Sun Damage? What's going on here?

I've used 303 Protectant for 20+ years to keep canoes and kayaks in pristine condition. I use 303 on black trim on vehicles too. Recently my door handles started looking very... damaged. I use the 303 on my mirrors and bumper, mudflaps, etc and they look great. The white-looking flecks on this for handle aren't white, they're reflecting the sun. Is this UV damage or what?

 

Mine do the same thing, they’re a little sparkly in the sun. I don’t know why... I’ll worry about it if they start to get brittle.

 

I coated my trim with cquartz dlux trim restorer. Looks good and stays that way,

 

Go nautical. Get replacements made from brass, custom. Works on boats, should work for you.

 

My theory: The door handles are possibly molded from glass-filled nylon for strength. The sparkley bits are actually the ends of glass fibers in the plastic that have been exposed by surface wear and deterioration.

 

That happened to some of the plastic trim on my wife's Kona. Unfortunately I haven't found a cure.

 

On a 1.5 year old truck with 30k miles? Seems unlikely but I was wrong once before on something so I guess this could be the second time

 

Color-matched door handles will fix the problem, whatever the cause.

 

I know you said the specks are clear, but I'll just throw this out there because I 303 all my plastic too. (Handles are painted). I have the factory folding hard bed cover. I did maybe about 4 treatments to it in 6 months of owning the truck. The bed cover did almost the same thing as your handles but white. I don't think it was clear. There were streaks from wipe marks and specks like yours. The surface is a coarser texture, too.

My dealer warrenty'd it and I don't use anything on it now. Hope it doesn't chalk up in a few years.

 

I'd see if you can warranty them but I wouldnt say that you applied any 303 to them. Keep an eye on them at the end of the warranty and ask for painted ones if it happens again.

 

Do you have a photo?

 

Try cleaning the door handle surface texture with a cloth wet with IPA. If the "white" spots come off, it's the 303 residue in the textured surface. If it doesn't come off, then you're looking at painted or chrome-plated door handles to fix the problem. My experience is that 303 will leave a white residue on weatherstrips, and it takes vigorous rubbing with IPA to remove it. Or, you can just wipe it down with fresh 303 and let the new dissolve the old.