"Showroom New" Trim Restorer- info & experience

[mike nomy]

Hi Guys, I ordered 3 bottles of this product two weeks ago for 53$ shipped. I applied this thursday with assistance from my girlfriend and my father. We used a foam roller and foam brushes as per the instructions. The original color for our VXs is full BLACK, not a mixture. It dries a lighter matte black than the color it looks as it goes on.

I have to say that I DO NOT RECOMMEND this product to anyone looking to have a professional looking bumper restoration DONE WITHOUT SPRAYING.

After using this I have the following reservations:
-This may be sold as a dye, but it is really a PAINT. It goes on like a paint, it streaks like a paint and it dries like a paint. It may have dye like properties - but it cannot really be classified as a "dye."
-This stuff cannot be applied to the VX bumper without streaking. Foam brushes should NOT be used - the foam roller will put the paint/dye on OK but because of the heavy curves of our cladding, it must be used along with brushes around the edges and the bolts/lights and this will result in some ugly looking borders.
-The product may be of high enough quality that it can be used to cover our cladding, but it MUST be sprayed (thinned according to the instructions) for an EVEN coating. Using rollers and brushes is a really horrible way of doing this.
-The product is NOT GAS PROOF... yeah, well this was probably obvious, but it really delineates the difference between a dye and a paint. On my way back to MN from Virginia today, my girlfriend overfilled the tank and had gas streaking down the cladding. She went to blot with a paper towel and to my surprise it came off full of black - the paint was coming off - something I wouldn't suspect a dye to do.



-THE MIRROR AND ROOF RAILS/SPOILER CAN BE DONE, BUT IT GOES ON COMPLETELY AS PAINT ON THESE PLASTICS. They aren't porous and the brush strokes on the mirror holder/door part look really horrible. You may be able to spray this plastic, but I reccommend a real plastic paint, or base/clear for these parts

-DO NOT TRY ON THE HOOD INSERT. This really shows the quality of the dye/paint as it goes on blotchy, streaky and looks like a 2$ walmart paint quart.


_____
For the price of buying a sprayer/thinner and the SN, buy gatorback. Aerosolized sprays will go on MUCH nicer than anything put on by a brush.

I can post pictures if people are interested, but I just got back from a 22 hour drive and I'm going to bed.

FINALLY!!! I'm definitely not happy that your results weren't as expected, but I do feel slightly vindicated now, as far as my support for GB. I didn't want to say it earlier, but a true dye product is something that the cladding would have had to be dunked into and let to sit, while the dye stains it... not a roll on or spray on application. it is mearly another top coat, just like GB, only difference is that for a few extra bucks and alot less work, GB comes out perfect. When I sprayed it on, i coud actually see and hear it bubbling, bonding to the cladding. and after only 1 coat, it looked amazing. after the second coat, it looked flawless. i also did my mirrors, which now look like they did in '99. I didn't do the roof rack because it was the end of the season, and was getting windy, so i didn't really want to risk it going everywhere else, not to mention that i did it at work, in between appointments, so time was kinda limited. with that said, the cladding came out flawless. I really recommend trying it.

[VX KAT]

It worked well for me, wasn't the easiest to get a perfect finish. I was the guinea pig, and it took me 3 coats to find the best applicator. and then ......I decided I wanted it a tad darker....thus application #4.

What's great is now other VXers have two more excellent choices for their cladding!

[Luna X]

I have nothing to say..................................

[VX KAT]

I have nothing to say..................................

yup, just wait until you see mine in person Dan.....

[VXjunky]

bottom line sue....if youre happy...aint that what its about....and judging by the smiles you attest to...walking up on your girl all day...seems momma be happy

[VX KAT]

bottom line sue....if youre happy...aint that what its about....and judging by the smiles you attest to...walking up on your girl all day...seems momma be happy

Yup! Momma be a happy camper!
I'm on to my next mod.....

[Grif]

Ok, got my two bottles of "Showroom New" black, and even a spare bottle of 3M (bondo) "Restore Black" dye as a backup, plus at least one or two applications of R/R left in my big tub of R/R.

BTW: reviews of the "Restore Black" 3M product on this site indicate much the same results as the other dye products. I frankly am thinking all dye products are essentially the same, and require multiple coats and patience to set in and careful application.

So Kat... before I proceed. Final thoughts on applying "Showroom New"? Applicators, technique , prep beforehand? My cladding is in generally good shape, not too faded, but some nasty trail rash. Want to get black, not shiny, just mask the rash get an even color and remove some moderate fading.

The plan so far is wash traditionally, prep with denatured alchohol (which I find is a great cladding cleaner) and apply the dye(s) lightly in three or four coats, 8 hours time to set tween coats, using a terry coated foam pad.

Got a prob with that? hehe

[VX KAT]

Ok, got my two bottles of "Showroom New" black, and even a spare bottle of 3M (bondo) "Restore Black" dye as a backup, plus at least one or two applications of R/R left in my big tub of R/R.

BTW: reviews of the "Restore Black" 3M product on this site indicate much the same results as the other dye products. I frankly am thinking all dye products are essentially the same, and require multiple coats and patience to set in and careful application.

So Kat... before I proceed. Final thoughts on applying "Showroom New"? Applicators, technique , prep beforehand? My cladding is in generally good shape, not too faded, but some nasty trail rash. Want to get black, not shiny, just mask the rash get an even color and remove some moderate fading.

The plan so far is wash traditionally, prep with denatured alchohol (which I find is a great cladding cleaner) and apply the dye(s) lightly in three or four coats, 8 hours time to set tween coats, using a terry coated foam pad.

Got a prob with that? hehe

Sounds perfect. I did notice the prep instructions said to wash plastic with soap....was surprised it wasn't more involved. But I'd do what you outlined with the denatured alcohol.

~Plan on only doing no more than 2 ft at a time.

~I just dipped the CORNER of the square sponge pad with terry cloth, got about 1/2" - 3/4" of dye on that corner.

~Splotched/dabbed it on a few places of my intended work area, than started doing the wiping with the pad.

~As the sponge absorbs more and more dye, you can press/squeeze on it harder with your fingers to discharge more dye while you are applying it.

~After you get the wettest part applied, (after just a few strokes) then use progressively lighter pressure to kind of smooth the product.

~when it's wet, it can look very streaky.....wait it out until it's dry for a day or so.

~it definitely surface dries faster in warmer weather.

~A big mistake I made was to keep wiping and wiping trying to get it perfect....the product ends up drying out by doing that and then you can't get it smoothed out. That's what went wrong on my front driver's corner.

~Plan your stroke pattern ahead of time on the front corners.

~Don't try to stretch the product- HUGE MISTAKE, makes it dry even faster.

~It comes off the paint really pretty easy, so don't freak if you get some on. I used a vinyl eraser for some spots that were a little tougher and didn't "scratch off" with my nail.

~I have 4 coats on, 3 was actually better...aim for 3.

~With that in mind, if you see an area drying too much and you still want to smooth it out, dip the sponge again, add more dye and try it again.

~Yes, you can add fresh dye onto wet area you just did. It's like a 2nd coat.
May want to go a little heavy with it over the trail rash areas.

~I did it sitting on a rolling stool, was perfect level and allowed me to do wide swipes on the door panels particularly, so I swiped from front door edge to rear door edge, as straight across as I could.

If you find the sponge terry cloth thing isn't putting enough product on, maybe try a foam brush for coat 1 or 2, it will put more product on than the terry sponge.

It is definitely not a shiny product AT ALL, it's has a little bit of sheen in sun, but not much.

Take pics!

Wish Atilla would post some pics or give some more input.

Good luck!

[VX KAT]

Try it yet Grif?

[Grif]

Try it yet Grif?

Sadly, not yet. I had told my friends that my intentions for the weekend were to "F@#$ off and dye" lol... But the dye portion of that never happened, we f@#$ed off and had a BBQ.

Instead I replaced my interior driver side door panel with a much nicer one, did some audio stuff and reseated some gimpy cladding (which really needed to be done).

Next time I have have a good solid 2-3 days, (since 2-3 coats and 8 hr cure time) the dye job is on the list. Thanks for asking, and I know you want PICS!!

hehe

[VX KAT]

Sounds perfect. I did notice the prep instructions said to wash plastic with soap....was surprised it wasn't more involved. But I'd do what you outlined with the denatured alcohol.

~Plan on only doing no more than 2 ft at a time.

~I just dipped the CORNER of the square sponge pad with terry cloth, got about 1/2" - 3/4" of dye on that corner.

~Splotched/dabbed it on a few places of my intended work area, than started doing the wiping with the pad.

~As the sponge absorbs more and more dye, you can press/squeeze on it harder with your fingers to discharge more dye while you are applying it.

~After you get the wettest part applied, (after just a few strokes) then use progressively lighter pressure to kind of smooth the product.

~when it's wet, it can look very streaky.....wait it out until it's dry for a day or so.

~it definitely surface dries faster in warmer weather.

~A big mistake I made was to keep wiping and wiping trying to get it perfect....the product ends up drying out by doing that and then you can't get it smoothed out. That's what went wrong on my front driver's corner.

~Plan your stroke pattern ahead of time on the front corners.

~Don't try to stretch the product- HUGE MISTAKE, makes it dry even faster.

~It comes off the paint really pretty easy, so don't freak if you get some on. I used a vinyl eraser for some spots that were a little tougher and didn't "scratch off" with my nail.

~I have 4 coats on, 3 was actually better...aim for 3.

~With that in mind, if you see an area drying too much and you still want to smooth it out, dip the sponge again, add more dye and try it again.

~Yes, you can add fresh dye onto wet area you just did. It's like a 2nd coat.
May want to go a little heavy with it over the trail rash areas.

~I did it sitting on a rolling stool, was perfect level and allowed me to do wide swipes on the door panels particularly, so I swiped from front door edge to rear door edge, as straight across as I could.

If you find the sponge terry cloth thing isn't putting enough product on, maybe try a foam brush for coat 1 or 2, it will put more product on than the terry sponge.

It is definitely not a shiny product AT ALL, it's has a little bit of sheen in sun, but not much.

Take pics!

Wish Atilla would post some pics or give some more input.

Good luck!

Good to hear it worked out for you Marlin.

Greg (gergmon) came up yesterday and we did his in the black. Used a foam brush for first coat, then the terry cloth/sponge for 2nd coat. Used 2 full bottles.

SOME MORE TIPS:
~When applying it with the foam brush or terry sponge be aware of the pressure your fingers are putting on it, as we found that makes streaks where you apply your finger pressure. Solve this by holding your applicator with your finger tips pointing up and make your stokes go left to right, right to left, AND use progressively lighter pressure.

~Greg discovered you can use your gloved hand to smooth the surface after it's had a just few minutes to set.

~SAND PAPER- One area got a little thick cuz somebody kept rubbing it , so Greg tried to sand it with some 1500 and 2000 grit. Probably actually need a little courser grade. It was pretty dry but it did smooth it a little bit.

~He applied it on the mirror housings. At first it left brush/applicator marks (probably what Atilla was talking about). So then Greg tried rubbing it with his gloved hand and a light sanding with 2000. More dye, repeat a few times. It came out pretty good. That plastic is pretty light gray (like our roof rails), and it darkened it tremendously. It seemed like it was absorbing it since the sand paper didn't make a bald area.

He's going to buy some more and try spraying the next/final coat on.

His cladding was really dark to begin with and this only darkened it a little more. It does appear the "Black" is not a jet black, but more a charcoal black.

[VXjunky]

my favorite name for a beauty salon...."Curl Up and Dye"....sorry scrambled brains and flash backs

[Marlin]

I just about finished doing mine. I went with straight black. Very neat stuff!! Took me about one bottle to do 75% of the truck. I did a half hearted scrubbing. Seems to be working great. I just put it on with a cheap 1" paint brush. The streaks dried perfectly fine. Thanks for the find Sue! After my URE trip, I will post up how it holds up to pressure washing and mud. It makes the truck look new again! (well, minus the herculined hood and fenders, the rear mounted tire, the mudders, rims, hood scoop....)

[Moncha]

To assure even pressure, could you use something like a rubber sanding block?

[VX KAT]

To assure even pressure, could you use something like a rubber sanding block?

Yes, that'd work. Figure out some way to attach the sponge thing.