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A couple questions

A

aerog

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(1) There are several products on the market designed specifically for restoring black "rubber" bumpers such as Forever Black, but various tire dressing materials will work as a temporary solution. 303 Aerospace Protectant is about the best post-restoration protectant you can buy, and if the rubber isn't too far gone a couple of good soakings in 303 will renew the material to an extent and doesn't leave a shiny greasy coating.

(2) Depending on how bad the overspray is you can try a few things: First, clean the area really well. Obviously you can't really spray water in there, but try giving it a good bath with damp cloths or sponges to get the bulk of the dirt out. Once you've got the heavy stuff out get a couple of decent quality cotton bath towels and a bottle of Meguiars Paint Cleaner and "polish" the painted surfaces inside with a square of towel wet with the paint cleaner. If the overspray is loose enough to get picked up by the towel you'll be able to polish it away. There's a certain amount of oils in the cleaner that will help clean the dirt and grime too.

Paint Cleaner doesn't have any polishing compounds that I know of, the towel itself is providing the "grit" to do any polishing. You can try some products like the various swirl removers and actual polishers (with the towels) and see how you do with those. 3M Swirl Remover is a good one for that process, Meguiars has similar products. You might even try some mineral spirits on a cloth to try and break up the overspray, but I'd hate to have it effect the original paint.

On exterior paints we often use clay bars to pull overspray but I think that probably wouldn't be too effective inside, especially if it's heavy overspray.

(3) As has been mentioned, pull the plastic lenses off and wash them in diluted dish detergent to strip any old wax, grease, oil, and dirt from the plastic. Scrub away any difficult areas with a soft 100% cotton towel, rinse completely, then let dry.

Once the plastic parts are dry you can try any number of decent plastic polishes to brighten them up. Meguiar's has some Mirror Glaze products made for that which should be available at your local auto or hardware store. Novus also makes a series of very good products that are readily avaiable. If you can't find anything try going to your local airport and see if anyone is selling airplane windscreen cleaner, they might even have Mirror Glaze sold for that purpose. Any of those good quality plastic cleaner/polishes used with a good clean 100% bath towel will do a good job cleaning, polishing, and removing scratches from the lenses.

Once you've got them really cleaned well give them a good coat of wax or a polymer sealant (I prefer a non-cleaner wax like Meguiars #26, or a sealant like Meguiars #20). I've also found "Plexus" plastic window spray-cleaner leaves a nice finish.

(4) If you have some really dirty or oxidized metal surfaces use a decent metal polish like Flitz or Semichrome. Flitz is a fairly low-grit polish that does a fantastic job and leaves an anti-corrosive film on the metal once you're done. If you can't find any locally try using something like Mother's Billet Polish, or Never-Dull wadding by Eagle-One - I've even had good luck with Turtle Wax Chrome Polish & Rust Remover. Once you've got the metal shined up a good maintenance product is Mother's Chrome Polish - it's a runny liquid that you apply like a glass cleaner, let haze, then wipe off. It's not for restoration purposes but does take light oxidation off and leaves a great coating (excellent on windshields too!)

Good luck!
 

srmorse

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I'm beginning the long project of cleaning 10 years of storage detritus off my TR7. Overall everything underneath seems in pretty good shape, but it was not stored completely correctly and there are a few areas I'd like advice on.

1. Renewing the bumpers. A lot of the black rubber pieces are oxidized and a little faded in places...how can I "bring them back"?

2. There is a lot of accumulated grime and overspray in the trunk and engine bay. I'd like to preserve the paint underneath, but would like to get off what I can...any suggestions.

3. The various lenses and emblems (tail lights, sidelamps, etc) have a ton of grime and some oxidation etching on them (in some cases inside as well). Is there a good plastic safe cleaner that will help clean it and maybe renew it if a little fogged?

4. Natural metal surfaces are often pretty dull (latches, etc). Any suggestions for brightening them up?

Thanks in advance for any help!

--Saul
 

adam90009

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for the rubber bumpers, on my 79B I spray some armor all tire cleaner on them. it cleans them and leaves them nice and shiny. I tried it first time and just barely used any on them and its been over 2 weeks and still look great. and try some chrome polish on the metal peices. for the lenses on the tail/side lights take them inside and wash them with dish washing soap they should come out faily clean
 

adam90009

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oh ya on the tire spary make sure you hold up some newspaper or something or it will get on the paint and make it look funny and it works great in the rain. the water just beads up and rolls off
 
OP
A

aerog

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That's a good question... the stuff seems to be hard to find. I would think you might be able to find a boating store near there that carries it (there is that big lake near you isn't there?
grin.gif
). Check out Con Course Motors on Silver Springs Dr too (I did some looking!).

303 comes in a small bottle and big spray bottle. If you end up using it on tires be prepared to use the big bottle while still trying to use it sparingly, otherwise the slim 8oz bottle is fine for dashboards and trim items. Either way it's expensive. Just remember, it isn't a dressing - you don't wipe it on and stand back to admire the shine, you have to let it saturate the area you're working on then blot it away.

I've also been using Meguiar's "shine". It seems to last and doesn't dry out plastic like Armor All does. It is a dressing, and a very light coat will give you a nice looking surface, a double coating will give you a wet shiny surface.
 

Steve

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Thanks for the information Scott........a big lake? Oh, so that's what it is!
grin.gif


My compliments on your thoroughness.....Concourse Motors? Know it well! Incidentally, I will be down your way in March of '04, at the Disney resort in Orlando.....Close enough for a pint?
 
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aerog

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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steve:
Thanks for the information Scott........a big lake? Oh, so that's what it is!
grin.gif


My compliments on your thoroughness.....Concourse Motors? Know it well! Incidentally, I will be down your way in March of '04, at the Disney resort in Orlando.....Close enough for a pint?
<hr></blockquote>


Possibly - March is a busy season though. What part of March? Our club car show is around the middle of the month, on this side of Orlando.
 

srmorse

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Thanks for all the replies so far...I'll be trying these out over the next few weeks and alot over the winter! Scott...saw your "detailing the MGB thread" and all I can say is wow! I opened my trunk just to compare it and closed mine in disgust...

Oh well...it took many years for mine to get this grimy...a few concerted months won't hurt to bring it back.
 
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aerog

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Thanks! That project isn't done yet, I just waxed the trunk (the outside this time), working my way around. This all but guarantees it will rain on show day
smile.gif
 

ObiRichKanobi

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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> 1. Renewing the bumpers. A lot of the black rubber pieces are oxidized and a little faded in places...how can I "bring them back"? <hr></blockquote>

When I bought the Spider, the bumpers were oxidized, and look pretty bad. A good washing, and about 2-3 applications of Black Magic (the wet tire stuff), and even after about 4 months they still look good.
 
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