chrome trim?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[PHOKUS]

The black areas in the photos look more like bare plastic rather than paint. Probably molded smooth and shiny to look like paint (Piano Black).

 

After a thorough cleaning, you can use LPS, CPC, or maybe even CTC depending on the type of plastic. I would probably go with CTC if it's bare plastic. This will give maximum protection.

[shane@detailedreflections]

In and out spray and some quick sealant (if you have some or can find some) will also help provide some protection. As for the cleaning, it's simply time consuming to get it done. The last nasty grill I did I sat down with waterless wash and a towel to really get each spot that needed it. It took a while.

[avimore]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

The black areas in the photos look more like bare plastic rather than paint. Probably molded smooth and shiny to look like paint (Piano Black).

 

After a thorough cleaning, you can use LPS, CPC, or maybe even CTC depending on the type of plastic. I would probably go with CTC if it's bare plastic. This will give maximum protection.

 

I'll try LPS first as I don't have CPC or CTC and rather not go there unless it's necessary.

 

Good point, now I'm not sure if that area is painted plastic or bare (piano black) plastic.  Would LPS work well on either of these surfaces?

 

In and out spray and some quick sealant (if you have some or can find some) will also help provide some protection. As for the cleaning, it's simply time consuming to get it done. The last nasty grill I did I sat down with waterless wash and a towel to really get each spot that needed it. It took a while.

 

I don't have any Quick Sealant either unfortunately.  Will In and Out spray work on glossy smooth plastics?  I was under the impression that it was meant for textured plastics so the spray could be absorbed.

 

I agree, that area is a pain to clean with so many places for dirt to get trapped.  Very time consuming.

[shane@detailedreflections]

I've used In & Out Spay on any non painted plastic with good success. I looked at the product details again to make sure I didn't miss anything and it didn't say anything about textured plastic. The downside is that the In & Out Spray doesn't offer much in the way of protection. It's more of an appearance product which was why I suggested Quick Sealant if you had any. I have some left, and I find myself always hoping they release a new version of it.

[Thorsager]

You can use H2O guard and Gloss.

[PHOKUS]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

 

I'll try LPS first as I don't have CPC or CTC and rather not go there unless it's necessary.

 

Good point, now I'm not sure if that area is painted plastic or bare (piano black) plastic.  Would LPS work well on either of these surfaces?

 

 

I don't have any Quick Sealant either unfortunately.  Will In and Out spray work on glossy smooth plastics?  I was under the impression that it was meant for textured plastics so the spray could be absorbed.

 

I agree, that area is a pain to clean with so many places for dirt to get trapped.  Very time consuming.

 

LPS works well on pretty much any clean surface. I am agreed with others that Quick Sealant may be the very best option for this use-case.

 

In and Out spray works for smooth surfaces, but doesn't last long. My car has a piano black honeycomb grille and using In and Out spray lasts for a day, maybe two. It basically just evaporates. 

 

You could also look at Ceramic Booster rather than Quick Sealant. I have zero experience with this product for the moment, but if it does what Adam says it will do (it's guaranteed, after all), it would be the cat's meow for difficult-to-clean areas like grilles - regardless what type of surface you're dealing with. Silica does not care if its metal, paint, plastic, glass, etc. 

 

In fact, I will be ordering the CPS along with Ceramic Booster, and I will use the booster on my grille. Should work pretty nicely.

[avimore]

It seems that In and Out is not a viable option due to lack of protection and durability issues.

 

Quick Sealant is ideal but I don't have any and it's hard to get.

 

LPS would work, but there are some textured plastic pieces on the back of the grille meaning I would have to prep those areas first with VRT/In and Out, as LPS can stain and leave residue on those areas.

 

H2O G&G on the other hand doesn't stain plastics and so I could apply it to all areas of the grille and get decent protection.

 

Ceramic Booster also sounds promising, but I will try H2O first and see how that goes.

 

Thanks for your help guys.

[PHOKUS]

It seems that In and Out is not a viable option due to lack of protection and durability issues.

 

Quick Sealant is ideal but I don't have any and it's hard to get.

 

LPS would work, but there are some textured plastic pieces on the back of the grille meaning I would have to prep those areas first with VRT/In and Out, as LPS can stain and leave residue on those areas.

 

H2O G&G on the other hand doesn't stain plastics and so I could apply it to all areas of the grille and get decent protection.

 

Ceramic Booster also sounds promising, but I will try H2O first and see how that goes.

 

Thanks for your help guys.

 

Let us know how it goes!

[avimore]

Let us know how it goes!

 

Sure thing!

 

Also interested on how you go with Ceramic Booster on your honeycomb grille.  Keep us updated.