Heat gun to fix faded bumper

I did a search on the forum and didn't see anything, but I wanted to share what I did to my faded bumper on the '13 tundra. I had been looking for solutions to fix the faded, greyed out rear bumper. Most wipe on solutions are temporary, so I was considering painting it when I came across a youtube vid showing how a heat gun can restore color.

Supposedly it causes the oils to resurface. Not sure exactly what goes on, but it does work. Be careful as you can damage your bumper and literally over cook it. Thought I'd share the success I had using a heat gun to bring the color back to the bumper. I did this about 3 weeks ago, so I'll report back in a few months and let you know how it's holding up...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6EnMXhOCs

 

I would do cerakote trim coat on this to protect it.

 

This worked great for me. Nothing at autozone touched it. Solution Finish did the trick for cheap. Don’t need to tape up, and no need to remove parts.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/use-solution-finish-to-get-black-trim-color-back-pics.72120/

 

Have a bottle just never touched it. I use trim shield cerakote and dlux wouldn’t use a heat gun but that’s just me you still need to put some protection on it. I believe SF is a dye not a sealer

 

I know this works on interior plastics. learned that doing stereo stuff years ago. Sometimes you'd get a little flex in a panel and get that lighter discoloration. a little heat and the color would come right back, had to be careful sometimes it gets a little shiny. Ive had success on trim stuff with a good clean. if you can get the color back keeping it protected with 303 helps a lot. the sun kills everything down here in Texas.

 

You need to educate me on 303. What exactly is that? I've heard good things about the cerakote.

 

While this does work, it’s not a great idea in the long run, especially doing it repeatedly. It’s bringing the oils out, which will eventually cause cracking.
Solution Finish or Cerakote is a much better long term solution.

 

It’s a plastics restorer / protectant. Cerakote is another type of the same thing, but should last much longer. It’s only been a month or so since I used it for the first time, but it really looks like it’s going to be the ultimate solution for faded plastics. It also worked wonders on my metal nerf bars. So much so that there’s a couple of spots where I messed up and I can’t remove it to re-do it.

 

I gotta try this cerakote. Sounds like good stuff

 

I've used this with great results https://www.meguiars.com/automotive/products/ultimate-black-plastic-restorer-aerosol
Hard to describe, it's almost like a clear coat. Very useful for wheel wells factory plastic for the OEM running boards. Think I'm going to use it for protecting my rims this winter.

 

When I bought new speakers for my front doors I had to use a ring under the mounting holes because the magnet hit the window track. When I did that they ended up being too tall, and the door panels wouldn t go back on. Using a heat gun I heated up the area on the panel where it touched and when it was good and hot I pressed an old soccer ball against it, and held it for a minute or two. It flexed just enough, and when it cooled it kept it s shape. I was pretty stoked about fixing that

 

I used black plasti-dip on the faded plastic parts on the front bumper of my old Tacoma. Still looked great after 2 years, rocks/bugs didn't chip it off. Might not work as well on the rear bumper if you are using it to constantly step in/out of the bed, but its a cheap fix and worth a try IMO.

 

I used forever black back when I was a jeep guy. Would fix up those really faded fender flares and look like new.

 

My side steps (2016) were a little sun faded, photo after using Meguiar's

 

I used this stuff and it is a game changer on fading black plastics:

$16 Trinova Plastic & Trim Restorer - Shines & Darkens Worn Out Plastic, Vinyl & Rubber Surfaces - Protects Cars & Motorcycles from Rain, Salt & Dirt - Prevent Fading - 8 fl oz

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AAZ1OAE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Sometimes I spray meguiars on my body. Stay shiny all day, and sometimes still have a decent shine after a wash in the shower. Turtle wax works well to keep my hair looking good. Just snagged some meguiars tire shine for my shoes.

 

I also had a little trick from my Volkswagen days.. had mk2 and mk3 Gtis and jettas and all the black trim that they came with faded! I kept using back to black, black magic etc etc when finally I tried black shoe polish...you know the one in bottle liquid form with the sponge under the cap!!! Worked great and kept on using it many of years!!!! Just figured I’d add it into others tricks and ideas!!

 

Hi all, just joined for this thread on faded bumpers.
This will make faded bumper look brand spanking new ..
Coconut oil !
Your welcome..