Tonneau rejuvination..What to use?

[Ade33]

The Tonneau cover for my Z3 is in excellent condition but getting slightly faded in a few places presumably as a result of exposure to sunshine.

Has anybody used anything to bring back the "Blackness" and to restore it to its former glory..

There are plenty of "snake oil" PVC restorers/plastic restorers on the market but i'd be interested to hear if anybody has used one that actually does what it says on the tin?

 

[Zephyr]

Havent seen a tonneau in real life ever, but I higly recommend owatrol polytrol for rejuvenating porous plastics, excellent results on plastic bumpers, wheel arches and dried dashboards.

 

[Zephyr]

View: https://youtu.be/uh-FXWShFcY?feature=shared

 

[Ianmc]

Black shoe polish should do it. Works well on leather seats also. Tip was provided to me by an old boy leather trimmer!

 

[Mint]

Black shoe polish should do it. Works well on leather seats also. Tip was provided to me by an old boy leather trimmer!

Yes I've used the liquid type shoe polish, with a little sponge on the top, for a lot of the black trim on my car. Should be fine on the tonneau.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Perl work a treat too...Waxxit product...

 

[TriumphZ3]

Black shoe polish should do it. Works well on leather seats also. Tip was provided to me by an old boy leather trimmer!

Works on tyre sidewalls too, I've used it for years for classic shows in my Triumphs.

 

[Synclare]

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[Zephyr]

I bought some Polytrol and it did absolutely zilch other than put a hard clear coating on things that took cellulose thinners to get off again. Slightly greyed plastic that was once black just stayed grey!
Fake off ebay?

Which one was it? The brown or the silver one? I am pretty sure the brown one is either fake or old as dirt batch.
I have used the silver one many times but on porous plastics that somehow seemed to absorb it (I am pretty sure that plastics can not absorb, but it looked like they did).
Coated the area with a fair amount using a brush and after twenty minutes wiped with a cotton cloth. Did not have clear coat effect or even a thin film on the surface.
just an oily non sticky residue as if it was linseed.
the silver one, usually costs around € 38 around me, and I have seen the brown one from 18 to 25 on the internet. Not saying that it is a fake, or not, no idea, nor I doubt you, it is just that it worked for me on various occasions.
I have to be more cautious when vouching for such things, I may get people into trouble. Sorry.

 

[Zephyr]

 

[t-tony]

I would try some black Cherry Blossom shoe polish. It works on black plastic trim a treat.

Tony.

 

[Synclare]

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[Zephyr]

It was the 2nd type, silver. Applied it and it just dried rock hard and couldn't 'buff it' up or anything. No oily residue, looked a right mess and nothing would remove it except thinners. The usual run of the mill dressings ( Autoglym and the like) that can be bought for bumpers etc do indeed turn light grey bumpers on Vauxhall Astras and the like back to new. Doesn't last though. Polytrol did nothing except leave a hard clear coat like dressing that looked a mess, had to use thinners to remove it, nothing else would touch it. @black fingernail vouched for it also which is why I wondered if it was fake, seemed an upright seller on ebay. Ebay can be a bit of a dodgy place though! The tin I had was with a paper label.

this is definitely not the original. although i can see the greek letters on it and such, the original one never had a paper label and the tin can is also silver.

 

[Zephyr]

this one says ceramic tiles… as in bathroom tiles. Never seen that before…

 

[Synclare]

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[black fingernail]

I still stand by my claim on this stuff, everything I have used it on, it really works.
This is the stuff I use.

I've had it for a while, I use it on faded gelcoat on my boat, it does specify it must be coloured, not white, for some reason it doesn't seem to 'take' on plain white, also, if applied, forget ever trying to paint over it. I tried it on the 'flexible' black plastics on my daughter's Beetle, and discovered a minor miracle, it comes up a treat and lasts. I just rub it on with a rag, I did my front grille/splitter on my Saab last year, it still looks like new, (I'll take a pic when it stops raining!!).
The liquid is light tan coloured and has a bit of consistency, it is not like thinners etc.
I hope this helps, it sounds like skullduggery is afoot.

 

[Zephyr]

This is the wifes car, treated with this.
Looks really good.

 

[black fingernail]

Looking good, my grille and splitter looks nearly as good after a year.

 

[as400]

 

[t-tony]

Same dog, different collar.

Tony.