Any hints on how to look after black finish on bar work?

[cyberess]

Does anyone have any super hints or tricks for looking after the black finish on bullbars, side rails etc..

My 4wd lives in the open, and I am finding  the black finish on my bullbar, siderails and snorkel, is starting to look a bit weathered.




now someone must know a good product or a good hint for looking after this black finish

Open to all sorts of suggestions.

[nab]

That looks more like the original paint was not that flash. I get that look after a while when I paint anything with rattle cans, like my old trailer.

Maybe some good old elbow grease and give it a good polish.

[cyberess]

Yeah --  I have been polishing, and that does sort of work, but it's not sustainable, as the finish will start getting thin  -- actually I have found this stuff happening to me since living in Darwin, the UV up here is rather severe.

[D4D]

Powder coat seems to do that no matter what you do, I don't know the science but it doesn't seem very UV stable. My shorty lived outside and it suffered the same problem. Maybe a coat of clear gloss would help.

[Coiled]

When talking to an ARB or TJM dealer about a bar he was ppushing the colour code over std black for this reason. What he said was if you go black you need to keep the wax up to it if you want to keep the finish.

[bushbandit]

For any plastic use 303 Aerospace it has a SPF (Sun Prevention ) apparently developed by NASA .Similar to Amoral but alot better product.Used to be difficult to source but i think they sell it at Autobarn etc just make sure you get the right one for the plastic as there are many types in there range.

http://www.303products.com/

[Marcus73]

A good polish and then a coating of something such as Opti-Coat should fix it. Max Car Care in Parap is an authorised dealer ( 89413888 ) For the record I have no affiliation with MCC, but am an authorised Opti-Coat dealer. I don't get anything out of passing on this information unless you want to come to Tassie for me to apply it I am merely passing this info on as Opti-Coat is really good sh!t


Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!

[Whitty]

Buy an aerosol can of cheap tyre black and try that. Will shine it up nicely but won't last too long. I use the stuff on all my plastics and steel on the outside of the car and it comes up alright. Just have to keep re-applying it once a week if you want the look all the time.

[Goose]

Powder coat seems to do that no matter what you do, I don't know the science but it doesn't seem very UV stable.

I second this. I have heard it from a full-time power-coater too.

Seem to affect black more, and it also applies to pool fences, awnings etc

[KingBilly]

ARB recommend applying a coat of quality wax to all their bars.  I thought, yeah, whatever, when I put all my barwork on.  Then a mate told me it really does make a difference.  So I went and bought some and took the time to apply it properly.  Wow, what a difference.  Seriously.  And the bugs just wash off with a regular wash and sponge.  Mind you it needs to be reapplied every six months or so but I am certainly converted to using wax on the barwork.  Can recommend Meguiar's "Carnauba Wax'.

For the black plastic bits, I can recommend Mother's "Naturally Black".  Works a treat.

KB

[DannyG]

A good polish and then a coating of something such as Opti-Coat should fix it. Max Car Care in Parap is an authorised dealer ( 89413888 ) For the record I have no affiliation with MCC, but am an authorised Opti-Coat dealer. I don't get anything out of passing on this information unless you want to come to Tassie for me to apply it I am merely passing this info on as Opti-Coat is really good sh!t


Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!

$2 silicon spray

[Marcus73]

$2 silicon spray

Don't start swearing at me!!!


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[Clouty]

WD40.. Every couple of months just give it a quick wipe down.. That's for the bar work and for the snorkel I'd use armoral

[GGV8Cruza]

I keep mine covered in mud and dust, to reapply you head out of the city and go camping

GG

[oldmate]

I keep mine covered in mud and dust, to reapply you head out of the city and go camping

GG

The most sensible reply I have read so far. 

[Tractor88]

We use Armour All spray on the bar work and snorkel which keeps a protective layer on it all. Has worked a treat and the bars look great. Cheap too as you use it on all the interior anyway. Usually just rub over with the rag after the interior coat as there is always plenty in the rag which coats the bars anyway. Works well for us.
Cheers.

[Jason B]

My black bar coating has almost completely broken down (17 years young). I use the cheap $2 cans of tyre shine. It's a clear silicone spray. It makes my bar look $1,000,000 and you can't tell how bad it is. It stays a deep black and is easy to apply. I just spray it all over and then wipe of the excess with a rag. It had had no adverse effects at all.

Jas

[Marcus73]

La la la la.... I'm not listening. Silicone... Armour All?
Nasty nasty nasty. It's a bit like putting coconut oil on your skin and sunbathing


Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!

[Jason B]

La la la la.... I'm not listening. Silicone... Armour All?
Nasty nasty nasty. It's a bit like putting coconut oil on your skin and sunbathing


Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!

Only nasty when you go to repaint it mate, as if you don't get ALL of it of in prep, you end up with silicone dimples all through the finish. Grrrr.

Jas

[Beatle]

?   All this talk about special products when there is already a specific-to-purpose product on the market.  It's called BLACK PAINT!!!!

I mix a can of gloss black quality rust paint with a can of flat (or buy a can of satin if it's available in your preferred brand) and spray it on.  It doesn't take much to remove the bar work.

I did the badly faded bar of my 60-series when I lived in Katherine and then just polished it when I polished the rest.

I used a 240V blower/painter designed for fences, so I wasted a lot of paint, but I'm sure one of those small airless sprayers would do an acceptable job.

But living Darwin and having a shiny new bar might get the car keyed......!

[bluejay]

Hey Beatle
Can you come up to Townsville and polish my car please the cruiser looks great!!!

[jwb]

sh*te, that is a VERY SWEET looking 60 !  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beatle]

All due to the nice shiny paint on the bullbar      (what you can't see is the 6.2 V8 diesel under the bonnet)

I guess it's in the same category as  s i l i c o n e, but if you are starting from an already sun-damaged paint job on the bar work, seriously consider a light cut then NU-FINISH to keep shiny for longer.  It'll help keep the bug guts at bay and kangaroos, camels, donkeys and buffalo just slide right off.

[Nomad]

Don't forget it also stops hail from dinting it as well.............................

[Beatle]

Something else to consider is to give the barwork a coat of PENETROL using a sponge/brush/roller.  Not sure how UV resistant it is, but it might be worth testing on an inconspicous area.