rubber restoration

[spiderpig37]

What do you guys use to darken the rubber on the spoiler?


Thanks, zack

[Cocacolakidd]

Mother's Back to Black seems to work well enough.

[Laptop_geek]

I've heard that WD-40 works well.

[Grandad#3]

This is from an old post on the Paint & Body Forum. I forget the gents name, but he has had a body shop for years. He said to clean the rubber spoiler good and to rub in Petroleum Jelly real good. Let it set in the sun for a while and then put car in the shade and wipe down the spoiler until no more oil comes off. This will use up several LINT FREE rags. Do this again wiping off the oil the next day. He does this about 3 times a summer. What the Petroleum Jelly does is breaks down the hardened rubber surface and makes it smooth out as you rub it down and get its color back. Mother's Back to Black can be used in between applications of PJ.

Cheers,
Larry

[cauzomb]

Mine was really bad, had like a green layer of moldy algea looking stuff around the plugged drains, and the rest of the top was sun baked, most of the surface was cracking and falling apart and almost looked gray after cleaning off with a scrubber and dish soap. put on wd-40, then wiped it off then cleaned the window. It really needs a new wing, but wd or PJ does work to make it look darker/better.. I think what happens is the rubber breaks down in the sunlight and looses some of the natural oils and starts to look faded..

Even had a couple people come to see my other 944 that was FS and looked at my wd'd car n just kinda lost interest in the FS car they came to look at.. One guy said wow that car is very nice, it looks great +1 for WD

[89-944NA]

Mother's Back to Black....and it lasts for quite a while too

[962porsche]

this will blow the wd-40 thing and black on black away . it works ! and unlike just putting wd-40 and black on black on the rubber . it will in the corse of a summer doing it every 3 to 4 weeks will make the spoiler like new .and does not wash off over time becouse your restoring it not masking the problem . when the car is in the shade take a good clean rag with some vaseline (petroleum jelly ) on it . rub it all over the spoiler with a good heavy coat . then put the car out in the hot sun for 2 or 3 hours . depending on the shape the rubber is in it make take 1 to 3 applications over the course of the day as the jelly soaks in to the rubber . repeat the applications untill the rubber no longer soaks up the jelly . when finished wipe off the extra with an other clean rag . if your frends ask you what the vaseline is for just ask them if they want to go camping !!!!

[ScoobySteve]

I'm a big fan of the Meguiars Hyper Dressing for regular maintenance (every other car wash, usually). For restoration I've done the petroleum jelly method -- it works. The "Gummepfledge" stuff that BMW sells is remarkably similar to PJ...at 10x the price.

Honestly, the best thing you can do for the spoiler (and all rubber trim) is park in a garage and use a car cover if you must park in a lot at work.

[spiderpig37]

Thanks for the help guys, its gonna be garage kept most of the time but the P.O. kept it outside for a year so the rubber is pretty bad.
The pj should work on the rubber bumpers and mirror surrounds right?

Thanks, zack

[fmartenies]

Bad rubber isn't actually "dried out', it is a chemical change due to a reaction with ozone in the air. You will never be able to reverse it with wd-40, mothers, vaseline, etc. You can only stop it from getting worse and address the cosmetic symptoms. So if it is important to you, know that you should be prepared to reapply whichever method you choose indefinitely.

[UconnTim97]

I use a product that i bought a few years ago. It's Eagle 1 something or other. It works well and seems to last a few weeks between applications.

+1 on the vaseline. -1 on the camping.

[WizPorsche944]

Im going to try my Forever Black on it tomorrow. Ive used it on the rubber bumper guards and it came out really well. I will post up pics of the results

[89-944NA]

With the Back to Black, I only need to do the treatment every other month or so, NOTHING I have found goes on as easy, cleans as well, or lasts as long. I get asked at concours all the time what I use. AND it's nowhere near as messy as pj, wipe it on and forget it.

[KevsPorsche944]

Mother's Back to Black or Forever Black. Then I sealed mine with a paint sealant (Klasse, Wolfgang or Liquid Glass) It looks like new and the paint sealant will protect it for up to a year.

[Aufgeladen944]

Best stuff imo: Wurth's rubber care. There's a spray and a sponge applicator bottle. I did mine three years ago and it still looks new.

[89-944NA]

Problem with Forever Black, isn't the cleaner you have to use first, but if you are not careful with the applicator, you end up with streaks, unless you apply the product then wipe it down. When you spend days preping a car for a concours, the last thing you want to do is put a product on all the rubber (including the tires) then have to wipe that off too. lol