Removng Splatter

[selkov]

Whats the easy way to remove polishing / wax splatter from plastic trim if I can not wipe it off?

[PaulMys]

Wax remover for plastic, or IPA with a stiff brush.

[ifadey]

There are multiple ways to remove it. There are products like Mother's Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner which can remove wax/polish from non painted plastic trim.
Another approach is to use APC with stiff brush or rough side of dish washing sponge.
There are polishes available that don't stain the plastic trim. Such polishes can be used as well.

[FUNX650]

Here are a few of my favorite ’removers of
waxes/polishes’ that’s been splattered on
plastic trim [not that I’d ever need them ].

•Meguiar’s M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner
•P21S Total Auto Wash (TAW)...[an APC]
•Mothers Back-to-Black Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner
•McKee’s 37 Wax Remover
•Griot’s Garage Wax Remover


Bob

[DUBL0WS6]

Some people claim that using peanut butter on trim will remove wax. It isn't advised to remove with a piece of bread and to make a sandwich afterwards.

[Mike Phillips]

My turn...


From 2014, but I have this same answer that dates back further...

Getting wax off of Black Trim


Here's something I posted before 2009, not sure when but I know I posted the below to the MOL forum and I came to AGO in 2009 so that's at least 5 years ago and probably longer.


The Peanut Butter trick is actually a trick that misses the mark...

Somehow, somewhere, someway someone posted about using Peanut Butter to remove polish and wax residue and the post spread from there... it continues to this day.

Here's the skinny...

If you have an open jar of peanut butter that's been used, usually you'll see some clear liquid pooling on the top of the peanut butter, this is vegetable oil.

It's the vegetable oil in the peanut butter that helps to break-up and dissolve polish and wax residue and also turn faded trim a darker color which will also act to mask the problem.

I guess the point is instead of using peanut butter which only has a LITTLE bit of vegetable oil why not just use vegetable oil? If you have peanut butter in your pantry chances are pretty good you have something like Crisco or Wesson oil.

If I had a jar of peanut butter for every time I've posted the reason why peanut butter is used to remove polish and wax residue I would have a pantry full of peanut butter...




Here's an old home-remedy for removing gum out of hair, which is a problem that sometimes happens to little kid, or how to get chewing gum out of carpet which is a problem usually caused by little kids, take and work some vegetable oil into the gum and it will act to dissolve it so instead of being a difficult, medium to remove it will break-up and then can be pulled out of or off of whatever it's stuck too...



__________________

[Mike Phillips]

There's this too - I thought this product actually worked pretty good considering how aged the trim was and the dried wax on the aged trim.



Review: BLACKFIRE Wax Remover



BLACKFIRE Wax Remover






From the AG Store

BLACKFIRE Wax Remover was developed as an expert-level solution to the common detailing aliment that many have faced in the past. The dried, crusty residue left on your trim when wax or other products find their way onto those surfaces. The cleaning agents in BLACKFIRE Wax Remover are specifically geared to target and break-up the unique components of waxes and polishes in a quick and efficient manner. More than that though, because BLACKFIRE Wax Remover targets the wax and polish specifically, it will not harm or tarnish any surface that you apply it to. With a simple spray and wipe application process, BLACKFIRE Wax Remover could not be any easier to use!

Waxes and polishes are a corner-stone of the detailing practice. They are a necessary tool to achieve the amazing gloss and shine for which every detailer strives. However, these products are usually designed to work on only one surface of your vehicle. Your paint. These products will tend to leave a very noticeable and irritating “crusty” residue on any porous surface (like your plastic and rubber trim) that they happen to land on. And, thanks to the fact that waxes, polishes, and other products very rarely stay in their own lane, this “trim crust” is a very common problem for most detailers.

Once this residue crops up on your trim, you will quickly learn that is not just as easy as wiping it off. This is where BLACKFIRE Wax Remover comes in. BLACKFIRE Wax Remover was designed using specialized cleaner agents that target the molecules of which waxes and polishes are comprised. These cleaner agents will quickly break-up the wax or polish that is resting on the surface, making it as easy as a wipe to effectively remove them!

While there are other cleaners that are capable of accomplishing such a task, those cleaners are often able to do so with the use of harmful surfactants. These surfactants won’t stop at the wax and polish particles though, they will also cause some severe degradation and corrosion of your trim surface as well! This is why BLACKFIRE Wax Remover was developed without the use of such surfactants. Making BLACKFIRE Wax Remover safe for all types of trim surfaces and allowing you to hone your trim to perfection without destroying it in the process. With BLACKFIRE Wax Remover, you won’t have to worry about spending hours taping off every surface of your car. You can detail with confidence, knowing that BLACKFIRE Wax Remover will be there to keep your trim looking prim!



Directions for Use:
Working out of direct sunlight, spray Wax Remover directly onto the affected area and allow to dwell for approximately 30-45 seconds. Depending on severity of contamination, you can either scrub the surface using a trim brush or wipe away with a microfiber towel. Be sure to apply BLACKFIRE Trim & Tire Protectant when you're done to keep your trim protected!



Now onto my review and how-to...



Questions I get asked often?

There are some questions in the car detailing world that I get asked often, here's one of them;

How can I get old dried wax off the black plastic trim on my car?


Here's how I answer it - probably not the way you think.


I start by saying the best way to remove dried wax or dried compound and polish splatter off of black plastic, rubber and vinyl trim is to not get it on the trim in the first place. Then you don't have to remove it. And of course by this I mean - tape-off exterior plastic trim before doing any paint related tasks like compounding, polishing and/or waxing.

And by the time someone is asking how to remove dried wax off plastic trim it's too late to implement my suggestion and "yes" I already know this. What I'm trying to do is to help this person by MAKING them THINK. Then hopefully - they won't make the mistake a second time. You can either tape-off plastic trim OR s-l-o-w down and be careful and avoid creaming over trim when compounding, polishing and waxing your car.


Once the damage is done then the challenge is getting all of the white colored residue off of the trim and this can not only be difficult but sometimes impossible as wax and polish residue can IMPACT INTO the surface of trim. This is especially true for pebble textured plastic trim where the surface is rough with tiny hills and valleys and it's when the wax dries in the miniature valleys of pebble textured plastic trim it is often times.... game over.


Now I have new product that works great that I can recommend to deal with this type of problem. BLACKFIRE Wax Remover. And the good news is - it's easy to use.


Check it out....

This is my neighbor's old Honda CRV. It's a 2000 model and it's been years since it was properly polished and waxed so I'm using it for my May 3-day detailing class to teach Production Detailing.






After the class washed the Honda we found a couple places with old dried wax or polish residue. Because I had to write this review I used this opportunity to both showcase this product to the class and at the same time take a few pictures to show how well this new product works.


Here's the ugly white staining you often see on plastic trim.






Here's a close-up. Looks like someone tried to get it off at one time but alas, it's really hard to remove this type of residue after it's weathered and aged.





Here's our hero!




Spray onto the affected area...





Scrub with a nylon brush...







Wipe off the icky reside with a terry cloth towel....





And BOOM! There it is! Looks like brand new!






Found some more old dried wax residue on the roof rack...







Spray on a little BLACKFIRE Wax Remover





Scrub scrub scrub...





Wipe wipe wipe...





BOOM! Looks brand new!







Review

This was the first time I used this product. That means I was spraying it on and using it LIVE in front of 20 people attending my May 3-day class and crossing my fingers and hoping it worked because if it didn't - I was going to look a tick stupid. To my satisfaction, (not to my surprise as I figured by the time this product went into production it was a proven formula), it worked GREAT!

It's best to avoid getting wax, compound or polish onto exterior plastic trim but if you accidentally do get any of these product onto your car's exterior trim OR if you purchase a car USED and someone else left dried wax or polish residue on trim then fear not - you can remove it and it's not that hard. Just do like you see in the pictures above and you can restore a factory looking finish on your car's exterior plastic trim.





On Autogeek.com

BLACKFIRE Wax Remover



It helps to have some handy-dandy detailing brushes for this kind of work. If you don't have any good brushes to use then add this to your order too...


Detailing Brush Kit

The above detail brush kit comes with 3 brushes,

Horsehair Brush
The horsehair brush is great for all interior detailing needs. It whisks away all traces of dust, dirt, and crumbs from the tight spaces that you couldn’t otherwise touch. Its soft, gentle bristles reach into cracks, crevices and crannies to dislodge the particles that make their home in the most inconvenient places.

Nylon Brush
The nylon brush is designed for removing wax residue around emblems, molding, and anywhere else it may collect. Of course this is only one of its many uses. It also is handy to use for interior detailing.

Brass Brush
The brass brush has extra sturdy bristles for cleaning the most baked-on, caked-on grime on engine parts. You can’t find a better tool for getting at those hard to reach places under your hood.

Poly-Foam Tipped Swab
A poly-foam tipped swab with a 5” handle is included for good measure. You’ll find 101 different uses for it.








The old Honda CRV came out looking GREAT!





Before






Nice work class.