Some friends and I use a heat gun to restore faded bumpers, wheel arches, door strips, and that trim below the slats on the top of the hood. Works so well it’s almost too good to be true!
Using a heat gun to restore automotive plastics
Some friends and I use a heat gun to restore faded bumpers, wheel arches, door strips, and that trim below the slats on the top of the hood. Works so well it’s almost too good to be true!
#1 by 77982 on May 2, 2011 - 11:48 am
Tried it on my bmw. It turns gray after a few days or hours. Dont do it. Youre better off using other products like forever black
#2 by Chrisradioman on May 2, 2011 - 12:23 pm
Thats an awesome tip, thanks
#3 by KGWOLF77 on May 2, 2011 - 12:56 pm
it would be great if heat gun could restore all bodywork: remove rust, restore paint…
#4 by paynee1010 on May 2, 2011 - 1:35 pm
Ha Dude CHECK OUT A WELL KNOW FIX PEANUT BUTTER EXTRA CREAM YA YOU HEARD ME RIGHT PEANUT BUTTER. YOU LIKE THE LONG LASTING SHINE OR ARE YOU TO GOOD FOR THIS
#5 by productionskak on May 2, 2011 - 2:25 pm
How long does the black color stay before it fades back to the ugly gray color?
#6 by silvKEsx on May 2, 2011 - 3:00 pm
Nice! I will try this on my 850 T5. Does the heat melt the plastic and make a new surface, or?
#7 by wallalicious on May 2, 2011 - 3:51 pm
Idd, but it is a Golf mk2;)
#8 by compu85 on May 2, 2011 - 4:44 pm
@wallalicious I’ve never liked the westy front on a Jetta. But I guess that’s a matter of personal taste
#9 by wallalicious on May 2, 2011 - 5:16 pm
Jeah I think, no i have the small bumpers andi The Same color of it is polarsilber. Ive just put a westy front to it and other us stuff, but these small bumpers are hard to get down here.. I just like the us style on german cars:D
#10 by compu85 on May 2, 2011 - 5:44 pm
@wallalicious That’s kind of funny, people in the US are always trying to get the thin euro bumpers! I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, eh? As I understand it you got big bumpers in 1990 along with the US.
#11 by wallalicious on May 2, 2011 - 5:55 pm
I gonne try this on my mk2. I wish I had youre bumpers couse i have euro stock bumpers.
It’s very hard to find here in europe.
Greetz
#12 by compu85 on May 2, 2011 - 6:16 pm
@IMHOSSBOSS Probably not.
#13 by IMHOSSBOSS on May 2, 2011 - 7:13 pm
can this be done on a original piece of plastic that was the color gray/silver??
#14 by UpcomingJedi on May 2, 2011 - 7:30 pm
so….How does this idea work on plastic headlights?
#15 by agenthelios1 on May 2, 2011 - 8:13 pm
@GhostsInMyAttic This is a waste of time. There is a bumper restorer I bought ($12) it takes about 20 min or so to dry and the shit looks new again….you dont have to mask anything off either. Its real simple. I forget what itts called, I threw bottle away.
Its been 5 months and i blast the bumper at car wash and it still looks new. No bullshit, it made my car look 100% better.
#16 by GhostsInMyAttic on May 2, 2011 - 8:17 pm
@tietie1424 The highest setting and keep it moving and don`t touch it till it hardens again =]
#17 by GhostsInMyAttic on May 2, 2011 - 8:56 pm
Gave this a try today borrowed a heat gun and went about restoring the trim and running boards on my “98 Honda Passport but, I think my oxidation was not as bad as I thought it did work a bit but, Not worth doing the whole thing.
My guess is this would work great if your parts are vary oxidized to the point they are powder grey but, Still it did help a bit so thanks for the tips a good cleaning and some armour all did the trick for me =]
#18 by GhostsInMyAttic on May 2, 2011 - 9:46 pm
Well it`s off to the store to buy a heat gun… Maybe the guys at the shop next door will let me borrow theirs
#19 by tietie1424 on May 2, 2011 - 10:46 pm
Ok, I just bought a heat gun, What setting should I put it on? its a 1500 watt..but either at 572 degrees or 1112 degrees?
#20 by koioo2 on May 2, 2011 - 11:27 pm
@compu85 jason won t strip black paint on the bumper that correct ?
#21 by compu85 on May 2, 2011 - 11:44 pm
@koioo2 The heat gun is quite close to the plastic strip. You won’t damage the paint if you keep the heat gun moving.
-Jason
#22 by koioo2 on May 2, 2011 - 11:59 pm
@compu85 yes this other qwestion.i bought a cheap heat gun from parkside
i repaint the plastic its opel corsa.if i use heat gun than paint be gone ????
you put gun close to plastic fair away ?
#23 by koioo2 on May 3, 2011 - 12:42 am
@compu85 can it be used on a plastic black strip on a opel corsa
#24 by 7AAA7 on May 3, 2011 - 1:25 am
great video man thanks!!
#25 by kbmuckymuck on May 3, 2011 - 1:36 am
I did this yesterday to my Jeep fender flares and I cant get an even black. There are streaks running through it no matter what I try. I guess I will just take them off and paint them with Krylon Fusion.