Cars in for paint tomorrow so while the bumpers are off i want to try getting them back to there former glory.

What have you guys tried........... and what works?

for me the wax worked better than the sprays

Peanut butter anykind will do works a charm on all my houses cars even the ka!!!!!! peanut butter really work it in wash it off after to keep squirrels off your car (just incase i haven't actualy caught squirells) lasts a long time next time u clean the car just do it again old rag will do

Edited 26 August, 201016 yr by Marckid

peanut butter works, but its messy, smelly, and dust likes to stick to the bumpers afterward.

Just get the spray on stuff, turtle wax or something.

Its never temperary though.

Edited 26 August, 201016 yr by mattpolo5491

I used to use old engine oil, as long as you dont drive it straight after, or in the rain, seems fine

Heat gun, then spray bumper shine after. Il get picturesof what mine came up like, they were Matt grey and now look like new

heat gun works a treat!

black shoe polish

I've heard all sorts of comedy ideas,and even tried some. Everything i tried,from oils to silicones to waxes,it failed within 3-20 days. Dyes failed within a couple of months. These include the likes of peanut butter and engine oil (oils), aerosols (silicone) boot polish

(wax) shoe shine and plastic dye (dyes).

Then i did what manufacturers do when they want to give a bumper a different appearance - and painted them. This as i was re-spraying the shell and wanted a proper,permanent solution. Despite that,i used acrylic spray from Halfords..

(Their vinyl bumper paint).

Here when it had scorch marks from being darkened with a hairdryer by the previous owner,but little other sign of tlc (still in better condition than my spare wonky bumper)..

Here when i painted the bumper in said satin vinyl..

And how they're still looking a full two years later..

There are patches on top of the rear bumper,but these are from a chemical spillage. The car is a workhorse and has bricks in the back in the photo,so it does have its marks - the broken licence plate light is another example of how much abuse that bumper gets.

I still buy tyre'n'bumper shine in cans - because the Tesco's own-brand version is great for protecting alloy wheels from salt and brake dust! The girls use a hairdryer,we eat peanut butter and marmite,use soy sauce and Kiwi shoe shine - but they dont fear me using their stuff on the car now. Apart from the odd bit of broom handle,biscuit jar lid,etc..

In a sentence....boiled linseed oil!

Good job with the paint, how much prep work?

Good job with the paint, how much prep work?

None.

Acrylic plastic primer isn't flexible enough,so the vinyl paint is formulated to bond directly to plastic. I did clean the bumpers with 2K thinners,though any spirit would do for degreasing them prior to painting - 2K evaporates fast though,which is handy if you have more important things to do than spend all day on a car.

boiled linseed oil lasts almost forever , £3 job done

boiled linseed oil lasts almost forever , £3 job done

I've used it once and never again, they looked brilliant then all the shit stuck to it and i cant get it off to this day, think i need new bumpers I've tried everything, any more info on using the heat gun method?

WD40 or Sunflower Oil :)

auto glym bumper care, i won't use anything else

cheers for your help guys, i think I'm going with the paint as as that looks seriously good.

ASDA back to black style spray

before

and about 2 months after they had been done

it's not a permanent fix but it looks mint while it last's and only takes a couple of mins to do all the plastics again. also being ASDA price it only cost a couple of quid

bumper paint of course!! as mikeymk has already stated halfords do bumper paint which is wicked good.. i tried a million differant ways of blacking the bumpers on my mk3 to no avail.. heat gun worked best but it was a bit blotchy and it only lasted like a month and half

halfords bumper paint, i used two cans which cost like qa tenner. took them off and cleaned them up, gave them a quick keying over with some super mild paper and sprayed them up. lasted about two years up until i sold them and as far as I'm aware they are still black as anything :)