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Aliexpress sell sets of shiny adhesive vinyl type stuff that are cut to fit. I'll try and dig out a link. I replaced the two B-Pillar ones on the '12 as they had both cracked near the base (no idea how) with OEM parts. It's not a bad job to replace them, but (again) the old ones were extremely fragile and just broke apart as I removed them.
Those can be hand polished in place using this stuff. They can be saved with some time and effort.
I would not wrap them with all that oxidation anyway. I don't see a good long term result using vinyl without cleaner surfaces. Might as well polish them.
This also works for restoring the shine on the plastic wing mirror mounts, and can be used safely on the interior wood clear coat to remove scratches.
I just used some Zaino Brothers polish a couple of times, and now it's not even something I think about or notice anymore. Looks like it should, and whenever I polish(with Zaino Bros polish) it gets it too along with the rest of the body & glass.
I bit the bullet and had mine repainted. After several polishing attempts with my Adams DA and various compounds and pads - while excellent results were achieved - the Texas sun quickly brought the faded and bad looking black right back.
That brings to mind that I must say that our XJ is garage-kept when it's not driven somewhere.
It'll sit out in the Florida sun for 8 +/- hours at a time, but only a couple days a week.
I imagine it makes a big difference when we're comparing notes, the different products we use handle sunlight & UV differently, so some of us that keep our cars outside will see different performance than some of us that keep our cars in garages.
That brings to mind that I must say that our XJ is garage-kept when it's not driven somewhere.
It'll sit out in the Florida sun for 8 +/- hours at a time, but only a couple days a week.
I imagine it makes a big difference when we're comparing notes, the different products we use handle sunlight & UV differently, so some of us that keep our cars outside will see different performance than some of us that keep our cars in garages.
Agreed. A garage makes a big difference in how these cars will age. I polished those trim pieces ONCE and they still look the same 3 years later.
If I had to leave the car in the sun a lot, I would likely paint those pieces too.
If you want those black parts to stay looking like new after polishing them to a mirror finish, even if you park outside, apply gloss clear bra on top. You can buy small rolls on Amazon very inexpensively, and those areas are super easy to DIY. And then the clear bra starts looking ratty in 5-10 years, just peel off and reapply fresh clearbra.
Last edited by lotusespritse; Jun 10, 2024 at 02:31 PM.
