how do I keep my bumpers looking new

[hugoart76]

okay I see it with some other vx's where the vinyl bumper that covers the bottom half of the car over time becomes white and faded and looks terrible, then there are some vx's that have their bumpers nice and grey and like new. I recently purchased a mint condition vx and I want to know whats the best way to keep my bumpers looking new. Im afraid if I take it to the local hand car wash that over time they may ruin it, do I need special soap or a special wax for that part of the car?

[etlsport]

make sure to keep it clean, i use dish soap on mine to get rid of grease that may have accumulated on it. the UV rays of the sun will fade it over time, no getting around that, if you have means to park in the shade or garage do it. other than that, most people just use conditioning products on their cladding to make it look better. do a search for "cladding treatment" and you can read about it for hours.. to save you some time heres a quick rundown of the most commonly used products

mother's back to black - gives a great shine, difficult to put on, and attracts dust

mcguires high endurance tire shine - gives a nice shine, a bit greasy.. smells like grapes;Db; easy to apply and reapply when runs appear

bondo bumper black - basically paint.. if you do it you have to commit to it or you will end up with a VERY streaky nasty looking bumper

turtlewax F21 - leaves a nice shine, easy to apply, comes off easily with water (rain)

zaino's - no experience.. those who use it swear by it

turtlewax ice - looks nice, easy to apply, beads water, doesnt get as dark as some would hope for (benifit is you can use it on the entire vehicle)

many have also painted their cladding with flexible bumper paint with very nice results (look up mark miller or crncnn)

bedlining (rhino lining, line-x) is also an option

can you tell i have a paper to write that im trying to put off? :dance:

[Pepino]

last meet people told me i had the best cladding they have ever seen it looked like new its is not even grey its still black and the only thing i do is wash it at least once a week, i dont use soap or anything just clean water and microfiber cloth thats it sometimes i use armorall with UV protection too

[fuzzy]

Meguiar's grape jelly FTW!

[circmand]

I am a bit lazy so even when I wash my VX I do not use a lot of elbow grease. I washed it this weekend and noticed as I rinsed I could still see fade against dark on my cladding. I rubbed it harder and the fade seems to have come out and was still gone when it dried.

[VCross007]

I've used tire wet on my cladding. I'll put it on with a rag, then re- go over all the cladding with another rag, and possibly one more time later on. Leaves a great lasting finish, doesnt attract much if any dust. but my car's garage kept too

[Cobrajet]

A few people swear by Stoner Trim Shine in the spray can. Easy to apply, and not too shiny. I've tried it, as well as the Meguiar's High Endurance. But, I prefer Turtlewax Ice. My cladding is not faded, so Ice gives it just enough shine to make it look like new. Badly faded cladding may need to be painted or have one of many coatings applied, like Gatorback (http://www.gatorbackcoatings.com/protective2/home.htm). I just hope I never need that.

[rowhard]

Something I do and it is back *** wards to what your suppose to do, but everytime I wash my VX, (couple times a day, well, maybe a week) I dry the cladding first with a nice rough terry cloth towel. I then dry the paint work working bottom to top to stop dripping onto the cladding. I used the P21S Super Absorbing Drying Towel. Amazing West Germany product. Then go around the cladding with what ever product you like to use, but I use One Grand Ext. Rubber & Vinyl, takes me about 5 minutes to go around the truck. I get these products and everything else detailing wise from http://www.carcareonline.com/

[nfpgasmask]

I must be the only one, but I have been using Trim Shine for over a year now. Just last month in Moab, Justin said to me, "Your cladding looks painted too". That's how nice and dark it makes my cladding look. I like this stuff cause its cheap, and easy to apply. Just spray a section, and wipe off with a rag (if you want to keep the dust from collecting). It gives my cladding a very nice luster, and lasts for a while. I treat my cladding with it after every wash.

Example:

http://www.nofuture.com/myvx/pics/013.jpg

http://moreshine.biz/images/trimShine.jpg

:) Bart

[nfpgasmask]

Badly faded cladding may need to be painted or have one of many coatings applied,

You know, I think this is a problem for a lot of folks who try products and claim they don't work. I think there is a point where the cladding gets so faded that no product can bring out the original dark color of the cladding. So, if your VX's cladding is not to that point yet, then I would said you are good to go. I think sun is your cladding's worst enemy, but if you use some of the protectant type products (like Trim Shine) I think this will also help prevent further sun damage. I park outside at work for 9 hours a day, and the relentless Nevada sun beats on my VX all day, and my cladding still shines up nicely.

And on a similar note, get a sun shade for your front window, and tint the rest out. I have seen some terrible sun damaged dash boards, steering wheels and leather seats. These materials WILL deteriorate and deteriorate fast if not cared for and protected.

The real question is, what can be done about faded hood inserts? Mine is getting a little light...

:) Bart

[tom4bren]

"The real question is, what can be done about faded hood inserts? Mine is getting a little light..."

Isn't the hood insert made out of the same stuff as the cladding? Same rules apply - shine/protect it with what suits you - when it gets too faded, paint it.

[nfpgasmask]

Isn't the hood insert made out of the same stuff as the cladding?

I don't believe so, I thought it was either painted metal or painted fiber-glass.

Bart

[tom4bren]

OK - let me rephrase: I use B2B on mine & when it gets too faded, I'll paint it.

Believe it or not, when my insert gets too dull, you can actually see the outline where the PO had some M&M guys decals on the hood.

[rowhard]

Before I got my hands on the carbon fibre insert, I used Turtle Wax color wax. Took a couple of applications, but didn't look that bad and to me was worth the trouble. Just remember to wear gloves or your handw will look as good good as your hood insert

[technocoy]

speaking of the carbon fiber inserts... how are those all holding up? I wish i could have snagged one when they were available.. my insert is starting to crack a bit.

On the cladding I've found that if you really take your time and powerwash it one good time it makes a big difference. Mine seemed to get rid of much of the "oxidation" that was there... it took some time to make sure it was all pretty even... then i hand washed it really well with soap and water and then did a really well buffed coat of Mothers B2B. since i did that i only have to go and apply the mothers every once in a while now... maybe 2-3 times a year.

so if your cladding is already in good shape, just keep it protected in the first place and you should be good to go...