Rubber window seals sanding.

[gsmarquis]

Tired of dressings lasting days on trim. Is there a sanding method for rubber trim to reveal a new darker surface to protect? Wife's 14 Durango window seals have turned light gray.

[DaveT435]

I would give this a shot. On plastic trim on my wife's truck it lasted over a year. The truck sits outside 24/7. It also stayed on the glass near the trim for several months (oops) they also have a rubber trim product which I would assume would deliver similar results, not 100% sure on exterior rubber.

303 Automotive Trim Restorer Protectant

Rubber seal product. It says it's good for window seals. The 303 protectant products have always worked great for me,

303 Rubber Seal Protectant

[Eldorado2k]

Tired of dressings lasting days on trim. Is there a sanding method for rubber trim to reveal a new darker surface to protect? Wife's 14 Durango window seals have turned light gray.

Yes, try Mothers Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner.

You can also vinyl wrap them, if you figure out how to take them off.

[gsmarquis]

Well I tried the Mothers Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner. It works well on taking oxidization off. The included brush works for textured plastics. I had to use a magic eraser and part of an old ebay cutting pad on the smooth rubber trim. I put carguys trim restorer on it. It looks like factory new at the moment, we will see how long it lasts. The smooth rubber trim looked a solid milky gray and had lost the rubber feel to touch. The slighly grabby touch seems to have been restored. I think it was caused by dried aerospace 303 protectant on a not so clean surface about two years ago.

[Eldorado2k]

Well I tried the Mothers Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner. It works well on taking oxidization off. The included brush works for textured plastics. I had to use a magic eraser and part of an old ebay cutting pad on the smooth rubber trim. I put carguys trim restorer on it. It looks like factory new at the moment, we will see how long it lasts. The smooth rubber trim looked a solid milky gray and had lost the rubber feel to touch. The slighly grabby touch seems to have been restored. I think it was caused by dried aerospace 303 protectant on a not so clean surface about two years ago.

Excellent, glad to hear it worked out for you.

I’ve also done the same thing and used it with a Magic Eraser on smooth trim.

[TTQ B4U]

Well I tried the Mothers Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner. It works well on taking oxidization off. The included brush works for textured plastics. I had to use a magic eraser and part of an old ebay cutting pad on the smooth rubber trim. I put carguys trim restorer on it. It looks like factory new at the moment, we will see how long it lasts. The smooth rubber trim looked a solid milky gray and had lost the rubber feel to touch. The slighly grabby touch seems to have been restored. I think it was caused by dried aerospace 303 protectant on a not so clean surface about two years ago.

Came here to post about using Magic Erasers. I just used one paired with some 3M Adhesive Remover to completely clean up and restore the weathered seals on the M5 I posted about in the Show-n-Shine section.

[iroc86]

I can also attest to the 303 Automotive Trim Restorer being a pretty decent product. It takes a little care to apply, though--when the instructions say about wiping off any excess with isopropyl alcohol that happens to get on a non-trim surface, they mean it. It does not come off paint without some elbow grease, which I think is a testament to its durability.

You can also try regular 303 UV Protectant (the spray) on a towel and rub that into the seals. It also does a great job on tires and other rubber parts exposed to the elements.

One thing I've noticed is that the upkeep of rubber gets much easier as you continue to work these products into the material over a period of time. In my experience, I don't think I've found a one-shot product that applies once and looks good without some sort of reapplication to keep the protectant fresh. In my weekly washes, I typically just spray a towel once or twice some some product and go over the seals to touch up the coating.