Blacksmoke

I'd like to hear what everyone with Matte Black vinyl stripes use to clean their stripes on this forum.

I tried some orange cleaner and it seems to leave streaks.
BSM recommends Fantastik Orange cleaner spray but I believe that product has been discontinued because I looked in every grocery store and other type of store with no luck.

So I bought some generic orange spray. I called the people at BSM to make sure the ingrediants were ok and used it after I got the ok from them.
But it seems to be leaving streaks. I am using a paper towel to clean them just as they said to do at BSM and I am wiping in a downward motion.
(Maybe I am doing something wrong?)

Anyhow. I'd like to get an idea of what other people are using to clean their matte black stripes with and how it works for them. Also.. what material do you use to wipe it with?

Thanks!

Starfire

Just soap and water, I also use Aerospace 303 to protect them, only need a little bit helps with UV damage and also make the water bead better. I also occasionally use turtle wax's Ice quick detailer, it doesn't leave white residue, but I just use it very lightly.

Link: http://www.303products.com

Blacksmoke

That 303 does'nt have any wax or anything in it does it?
What kind of soap are you using and how much soap with the water?

Oh yeah.. and how often do you use this stuff to help protect?
I did not know that Cali Specials had Matte Black stripes... I thought they were gloss?

Oh and do you use paper towels or what?

candymanjl

303 is designed to protect rubber, leather, and vinyl. I used to use that on my S2000's convertible top and it's excellent for that.

personally I would just polish and wax the stripe along with the rest of the car. the polish will remove oxidation that starts to build up and the wax will protect it from the sun's UV that will destroy it over time. messing with something like 303 on stripes next to your paint I think will turn into a mess since the 303 isn't ideal for the paint. polishing and waxing everything at once will keep it all looking good.

I had an older car that had factory pin stripes on the sides and they we're all old and crappy looking, I thought they would have to be replaced. I polished and waxed over them as I did the rest of the finish and they came out great even though they were 20 years old.

Starfire

Well the side stripe are different, they are flat black but it's not a true flat vinyl, you can wax over them, but my hood stripe is flat back. The 303 I use about every month or 2, after you first apply it, it will make the strips shine a bit (Like I said use very little) but that fades in a day and they look the same as before then. You can use 303 on all you plastic trim also, works great no white residue, it's really good stuff.

I just soap and water when I wash my car, so what ever you mix to wash with and use a microfiber towel.

Doing all that they haven't faded, shrunk, peeled, and I went through a Chicago winter with them, though they do have a couple marks from stones :P

Also don't press hard with applying anything, just lightly.

Blacksmoke

Ummm....

You cannot wax matte black stripes.... it discolors the stripe.

That is why I am also looking for something to protect them against the U.V. rays...
but if the 303 is bad for the paint.. umm...
I am back to square one.

Star...has anything happened while getting the 303 on the paint? Do you have to be careful?

OhioState87

BSM's website says this:
Now, I haven't gotten to the point where I need to wax my matte black decklid panel, but when I do, I plan on trying Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0 in liquid form. The funny thing is though, it's not really wax! NXT Tech Wax 2.0 is actually made up of all synthetic chemicals and does not contain one drop of pure wax. A product like this would actually be referred to as a paint sealant, but in the eye of the consumer, he/she knows what wax means and what it does, so while the brand name might technically be misleading, it still makes sense to use the word wax for the consumer.

Blacksmoke

I know that BSM's website says that.
But that is for all the other stripes as a general guide.

I have spoke with them personally on the phone and they say NOT to wax the matte black stripes.

As far as U.V. protection... I am trying to see what they recommend.

Starfire

I've used 303 plenty of times I'm sure I've gotten some on my paint no problems and I don't see any reason why, yeah I wouldn't use it on paint, but that's because it doesn't do anything for paint.

I use 303 on my mirrors, black trim, bumper areas that are black, trim inside, vinyl of course, now the blackout panel.

As for waxing I made that mistake once, with exactly that NXT2.0 I would HIGHLY recommend NOT using it on flat vinyl. I'm sure on gloss it's fine but I don't even use it on my flat black spoiler, if it don't shine, don't try to make it shine the only exception the the side stripe on the CS, they are actually printed on the back side of the stripe, that's how they make the fade, the surface while matte is clear, like contact paper and waxes fine.

OhioState87

Looks like I won't try the NXT 2.0 then. I was only going to try it on a small area first, but I won't waste my time now. I just really couldn't think of anything else to try; it's not like there's a dedicated Vinyl Graphic Care product out there.

I did some searching around over on Meguiar's forums and there's plenty of threads asking the same thing: "What do I use on vinyl stripes?" I've seen more than a few people saying they've had success with a product called Gold Class Trim Detailer. Here's a couple threads about it: 1 and 2