hi all

after getting my FD i started on lots of little cosmetic jobs to get her looking good again

first up were the scratched up door handles, they came up really well with a spray of black paint, and was even able to replace the light in the drivers side key flap so it wouldn't get scratched again, (but disconnecting the light cable inside the door was a royal pain, if i did it again i would just cut the wires and then splice them back after painting)

then some black paint on the wipers and new clips on the loose fender ducts panels

as the rest of the car started looking better my eye was continually drawn to the faded black plastic panel below the wipers, it didn't help that it's pores had also caught quite a bit of white car wax residue over the years

i looked for ages but wasn't able to find a black plastic conditioner? that contained black dye, (here in japan the sun isn't that strong and by the time the cars are old enough to need that stuff they are usually scraped)

finally found something in a big can that looked and smelled just like black boot polish, but cost much more....

so thought i'd try some old polish i had at home first

and it WORKED, really well in fact

after the trim under the wipers was a healthy looking black again i started on the old momo race steering wheel, it came up looking like new, so then i moved on to the seatbelt strap on the side of the seat, it had gone a light green color due to it's position in the sun but with an old toothbrush it was soon back to a nice black

now i'm going over the rubber bits around the windows and that little bit of wind deflector on the wiper

everything black looks like new again

so give it go, it seems to be a good getto cleaning trick and not half as messy as you'd think

eric e

 

Nice, good to know, I've noticed the windshield base on my car too, maybe i'll try it..