Wax on black molding
 

I've searched, maybe not well enough, but I did. And I'm usually hanging out in the performance area's anyway.

So I waxed my car the first week I bought it, and I used wax on all of the black molding areas including the mirror housings, the front air damn and the rear diffuser. I figured that after a few weeks it would just disappear (since I couldn't seem to remove it manually). No such luck. 5 months later and all the black appears to be faded and white- which it ISN'T, it's just the wax residue sticking inside the porous plastic.

I've been using Armor-All wipes to mask the effect, which works, but only for so long. After a week or so when he Armor-All wears off the black is back to looking like it's 10 years old and faded.

Any tried and true method for removing the wax from these areas and restoring them to their new condition? The car is 5 months old, I shouldn't have to be using Armor-All on the exterior plastic yet! Thanks guys...

You can use Mother's Back to Black which works better than Armor-All but still needs to re-applied occasionally to maintain a black finish.http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c...1970_115094960

If the back to black doesn't work, which it might not... You might try neutral shoe polish. When you remove it use a kitchen sponge with a slightly abrasive surface (don't get it on the paint!!).

I've gotten wax on a few of my black plastic trim pieces, and thats why I switched to turtle wax ice.It doesn't turn the black plastic bits white! Plus it gives a pretty good shine...

Thanks, I may give that a shot. Will the shoe polish actually remove the wax, restoring the plastic to its original condition or is it just a temporary fix. And when you say kitchen sponge are you referring to the type that has the rough top surface? It seems crazy that I'd have to go through all of this just to get wax out of the black plastic. I'm so pissed that I decided to wax those parts that day.

I have a feeling the back to black will be just like Armor-All....it'll mask the problem, but won't fix it. This is so annoying. A new car shouldn't look like this. Isn't there some kind of standard wax removal chemical that won't damage the plastic?

Any other suggestions?

Im not sure, but do they have anything called Orange Power or similar? doesnt eat the plastic mouldings

I found that a lot of this, a lot of elow grease and a LOT of hard rubbing, the was will come off

mother's back-to-black, isopropyl alcohol, mr. clean's magic eraser, or peanut butter.

Aaaaah............the ole peanut butter trick! :)

dow bathroom cleaner scrubbing bubbles.Use a tooth brush or some other brush with bristles to work it in,then rinse off. Works every time for me.Just be careful around the paint with the course bristles

Scrubbing bubbles? That will remove the wax? How much of it do you use? Do you apply it directly to the black plastic then use the brush to work it in? How do you apply it...with a cloth? This sounds like a miracle cure.

Sounds like a more practical solution then peanut butter, but I'll do anything. Crunchy or smooth? :)

I second the advice about the Turtle Wax Ice. I've used it on the black plastic and there is no white residue. I think it even helps to remove any residue of other waxes.

Zoom, Zoom!

Smooth.............and it does work, but the all kids in the neighborhood will follow you around with a glazed look in their eye, a knife in one hand, and bread in the other.

Griots makes a product for this, although I've never tried it:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1005&SKU=11216

check out mothers plastic polish, test it on a small area before you use on the whole thing. This product works great to remove anything from plastic including any small scratches, finish it off with the back to black stuff.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c..._1969_26788994

I usually just spray it directly on what ever I`m gonna clean,let it set for a second or two ,and brush in then rinse off. Works great on cleaning side walls of tires,ie tire wet/armor all type products after they collect road grime and dirt. Spray on each tire and go back to first ,use ascrub brush and rinse

Saliva, towel, elbow grease for wax on plastic. Just scrub really well. A lot of those other products are nothing more than a gel that washes off over time. You need to remove the wax, not cover it.

Yeah I know, that's the problem I'm having. Everything I use just covers he wax with black goop.

So far the scrubbing bubbles sounds like a winner, although the Mothers Plastic Polish also sounds like it could work. I'll probably end up buying them both this week. I'll post the results once I've tried the different methods. This is killing me though, I just washed the car again today and the black looks like azz....

Would dish soap work? I thought it works for removing wax from a car before using a Claybar. Might work for the plastic parts too. I would just be careful not to get any on the car paint!

I was told to try WD-40. Haven't yet, so I can't say that it works, but i've heard that will.

Oh now THIS looks like a winner. Just ordered some, I'll post results once I try it (probably next week). Thanks guys!

:fingersx:

The best for removing wax residue from black molding is......
 

Go with Meguiars Vinyl & plastic conditioner/cleaner. It works, it works easily, it works fast, no scrubbing and it works permenantly and never needs to be reapplied. You will be so happy that you used it.

I used to use Amour all, but it would have to be re-applied every few weeks to cover up wax on black plastic. Then one day I tried the Meguiars product and it was so easy and I never had to reapply it.

Plus this stuff is safe and it works great for the dash board and all the plastic interior and exterior bits.

Another good trick is to keep a wet towel handy when waxing your car. If you get any wax on the black plastic, just wipe it clean before the wax drys and you will not creat new residue spots.

:rofl:

Hahhahahah... WD-40 eats plastic.

Not all plastics :)

I always use the wet towel trix but the towel wasn't wet enough this time.

Go here:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=wax

Mineral Spirits or "Afta" and a tooth brush is a sure fire solution to disolve the dried wax, and it's safe for use on the plastic moldings, fabric, head liner, just about all over, it's even safe if it gets on the paint.

'Afta' is that the after shave stuff?

I bought a bottle of this stuff from Groits based on the recommendation from Riles.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1005&SKU=11216

I haven't had a chance to use it yet but because it's been raining every free day I have. The other suggestions sound good. I had no idea there were so many inventive solutions for this problem.