It used to be black, now it is all different shades of grey. I tried using Mother's "Back to Black". it works until the first time it rains. I thought about replacing it, but I guess new replacement parts would be really hard to find these days.

What have you guys tried, and what was successful and not so successful.

 

I work at a detail shop in the summer. I have tried atleast 4 different trim restore products and within a couple weeks, they are back to the original faded black. They arent cheap to replace either.

 

buy the WW Sides and Doors, Im sure thats the cheapest route

 

I agree

 

I dont buy the hole kit!

 

If your trim is faded and you don't want to spend the $$$ to replace it with a body kit, here's what you can do!!! Paint it! Scuff all of your black parts with a red scothbrite pad. Wipe it all down with wax and grease remover. Apply an adhesion promoter like "Bulldog" and paint it with "bumper black". All of these items are available at a local automotive paint supply store. It'd be about $40.00-$50.00 for everything. This will give you the "back to black" look for a few years. If you want to make your Rex look even newer and don't want to spend $600 for a body kit and $500 to have it painted and installed, find a body shop in your area that will paint all of the moldings and side skirts the same color as your car. You should be able to find a good shop that would do this for around $300.00. Hope this helps!

 

don't flame..I read that penut butter is good for treating/restoring black serfaces..don't quote me on this..it like a "detailer" thing..I read in on vwvortex a while ago

 

OT:damn i hate volkswagens with a passion

 

sweeet i was on that site back in the day with my MK2 scirocco VR6 but now i found honda

 

Painting it would probably restore gleam but can easily crack and chip.So if you decide to paint, paint it black and not body color, so if they chip, it's easily repaired..if you used back to black treatment by wiping on...you may have to actually soak em overnight to get them really absorbed. I did it on my trims and although they're not completely shiny, they're better than a faded grey color.

 

Just paint it, I am going to paint my car soon (I hope) and I am painting mine. The paint won't flake if you use a flex agent in the paint. That is how most all, flexable parts are painted.

 

it wont crack if you put a flex additive in the paint or get some paint for bumpers it usually comes with it in the paint

 

how do you get these trim pieces off your car?

 

Check around all the edges and you'll see the retaining clips. Just get the CORRECT sized phillips head and get the plastic screws out. Once the screws are out you can pry it out easily.
Back to the topic- I'm repainting my entire car and I wanted everything the same color- I sanded (150 grit) all the textured black areas, I filled the nicks and I just finished priming (high fill polyester primer) and sanding the primer. The bumbers are the only thing that would flex, so add the flex agent as was suggested when you are painting those.