Evening all, 

 

The seals around each of my windows is going spotty and grey! Can it be cleaned or is something happening to the rubber? I was looking to try and restore all the trim / plastics back to black but wondering if it's too late? 

Hello!

It looks like some rubber beautification chemical has been applied at some point.

Might be worth trying rubber care product, or a care and protect product.

 

For care I like this.

 For protection, I like this.

Thank you! I had seen the moly actually. Will that restore back to black and keep it? Or not? 

 

I'm looking to get some gtechniq C4 to restore some of the black plastic and wondered if I could use that? 

I’m trying out WD40 looks good but early days yet, I believe it’s largely based on veg’ oil

46 minutes ago, cheshire_cat said:

I’m trying out WD40 looks good but early days yet, I believe it’s largely based on veg’ oil

I thought of wd40 but Sure I read somewhere it can degrade the rubber somehow? Although you could probably say that about a lot of things! Keep. Us updated! Did it give it a restored black look? 

Well it improved it which isn’t saying much but @ 14 years old the rubbers past it’s best,  what it did help with is softening the area/ lichen ( which is like concrete)  along the inside edge of the rubber where it squeegees the glass, this can then be carefully removed with a blunt knife, easy to cut the now softened rubber. Only time will tell. 

Tried some gummi pflege tonight on one side. First thoughts... Looks blacker but the spots / fading are still visible.. Might do a second coat and see what happens when the rain sets in! 

To update. It's really not made any difference, just seems wet to the touch all the time and if anything made the spots/fading come out more! Need a new plan....! 

On 28/09/2023 at 01:06, SkodaNewb said:

Thank you! I had seen the moly actually. Will that restore back to black and keep it? Or not? 

 

I'm looking to get some gtechniq C4 to restore some of the black plastic and wondered if I could use that? 

Sorry, you didn't tag me in so I had no idea you'd asked me a question. (Still not 100% sure, but will answer anyway.)

The Gummi Pflege (actually German for "Rubber Care") does just that. It seems to keep your rubbers soft and flexible. I love it, but it's really not a cosmetic treatment.

The 303 Protectant is mainly a UV protectant and has a slight "Back to Black(TM)" effect. It can be used on rubbers but is best on plastics, IMO. Spray on, wipe off to a dry sheen.

 

On 29/09/2023 at 19:25, cheshire_cat said:

I’m trying out WD40 looks good but early days yet, I believe it’s largely based on veg’ oil

It's a penetrating oil, not a lubricant and certainly not good for rubber, though it will make your rubber look dark and shiny.

For a while at least. I wouldn't use the stuff, but I keep my cars for ages.

However there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people advocating you use WD40 to revitalise the rubbers on your car and it's your car, so if that works for you, go for it.

You could probably use actual vegetable oil and give your rubbers that "just new look". (I expect there're some TikToK videos showing just that.)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

8 hours ago, EnterName said:

Sorry, you didn't tag me in so I had no idea you'd asked me a question. (Still not 100% sure, but will answer anyway.)

The Gummi Pflege (actually German for "Rubber Care") does just that. It seems to keep your rubbers soft and flexible. I love it, but it's really not a cosmetic treatment.

The 303 Protectant is mainly a UV protectant and has a slight "Back to Black(TM)" effect. It can be used on rubbers but is best on plastics, IMO. Spray on, wipe off to a dry sheen.

 

It's a penetrating oil, not a lubricant and certainly not good for rubber, though it will make your rubber look dark and shiny.

For a while at least. I wouldn't use the stuff, but I keep my cars for ages.

However there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people advocating you use WD40 to revitalise the rubbers on your car and it's your car, so if that works for you, go for it.

You could probably use actual vegetable oil and give your rubbers that "just new look". (I expect there're some TikToK videos showing just that.)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

@EnterName

Thank you for the response here. I thought I read similar about wd40. I'm the same I keep my cars so I don't want to risk anything that will just make things worse in the long run. 

 

I tried the gummi pflege, it did nothing cosmetically! I think I'll resign myself to the fact there is no "cure" for rubber and I'll try a restorer and just do it every couple months. I've read car guys do a good one for rubber that can last a couple months, I'll go with something like that! 

 

Thanks for your help though.