Getting swirls out of plastic pillars

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MxRacer965

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Noticed this pretty much the day I took delivery of our expedition that the plastic on the pillars outside had swirl marks and now that the weather is nicer I'd like to try and get them out. I found this thread from quite a while ago. It had some suggestions but I didn't see any follow ups. Anyone have specific products that are your "go to" for polishing these back up?

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/exterior-plastic-b-c-pillar-scratches-polish.36066/
 

stricnine

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I use my DA with chemical guys v36 on an orange pad followed with a v38 on a white pad. Black pad for sealant/wax.
 
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MxRacer965

MxRacer965

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How often do you have to do this just out of curiosity? We have unlimited wash plans for the Expedition and MKS so it gets a bath pretty frequently, especially in Winter to wash all the salt off.
 

Bmanxx13

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How often do you have to do this just out of curiosity? We have unlimited wash plans for the Expedition and MKS so it gets a bath pretty frequently, especially in Winter to wash all the salt off.

If the place is one of those hands-free automated type, the plastic trim will get scratched instantly. Doesn't take much to scratch the black plastic trim unfortunately...
 

Dice Roll

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Super. Another pitfall to watch out for. Anybody try a vinyl wrap over those? They do whole cars these days, so maybe that would be a solution.
 

TobyU

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PRO brand Ultimate Cutter and Scratch Remover. Best I have ever used.
By hand works really good but with foam pad the results are amazing.
Then top coat or buff with a little finer polish. I use Zymol blue liquid stuff.
Then a couple of coats of hard paste wax.
 

rjdelp7

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My 2000 pillars have almost no swirls and I also have a unlimited plan. The only true fix is to replace them or maybe use a clear wrap.
 

3tonsoffun

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Meg’s ultimate polish followed by a sealant and wax. Use a DA. No matter how perfect you get them, if you don’t use a clear wrap over them they will get scratched on your first wash or the first time you run a MF towel across them. They are very soft
 

TobyU

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Meg’s ultimate polish followed by a sealant and wax. Use a DA. No matter how perfect you get them, if you don’t use a clear wrap over them they will get scratched on your first wash or the first time you run a MF towel across them. They are very soft
Then we need a really hard sealant to go over them. I'm thinking of the old liquid glass. But what about these new ceramic sealants?
 

3tonsoffun

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Then we need a really hard sealant to go over them. I'm thinking of the old liquid glass. But what about these new ceramic sealants?
Easiest thing to do is correct them and either apply black vinyl or clear vinyl to protect
 

-Clu-

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Hey guys, I work at a paint correction and ceramic coating shop here in Alpharetta, GA. Our experience is as you are all finding that piano black, especially on exterior trim should be banned and sent to the moon. It’s incredibly difficult to take care of and the finish will be marred from the day you take delivery. Depending on your level of scratching, correction and coating of paint protection film (PPF) is the best option. You can correct most, pretty well so long as they haven’t been thrashed with a Lake Country Blue or Oberk Yellow foam pad. Meguiars 210 should work well enough to cut and sometimes finish. If you want to step it up to a heavier compound like 110 then have at it, it’s just gonna be more work to finish out. Then finish down the marring with something like Shine Supply Slickback and a yellow foam pad. Once you achieve a good finish you are honestly best to have PPF installed, it has self healing properties that are ultimately the best protection you can get for your paint.

At the end of the day guys, these parts of your car are virtually impossible to keep looking perfect, all the time. Best you can do is get them to a good point and PPF or Vinyl wrap them and ceramic coat them
 
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