smith89panthers

I have a 2002 Tacoma and since moving to southern california, the fender flares have began to turn from black to a gray color. I tried to "armor all" them, but it fades right back. Any treatment I could get for this situation or am I screwed! Thanks! Dustin

Godzilla

Stop armour all-ing them. I tend to hear that it can actually dry out plastics and etc. Try a plastic safe polish and wax on them. Or you could always try to put on a shot of clear coat

NicCantDecide

repaint them and get a UV resistant clear coat. Chances are if they're fading quickly they never got a clear coat.

FastOlds

If you are talking about the black plastic flares, i use mother's "back to black", which works for a while.

Your avatar appears to not have the black plastic ones, but you said from black to grey, so i'm assuming that is what you are talking about.

Meguairs "hot shine" tire shine works in a pinch as well, but "back to black" works as good as anything ive used.

Good luck.

X-AWDriver

I use Stoner's Trim Shine and it works great but for best results to keep black trim looking good it should be applied about once a month.

Here's some b4 and after results on mine.

dirtoyboy

You can always dye them with a plastic dye

X-AWDriver

Dying would be a good idea and then take real good care of them from the start.

Where would you buy plastic dye? Is it an parts store item?

Ironmike4x4

I actually rediscovered my fix a week ago with moving and all... I found a can of trim restore paint that I bought from Wal-Mart 2 years ago. I cleaned and painted my rear bumper trim cover and rear mudflaps. To this day they are still black with no hints of fading. You can actually see the difference from my rear fender flares to my mudflaps as I did not treat the flares.

algranger

try turtle wax ice, the liquid car wax its so easy and you can wax your body, chrome, light covers, plastic or rubber trim pieces, everything its great stuff

Hilux808

I use Turtle Wax F21 Super Protectant. I use it inside and out, it really makes my black plastic bumper step look almost like new again. I think it helps to protect from fading too and it seems to last a long time. I just have to put a new coat on after I wash my truck. I use it on my tires and the vinyl on my door panels and the dash/plastics. Mothers "Back to Black" is good too but it comes in a much smaller bottle. I've heard that Armor All is bad too cause it dries out plastics but I haven't had any problems with F21 yet. Try it on your flares, you might like it. I've tried the Turtle wax Ice too, they claim you can use it on anything but i've had better performance with F21 when it comes to plastics, vinyl & rubber.

DailyDrive

3 words: black shoe polish

smith89panthers

wow lots of great ideas. i hope someone else besides me go some good info's! I dont know about the shoe polish though ....Thanks!

TexanTaco

I might try some Mothers Back-to-Black on my fender flares and see how it works. I've tried Meguiars vinyl/plastic protectant before and it works pretty good, but for some reason my rear passenger flare has these grayish white spots that won't go away. The rest are ok and the rear bumper step looks brand new. I wouldn't recommend putting anything slippery on the bumper step though, that could be broken shin material right there.

X-AWDriver

I use the Trim Shine on my rear step and it really cleaned it up and got rid of the whitish areas and it is in no way slippery.

TexanTaco

Very cool, I will see if my local Autozone carries Stoner's Trim Shine. If it helps to get rid of those white spots I will be very happy. And not being slippery is a huge plus in my book. I hate the greasy looking stuff.

Btw, did you add the red paint to the Toyota symbol on your wheels? It looks sweet!

tomstin

After trying almost everything on the market I stumbled across a method that seems to work well and last. Clean the fares VERY carefully with Acetone and paper towels. Now, be careful with this stuff. Then coat the flares with Turtle Wax Ice. After the ICE dries you may need to wipe off the access with a clean cloth. Nothing seems to work as well and last as long. Once the flares are clean, a fresh coat of ICE once a month or six weeks seems to maintain the look.

X-AWDriver

Here's before and after of the rear hatch step. I like the stuff since it's not glossy and dries completely.

Belize Off Road Team

Something else that hurts plastic colour is any harsh chemical in water, such as clorine. Unless washed with a special water(only available at some manual car wash locations) that helps protect trim.
Where i moved from (Medicine Hat Alberta) they had a trim cleaner that worked wonders on my running boards and rear bumper trim. So next time you consider washing with tap water think about the things in the water.

cglickman

I use Forever Black Bumper and Trim Dye (google it) and it is the only thing that I have used that truly restores the trim. It is in a bottle with an applicator similar to shoe polish, and I have no idea if it is the same thing or not, but I do know that it works. After that, use 303 Protectant once a month and you'll be good forever probably. YMMV, but I've tried everything on the market and this is the only one that actually lasts. -Clark

cackalak han

^^ I also use 303 protectant, too. Great stuff.