angrypengu

The piano black trim in the D5 is the bane of my existence. Any detailers on here that can help? I've tried everything I can think of, and short of doing what this guy has suggested, I think I'm all out of options:
Everything I have tried I have done by hand. I have never used an orbital polisher or anything on car paint, but it appears that I need to start looking at some sort of machine polisher. Contrary to popular belief, using a machine polisher may be less abrasive than doing things by hand, namely because of the pressure exerted by your finger > pressure exerted by a buffing pad when using a device.

Products I have tried:

Meguirs Scratch X (bad idea): https://meguiars.ca/product/plastx-plastic-cleaner/
Novus Plastic Polish:
The Scratch X is a mixed blessing. If you push too hard, you just ruined your trim. If you push not so hard, you're OK. It's not meant for piano black trim - and full and fair disclosure, it does mention that it's not for this sort of application. The Novus Plastic Polish does help and it contains NO abrasives so it is an incredibly safe product to use. The thinking I had was to "fill in" the scratches which worked to a certain extent, but don't expect perfection.

What probably shouldn't surprise me as much as it did is the application of paint sealant on the trim. It worked very well as it does a good job at hiding things, but if you hold it next to any sort of light, obviously, you still see the scratches. If doing this, make SURE that whatever wax or sealant you use is not a "cleaner wax/sealant". Those contain abrasives! Make sure whatever you use does not contain ANY abrasives.

The Youtube video above has a professional using a 2" air powered tool to polish - and that retails for $320 or something online. I don't have an air compressor handy, and truth be told I don't think I want to spend that sort of money just yet. I am thinking of using a Dremel and a 1" polishing pad and trying a regular polish. Anyone tried this?

If you have thoughts/products you recommend, please share. We are all in this together

uberwgn

I have had some success with mechanical polishing, Angry. Problem is, you've got to get some form of protection on the surface after you perfect it. I've coated with ceramic coatings in the past and find that it offers additional concealment of scratches and makes the area more resistant to future damage ... up to a point.

angrypengu

Thank you. What sort of mechanical polisher do you use for interior trim?

Jibsymalone

Can you use some "clear bra" or paint protective film on it after buffing to help prevent future scratches? If the film get dinged up it should be relatively easy to replace, especially once to have a pattern to work from....

Just spitballing

uberwgn

I've got both a Makita rotary and a Griot's Garage random orbit polisher. Both accept very small pads. (I think you can buy pads as small as 2" nowadays.)

You can attempt to do it by hand, but the machine always offers a superior finish.

You must tape off adjacent areas or you'll have a real mess on your hands.

@Jibsymalone , that sounds like a good idea with the PPF. That's fairly tough and should withstand most future damage easily.

uberwgn

Angry, I would like to add that I've never done interior, only exterior piano black panels on various cars. The exterior is always beat up, but it's really pretty e-z to correct unless the scratches are very deep.

angrypengu

Thanks for the suggestions upthread. I will give them a shot!

Also, this was recommended to me today with raving reviews.

Polywatch scratch remover

I will buy some on Amazon and give it a shot. About 20 years ago I used a very similar product for plastic and it blew my mind. I think this is very similar!

angrypengu

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread. In summary, I had used scratch-X to remove a scratch on my piano black trim on the driver's door. Unfortunately for me I missed the tiny tiny disclaimer that says that you cannot use it on plastic trim and I pressed way too hard. Ugh. It wrecked the trim and scratched it all over. I've lived with that since the first week of owning my car.

For the last two months or so I have used maybe 14 or 15 different products, all with limited success. I finally received my shipment of Polywatch today. "Polywatch Watch Plastic Acrylic Watch Glass Polish" is what it's typically called.

I am very impressed and IMHO it is the to-go-to product to use for this.

Firstly, it is important to set expectations appropriately. Piano black trim is VERY soft and IMHO should NEVER be used on a car, but what can we do?

Use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad to clean off the piano black trim
Get a glasses cloth (not a microfiber cloth). Something like: (to tape or not to tape, that is the question. The use of painter's tape to tape around the surrounding area made things worse for me as the adhesive from the tape ruined my first application)
Dab some polywatch onto the cloth, and start rubbing. (1-2 minutes)
Wipe clean (again, using a clean part of the cloth you used before, or a new cloth).

I am experimenting to see if I can reuse the cloth by cleaning it thoroughly with dish soap + water.

The way this product works is that it's not an abrasive. It is a combination of solvent and glass/acrylic filler. When you look at the cloth after a few minutes of rubbing, you actually see "black". It's the black from the piano trim actually. It dissolves a very very thin layer and then fills in the very small scratches that you and I have caused on our cars from daily use.

Realistic expectations do not involve having a spot light/flash light pointed directly at the plastic trim. You WILL still see swirl marks. It will never be like new, but it will be a lot better. For me, realistic expectations = taking the car out for a drive and looking at the trim from where your head usually is when you drive and if feeling lucky, looking at the trim from from about 1 feet away....

Using that barometer, I went from 50% acceptable to 100% acceptable. I am very pleased with the result and highly recommend the product.

I bought Polywatch from Amazon and it was $20/bottle. It's not cheap. Ebay sells these for $4 including shipping. I'm debating if I really want to try the latter.....and if I do, I'll update the thread. But if it sounds too good to be true............

Anyways, I hope this helps folks. I have now transitioned from hating piano black trim to liking it. It will never be a love affair...

bpp

https://www.grafixplastics.com/mater...otection-film/

uae_83

Hi,

I added a PPF film on the black piano inside the car, worked fine with me