'96 850 Wagon - cleaning/restoring door handles?

I recently used "Mother's Black Again" on my bumpers to restore them to
a much better condition. They are dark-grey/black again and uniform in
color.

I tried it on the black trim piece above the license plate on the
tailgate, but it didn't seem to do any good. I didn't try it on the
door handles since it looks like the same material.

Any suggests?

Now that the bumbers and other door trim is dark again, the light grey
(faded?) door handles look even worse.

 

Interesting- I just (like four days ago) did EXACTLY the same thing
with the same product (it is called "Back to Black" I believe). It did
work quite well on the bumper trim, the black rubber side trim, and
the black valence(?) below the bumpers. it worked OK on the door
handles and the trim over the license plate but not as well as on the
other surfaces as you stated. I think the trick it to rub and rub and
rub n those troublesome areas. it will be interesting to hear if
anyone has anything better.
__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvo
'93 960 Estate

 

Did the same last weekend as well. It doesn't work because the handles are a
different material. Some kind of plastic or powder coat over metal handle.
So the Back to Black doens not work on it. Rub it all you want, once it
dries it will look the same.

From what i've read on some forums, only alternative might be the stronger
trim dyes (i.e Forever Black) or possibly paint.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

MAGIC MARKER!

;-)

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvo
'93 960 Estate

 

MAGIC MARKER!

Seriously?

I just detailed my '96 volvo and it looks nice. The door handles are
now even more of an eyesore...but I can put up with it until I figure
out something that works. I honestly like the idea of a marker because
it is easy to apply, and easy to keep around. The idea of
dying/painting the handles gives me visions of spilled dye/paint on the
car or on me!

 

I have used them on small parts, and little chips just so I don't have
to look at them- like the black painted chrome trim around windows on
some cars.

You could try it on the underside of one handle to see how it works
and how long it lasts. maybe one of the Sharpie industrial markers
would be better. get some Scotch painter's tape to protect the
surrounding bits.

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvo
'93 960 Estate

 

Hm..I'll give it a try and let you know...

 

A friend of mine that keeps his cars pretty clean looking suggested
this, it's a bit of work, but I am going to try it on my "new" 99 S 80
with LOTS of black trim.

He said he uses rubbing compound, the type you use for cleaning
oxidation off of auto paint. { In the US, "Dupont #7" comes to mind}

It's a 2 step process.

1. Use the rubbing compoound first, to buff/polish the black trim.

2. You will now have a white glaze on the trim, from the rubbing
compound.
Now use a cleaner/degreaser to remove the rubbing compound residue.
He suggested a citrus based cleaner, the orange cleaners you see
everywhere now. And he uses a stiff nylon brush to clean that off.

I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS YET, although I will this weekend to see if it
works.

It makes sense, though; the sun has oxidized the outer black surface,
so the rubbing compound should remove that top layer that's gone dull.
Of course, the black surface is more porous than auto paint, so the
cleanup of the rubbing compound is necessary to get "back to the
black", so to speak..

I have used the moist towlettes saturated with liquid, I think they
are called "Back To Black" by Turtle Wax , and it looks great after
using them.
For about 1 day.

The Florida sun is brutal on auto finishes, and especially black trim.
It's a constant battle for those of us who do it ourselves.....