all the trim around my glass is cloudy?///--ive tried chrome and car polish and rubbing compound ----nothing really worked ----any ideas out there

 

Mark, Take a little ATF (automatic trans fluid) on a rag and just wipe it on, then wipe it off. You will need to reaply each time you wash the car but it takes less then a minute to do and it brings the chrome around the windows back to new. I have tried everything else just like you and this works great for me. It seems this is a problem with all X350's.

 

It is not chrome it is c**p.

It can be replaced but you have to break plastic clips to remove it and new finishers are expensive.

 

I've got the same affliction (looks like a milky residue...but no polish or compound can remove it) and it is only on the little curved portion rearward of the back doors...both sides. It just terminates at the next trim piece, very strange!

 

Going to try the ATF.

 

The chrome is actually anodized aluminum. European manufacturers like Benz, Jaguar, BMW, switched to anodized aluminum to save weight instead of using polished stainless steel. The anodization was a coating that was added to add protection to the aluminum, but even though the aluminum doesn't oxidize, the anodized layer oxidizes instead.

The anodized layer is what makes this a pain in the *** to deal with. I have tried sanding, rotary polishing, and throwing rocks at it but that coating still remains oxidized lol.

I tried clear coating it, it looks ok but EVEN CLEAR COAT DOESNT STICK TO THIS STUFF!!! And it rapidly starting peeling away.

I did find this guy online who worked at a BMW dealer in Atlanta and actually found a solution (one of the only people in the world to find the solution). The Mercedes Benz forum guys have actually started buying this stuff. I really want to try it out

***Oxidized Aluminum***

 

First try this:

spray windex on a paper towel, rub damp towel against trim.

 

Made it at least 75 percent better.
Thank you!

 

thanks for all the replies very useful info--------no that i know what it is i will check here at work to see what we have that might work also --------after all i do work on airplanes for a little airline in atlanta--------and boeing loves anodize coatings

 

Ok, I tried ATF, Autosol, MAAS, and some other stuff over the last year, nothing works. Thinking of using one of "Eastwood's Auto Paints to paint the trim black.

 

I noticed this right after purchasing my car last year. I was amused by it. I could tell that it must be a different material than the rest of the bright trim right away.

To me, it looks "antiqued". I rather like it, in an odd way. Now, I know I'm a rather odd fellow and that my opinions and tastes are usually "out there" compared to many others. That said, it somehow is in keeping with the anachronistic nature of these cars, IMO.

I took this position when looking at it one day, trying to decide how much priority to set upon this appearance item. I decided right then to just let it ride.

 

I tried a few polishes and nothing made any difference. My trim is pretty cloudy and I don't like it. But I don't dislike it enough to buy new trim. So I tried the ATF and the trim is much brighter. It's as if the ATF is penetrating the trim and clearing some of the cloudiness. Even if it washes off with the next car wash, the $4 for a bottle of ATF will last me for a while. Thanks Clamdigger.

 

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and a lot of elbow grease sorted out the milky trim on my X350 when I first bought it, 2.5 years ago. It still looked fine when I sold it recently.

 

This is what I might do to my VDP....
Black Trim looks better, less upkeep.

 

Hey guys sorry to intrude here but, I had the same problem on the wifes S Type.

I tried everything imaginable and nothing removed the "milkiness". Others have stated different polishes work but they did not in my case.

Cheap and easy cure:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ics-faq-29860/

BTW the trim still looks like new years later, all I do is polish it once a year with Mothers Aluminum Cleaner.

 

Another vote here for the ATF. Before trying the ATF, I asked my local body shop about their opinion of painting the trim black. Their concern was that the paint could begin to peel leading to a real mess.