Updated 2/21: Mothers Back to Black vs. Faded Florida Trim

[Nick McKees37]

My car is eleven years old and I've owned it for almost four years now. With exception to couple nights it has spent in a bay at my local shop for repairs, it has never been garaged. Judging by the shape it was in when I bought it nearly four years ago, I'll go ahead and assume the previous owners didn't keep it in a garage either.

I've always taken really good care of the car since I got it, but I've never payed too much attention to the exterior trim. Last weekend I decided to try out one of the more well known trim care products out there - Mothers Back to Black.

Mothers™ Back-To-Black is ideal for a variety of exterior hardware. It’s called Back-To-Black, but it works great on all colors of exterior trim. If it’s made of plastic or vinyl Back-To-Black will breath new life into it. Use Back-To-Black on molding, louvers, bumpers, window trim, skirts, seals, door handles, wiper arms and any exterior vinyl or plastic surfaces.

Most trim care products instruct you to apply the product thin, thin, thin! Mothers Back to Black differs from the rest because they instruct you to; "Apply Liberally to surface. Massage product thoroughly into surface".

The piece of rubber trim I applied Back to Black to has a texture to it and it's not hard. Most trim care products are designed to be used on rubber/plastic surfaces that have a grain/texture to them.

Products used:

-Mothers Back to Black Bumper and Trim Care
-Foam Wax Applicator
-Mango Breeze Microfiber Towel
-Black Nitrile Gloves
-3M Automotive Masking Tape

As you can see, the Florida sun has really taken a toll on this particular piece of trim.





I went ahead and taped off the surrounding area with 3M Automotive Masking Tape to ensure that no extra product would accidentally get on my freshly waxed car.







To do the entire length of the trim I applied about a nickel sized amount. I did this twice on the first application before allowing the product to dry.







Here is what the applicator looked like after the first application.





I allowed the product to dry for about 20 minutes before moving on. Then it was time to buff off any extra using a microfiber towel.





Here are the results after the first application...







There is a noticeable improvement, but it's not where I wanted it to be for the first application. I went ahead and followed Mothers' instructions on the back of the bottle that states; "Heavy stained or soiled areas may require an additional application". The piece of trim I was working on was so neglected that it required an additional application, per the instructions on the bottle.

This time I applied noticeably more product than the first application. I applied about a 2" long strip to the applicator twice and worked it in to the trim, with no drying or buffing time in between.




I thoroughly massed the product in to the trim this time around.





Applicator after working the product in to the trim for several minutes.





I let it sit for about 25 minutes before buffing off any extra.





Microfiber towel is still clean after buffing the 2nd time. The trim absorbed all the product I put on it.





Time to pull off the tape and inspect my newly restored trim...







It's definitely a huge improvement over how it looked before. I applied the Back to Black 5 days ago and it still looks good. I will take some pictures this weekend and report my findings on how well it is holding up so far.





Mothers Back to Black Bumper and Trim Care

[mchant]

I was hoping to see a review on this . The trim on my car is faded also, and I was looking for a product to correct it.

[Nick McKees37]

I was hoping to see a review on this . The trim on my car is faded also, and I was looking for a product to correct it.

It definitely worked as advertised and restored the faded trim. It was very easy to use and the instructions on the back of the bottle are very clear and easy to understand.

[galaxy]

Once again...another very underestimated product from Mother's! I use Back to Black occasionally on the trim pieces that need it, which usually occurs after extended periods without Mother's Protectant...another overlooked product.

[Spicy McHaggis]

This just goes to show that if you use a product properly it generally yield good results. All the people in the "B2B is the Worst Ever" thread should take a look at this.

I'm not saying it's the end all be all trim product, but it isn't the worst ever as some would have you believe.

[forrest@mothers]

As a suggestion, on badly oxidized trim, go with a terry cloth applicator - it'll do a better job with the cleaners in the product of removing oxidation.

Notice the black on the foam applicator? The additional bite of terry cloth would break loose much more of the oxidation, making the trim look even better.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

As a suggestion, on badly oxidized trim, go with a terry cloth applicator - it'll do a better job with the cleaners in the product of removing oxidation.

Notice the black on the foam applicator? The additional bite of terry cloth would break loose much more of the oxidation, making the trim look even better.

What about a MF applicator?

[SeaJay's]

Nick,

Since I've personally never tried this did you happen to clean the trim prior to applying this stuff? Just curious as I try to make it a habit to clean all the trim with an APC or IPA prior to applying type of restorer to it. I find that it ensures I'm starting with a clean surface and tends to make whatever product I'm using last longer.

Also I'll be curious to see how it holds up in rain. I've found that a lot of trim products tend to run once it rains.

But for the price ($6!) you really can't go wrong with those results!

Nice job and great review!

[forrest@mothers]

What about a MF applicator?

Microfiber isn't very aggressive either. You need the bite of terry cloth for oxidation on flexible trim.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

This just goes to show that if you use a product properly it generally yield good results. All the people in the "B2B is the Worst Ever" thread should take a look at this.

I'm not saying it's the end all be all trim product, but it isn't the worst ever as some would have you believe.

Durability isn't great with this product, IME.