The rubber bumpers on my 73 450sl are very dull. I've tried armour-all and vinylex, and neither worked. I've seen a Maguiar's product called back to black, and some other product that is silicon based which looks like it might work. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I use Prestine Clean by Leatherique and find it to work better than any other, and I have tried a million jillion different products, second place would probably go to Black Chrome by TurtleWax, and third maybe Back to Black.

have fun


donn

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1990 300E (118K)

I use Black Chrome by Turtle Wax, does a good job.

i would be careful with heavy silicone based products. I have heard from experts that it will eventually cause rubber/vinyl to crack and turn brown. Actually Meguairs has product for tires thats a cream, it works great on tires and I imagine it would work good on any rubber....and it isnt too shiny

Placo1

The product called "Back to Black" is actually made by Mothers. I've used it on black plastic bumpers / trim and it actually works amazingly well.
Meguiar's does make a product like Back to Black, but it's called something different. I've never used it, but I'd venture to say that I'm sure it works well. I've used many of Meguiar's products and they are all quality.
I've used Meguiar's gel tire gloss. It's purple in color and smells like grape Kool-Aid. It smells so good, you want to mix it with water and see what it tastes like (just kidding! Don't try this at home). It is the best product I've ever used on tires and holds a shine for weeks just like the bottle says. I've also used it on the black trim on my Mercedes, and it works fabulous and keeps the trim black between washings.
I think you'll be happy with any of these products.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I couldn't find black chrome, and the guy at pep boys said the back to black was just "ok". The local import car parts store recommended some stuff they sell called "Der Rubber Stuff." I bought some and it did a real good job. Its made by Global Industries, or some name like that.

Some folks report excellent results from peanut butter, for restoring faded black door handles . . .

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Steve
'93 400E

Since my last post I decided to go check the name of the Meguairs product. The name is Endurance and it is a purple color that smells like Kool Aid...TASTES GREAT!!...just kidding. Anywyas I have used this to detail my tires and plastics in the engine bay and it works great. The only drawback is that if you put it on to heavy it will gather dirt so make sure you remove any excess. It works best with the sponge aplicator provided in only some of their packages.

Placo1

I use Meguiar's endurance for the faded rubber parts these days, and it works a treat. Got this tip from the great guys on this forum.

Apply a thin layer on the trim, rubbing it in. Let it soak for fifteen minutes and buff off the excess, careful not to get it on your paintwork....

Two weeks under the sun, and the trim still holding out!!!

I bought one product that rejuvenates wiper blades and used it on the bumper's rubber edges. It looks much better and I'm sure its application would last longer than peanut-butter. I don't have the name of the product of-hand but will get it in due course.

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.