how to clean plastic part of bumper

[bak3rme]

1999 sr5 4runner here.

there is plastic on front and rear bumper, over the years the bumper have taken a beating from sun, heat and rain, and its kinda grey now. is there anyway to darken the color? like back to black or dark grey

 

[david_ray320]

1999 sr5 4runner here.

there is plastic on front and rear bumper, over the years the bumper have taken a beating from sun, heat and rain, and its kinda grey now. is there anyway to darken the color? like back to black or dark grey

Mother's makes a product called Back to Black (coincidentally enough) that is supposed to work. I've tried it a little and it makes a small difference but from what I've heard you need to keep reapplying it every month or so for there to be any lasting effects. I believe RonMAIDEN was the one who originally told me about it so maybe he or another member can speak to the effectiveness of the product better than I can.

Mothers® Back-to-Black®

 

[Atreyus]

I use Stoner's Trim Shine you can pick it up at your local Kragens it is really affective and I found out about it through this forum I forgot where exactly but it works wonders, makes it look brand new.

 

[brian2sun]

rattle can it.

 

[Y2KSR5]

If its really faded, a heat gun can bring out those oils in the plastic and the color back. Back to Black is temporary and will leave runs if it gets rained on.

 

[004Gunner]

If the back to black is applied properly it shouldn't leave runs when it gets wet. It is very temporary though and the trim shine is the same type product so the results will be about the same. The best thing for permanent results is the DupliColor vinyl color. It's a vinyl and plastics spray paint and if the part is prepped right it works great. Warm soapy water to clean followed by an alcohol wipe down is the best prep imo. KellyJ has used it on some of his exterior parts and it looks great. You can get it in different colors too, not just black

 

[Y2KSR5]

If you are gonna rattle can it Krylon Fusion is made for plastic.

 

[quicksilvr]

A product called Forever Black works very well. I've never used it on a 4runner, but we used to use it in our shop to treat Land Rover Discovery fender flares and bumpers....which were notorious for becoming gray and dried out.

If applied well, it will last a long time...way more than a month. I never saw any of the Disco's we treated after a long period, say like a year, but I assume 1 treatment per year would keep everything looking real nice.

I just ordered some Forever Black to apply to my new 4runner...the rear bumper is faded pretty bad.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The best option is to use the Krylon plastic paint or a dye to restore tham a bit but that is a lot of work and requires removal of the pieces but for something that will last a few months and is easy to apply I use Meguire's Exterior Trim coating and seems to last a bit longer than the Stoners and Back to Black stuff.(I've used both and both are still good stuff)
I plan on painting them this spring if I can find the time but the Meguire's stuff will do in the meantime.

Here's the before and afters.