I like to keep my C5 original..... that's just me I guess. I enter it in "Show and Shines" and take pride in its originality. Question though; in the trunk area, there is black fiberglass (I think) around the perimeter that has sort of bleached out and I'm wanting to bring it back to "black." Anyone have an idea or something that works?

 

I'm going try this. Mine isn't bleached out, but it needs to be darker.

 

Buy a cheaper ceramic coating and it will make that trim piece look like new-Wash it good with just soap and water, then ceramic coat it. I also did the plastic tray up under the wipers, looks NEW when I am done and last for months.

 

Excellent to work to Stay Original!

The day will come when originality is more completely appreciated

The area in question is Factory SMC “as moulded”. with no paint or coating....

The white is Oxidation of the surface

If you want to experiment Without Risk and Expense of ceramics

use a soap and water cleaning and Complete drying

followed by Lemon Pledge. The Lemon oil will fill the oxidation and last for sometime

​​​​​​ If it’s insufficient It can be Easily Removed with Wax and Grease Remover

and you could move toward a ceramic of “Cleared”. “Solution”


Best to Go the Safe and Easy route First

More Invasive if needed...


​​​​​​ A Satin Clear would Mimic originality...

But keep in mind

They are Original. ...But Once


NCRS is a longstanding “Thing” in C1-C3’s

Not sure it has really “Caught On” for our C5 Era...


Save The Wave!

 

As mentioned by nitromania above, its oxidation. You could also use a scrubbing pad with vinegar and water or bleach and water to remove oxidation from plastic. Typically a light sanding works best.

Pledge is decent and cheap for final results. But SC1 “new dirt bike in a can” is even better. I always have 4 or 5 cans on tap. It’s amazing on plastics. Just spray and wipe after it’s applied. Makes plastics as shiny as new and smells delicious! lol!

 

Amsoil makes a product similar to SC1 called "Mudslinger" I use on my dirtbikes. It works good on car plastics as well (especially in the engine bay), but the ceramic coating seems to last the longest and not all ceramic coatings are 100+ dollars. I buy mine on sale usually buy 2 and get 1 free deal for 75 bucks. I do both of my cars once a season so it is worth it to me. Makes cleaning them the rest of the year alot easier since stuff doesn't stick to the surface as easy.

 

Might start with this first. It will clean and restore matte black finishes. You may have to send for it as this is not the Walmart like products they offer. Also 3 M machine polish would help restore the finish if it is too far gone.

Cleaning the surface key. You do not want to just slap some silicone products on it as it will just cover and come off again.

https://www.chemicalguys.com/product...RoCknAQAvD_BwE

 

I’ll checkout “mudslinger” by Amsoil. For years I used SC1 on my dirt bikes, Tecate 3, and Sea-Doo. Then I started using on the black accents on my wife’s Wrangler and 6 series BMW with great results. Now I use it for engine bay and some of the plastics on the Vette. As mentioned above I don’t like some of matte parts to look shiny, especially dash pieces that catch reflections.

I have two bottles of ceramic coating on a shelf. I’ll explore that next as well. Thanks for the tip.

 

I would avoid any ceramic or coating. These are Matte black surfaces and not intended to be sealed in. You need to clean the surface to removed the weathering.

here is the Chemical Guy matte spray used on plastic and car wraps.

 

Stop using Pledge to maintain your car. This isn't 1972. Furniture polish is for furniture. They manufacture car care products for cars (imagine that). Pledge offers no UV protection, and can actually amplify UV rays. That is exactly the opposite of what you want when restoring and protecting plastic and rubber. All the popular car care brands offer plastic restoration products that can bring life back to black plastic trim and panels, and give them the UV protection they need. Griot's Garage, Adam's Polishes, Turtle Wax/Hybrid Solutions, Cerakote, Solution Finish, etc., etc.

 

Lemon Pledge has been the #1 staple of car maintenance for over a half-century. Nothing has changed!!

 

...for people who still use rotary phones and watch black and white Zenith televisions using rabbit ear antennas. Oh, and for ignorant people. Other than those groups of people, no. Furniture polish isn't even on the list.

Literally, everything has changed. People long ago discovered that furniture polish is for furniture, and car care products are for cars. Stunning revelation, for sure.

 

Ha Ha!

Absolutely remarkable !!

someone can give an Economical and -Known Successful- Option and Alternative

and five Expensive and Invasive

… Likely In some cases Irreversible And Uncorrectable “suggestions”

will jump out of the woodwork!!


And yes, I’m aware of All the above “answers”

I work with Polymer Chemists on a daily basis

….and have been involved with formulations of UV hardened “Ceramics”

That will soon be on the market for use in the Aviation Industry

Sometimes Old School just works and is the quickest and least expensive solution



Save The Wave

 

"Working with" chemists does not equal having the same knowledge yourself. I "work with" chemists daily, as well. That doesn't make me one. I do, however, realize that applying furniture polish to tires and plastic will only provide temporary "shine", and nothing more. Amplifying UV degradation is, literally, the opposite of what a sane car owner would want. There are plenty of actual protectants that will provide much longer-lasting shine, and also provide additional UV protection over what is built into the material itself. Why would anyone not want that? Explain the logic. It's like not using a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste to clean your teeth because you still are using a pumice stone and oyster shell powder. And, as a detailer myself, I can assure you that there are very, very few "expensive and invasive" protectants on the market. Literally, there are several protectants on the market that provide long-lasting protection and appearance enhancement, and most are in the $10-20 range.

Like anything else, though, use whatever you like. Everyone is more than welcome to ignore anyone else's recommendations. There are some people who clean their paint with bath towels and California Dusters, and some still think using newspaper in 2024 to clean glass is beneficial in some way. So, there's that.

 

Well I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

Everyone has their tricks. And everyone has different expectations. I used the Pledge thing 40 years ago but I wanted a different result and changed several times what I use.

No right or wrong. Just different expectations.

Note that Holiday Inn in Detroit was the one claimed that Kieth Moon drove a car in their pool. I was there around that time. Just no one can really confirm it really happened.

 

HaHa!

Using the Same Spectaular Logic:

The World Has Changed and Left you Behind!

You Really should Sell that old inferior C5 Corvette

There are much more Modern and Technically Advanced Sports Cars

Same for Guns,,,

Sell that old Junk it can’t be any good…

Buy a New Drone!


Have the Best Day!

Save The Wave

 

so what oil do you guys recommend? Thread degradation has begun!

Every one of the above "options" have been used and the users will say it works for them, so pick your choice and roll with it!

 

The thread went over the edge with the Amsoil post.

 

We should cancel that idiot that posted that-

 

Why? What's wrong with Amsoil? (Genuine question, not sarcasm)