Restoring faded plastic with heat gun works! My review.

Subbed.

 

+1
Do you use the protective sealant after? Does it work?

 

My brother used the Mothers Headlight Restoration kit and his 4runner headlights look like new. He had to do one of them twice because it says when applying the coating you must do it quickly in one fluid motion. He tried to reapply and it and it ruined the restoration and had to start over.

 

98-00 Tacomas have fiberglass fender flares. So clean them (wash/dry) and wipe them down with something like grease/wax remover. Then use self etching primer, a few light coats. Finish with spray paint of your choice. Again a few light coats. I used Rustoleum Semi-Gloss because it matched the rest of the black on my truck.

 

I shot some clear coat on it to prevent UV fading but couldn't stand it. Splotchy and too shiny. Should've just done it right in the first place.



So I sanded it down and sprayed 4 coats of Rustoleum Universal satin black. It lasted 7 years on my last truck and was still going strong when I sold it.





That's more like it.

Conclusion: the heat gun is ok but very temporary. Better to just paint it.

 

Great info. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

I just did the heat gun + tranny fluid restoration as seen on Youtube. I'll post pics in about a week.

 

Curious to see how that holds up. I've not done the heat gun but only used Mothers Back to Black 4-5 times in the past 3 months. It works pretty good but has required re-application every 2-3 weeks to keep looking nice.

 

That sounds pretty high maintenance. One round of rustoleum (see my post above) and you're good for a decade.

 

I may try this, if not completely satisfied with the "ATF + heat gun" fix.

 

Agreed. I'm curious how to prep the plastic bumper, especially sense I've been treating mine with Back to Black. Rubbing alcohol?

 

That might work, or a degreaser then water should do the trick.

 

Derp Cant Read