Hey Folks, I was talking to an old redneck mechanic from my town, about the dried out rubber bumpers on my 76 XJS, he looked at me spit his chew in the dirt and said Boy dont you ride a Harley? I said yes sir but what does a Harley have to do with a Jaguar Bumper, He than asked what kind of Oil do i use in my Harley, I said MOBIL 1 20-50 V twin oil. He said Now look here Son, get yourself a halfway descent brush, and a cup, pour the oil in the cup and brush it on your dried up bumpers, You will see it soak in the rubber like a sponge, than about 30 min to a hr later, give it a second coat, than a third, till it stops sucking it right in, than take a old rag and wipe down the bumper. If you have a old beat up car like mine it made my bumpers look almost brand new, I will post pictures to this thread in the am. Redneck engineering at its finest.

 

Hi Kriss,

Not to be a party pooper, but that could be very poor advice. It is widely known that petroleum products can cause many rubbers and plastics to deteriorate prematurely. That is why most rubber and plastic protectants contain no petroleum, and most lubricants for plastics and rubbers are based on lithium or silicone.

Cheers,

Don

 

Dont think it can get much worse than this... I,l let you know.

 

That's definitely a sad bumper!

I've had good success with a good surface prep followed by multiple thin applications of Forever Black with a foam applicator brush:



Cheers,

Don

 

Kriss,

I'll take no responsibility whatsoever for this suggestion! However, a few colleagues of mine swear by a technique of using a hot air gun to rejuvenate black window winders and exterior black trim that has whitened over time. I don't profess to understand how it might work, whether it brings some element up to the surface to restore the black appearance. But whatever it is, they really think it's a great option.

Perhaps luckily, my pre-HE bumpers seem really good, albeit a little rippled at the corners. But the black appearance is good. So, I don't need to risk it! But yours look like it might just be worth a try! I don't know how hot, how long or at what distance they do it. But perhaps a quick try on a non-obtrusive part is worth trying?

As I said, no responsibility implied!

Good luck

Paul

 

Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care or Bumper and Trim Gel works well to restore the black to bumpers too.

 

Thanks guys, my bumpers are really sad, been sitting out in the St beach sun for many many years, I did the oil treatment and it looks amazing, but I got another set of really crappy rubbers and I will try all these, and let you guys know. So far the v twin oil has done an amazing job as to bringing the rubber back to life, it took the first three coats like a sponge..looks amazing. Thank you all

 

Post the after pics if you don't mind.

 

 

Came out nicely.

 

I'm going to give it a few more days and try that black Magic or the stuff you guys recommended Thanks.