Has anyone cleaned water spots off the plastic chrome around the side windows? Mine have had these spots since I got the car, pretty sure previous owner never tried to maintain them. I've tried the vinegar solution, detailing spray, toothpaste, none of it worked. I haven't used chrome polish yet because they say that it should be used on metal, not plastic. (Does anyone know if this trim is in fact plastic? Or is it metal?) I also haven't tried steel wool because I'm pretty sure it's just going to scratch the heck out of them. Has anyone had any luck with this?

 

subscribed.

 

Wow, that looks horrible; if I were you, I'd just order new trim and replace it...or get it wrapped in vinyl.

 

the car looks like it need a polish anyway. if you don't have the time, I would suggest leaving it with an auto detailer and have them polish the vehicle to get a shiny finish. It looks like it peeled off the clear coat.

If you're doing it on your own.
but those are actual chrome, not plastic..!


and mainly super clean your car.
Please watch the above video carefully, as dish washer is more strong than normal car wash soaps.

 

My skin was crawling when he started sanding his paint. I would urge anyone not to just start sanding their paint, especially without some type of block. You should really have a coating thickness gauge to measure how much clear coat you're working with before you just bust out sandpaper. That's a really good way to ruin your paint job.

There are many types of paint polish on the market but they mainly fall into 2 categories. Correcting polish and filler polish. The correcting polish is just that, polish used for correcting and will contain oils for lubricity and small particles used to remove layers of clear coat in combination with a pad (the pads have their own cut rating). Filler polish generally will contain some ability to finely cut away paint (mainly used to round the corners of a scratch to make it less noticeable and remember the pad selection will provide some cut as well) but also contain silicone fillers that will fill the scratch to make them practically disappear. The only problem with a filler is washing will remove the silicone and the scratch will reappear over time.

Anyway... for the OP... You need to wash your car. It's impossible to see what's just dust/contaminates on the vehicle vs what is truly stuck on there by those pictures. I would washing and claying the vehicle. Clay might or might not help. Polish probably would help but I probably wouldn't personally polish a plastic trip piece unless the owner gave me to go ahead and other options were exhausted. There's several products available to remove water deposits. You're in the bay area of CA and I believe Chemical Guys are located there. They're the people I used most for my products when I owned my detailing business. Try them out if you're wanting to do it yourself.

Another option would to find a reputable detailer... point out your concerns and see what they say about it.

 

I believe you know the difference between using a 50grit vs 5000grit sandpaper for different purposes.

Anyway, the whole video is not for OP, just which ever parts are useful.
I never suggested to start sanding someone's body anyway

 

Oh no... I realize the whole thing wasn't for the OP and you never suggested anyone actually do it. My comment was just an observation.

I thought it was a really good video up to that point and then my head was full of WTF. He took sandpaper to his car and then suggested to use a white pad with polish so that you could tell if you went through the clear coat easily... You're going to have a really hard time getting through clear coat by hand using a cloth and polish... You're going to breeze through your clear coat with sandpaper and improper technique.

 

I've used this product (link below) on the grill of one of my car's. It worked for the spots I had. GL.
http://opti-coat.net/opts/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=153

 

Old thread, but in case anyone that had subscribed to it before was still interested... I had very noticeable water spots on the chrome strips surrounding my side windows as well. Today I used some Borla exhaust chrome cleaner that I had laying around and boom, that did the trick! I tried taking pics but they didn't turn out very well. I imagine Brasso or any other kind of chrome cleaner would work as well, Maybe 15 minutes and the water spots were all gone. Total surprise to me, since nothing ever works easily or on the first try for me when it comes to cars!

 

Chemical guys' V38 Optical grade final polish and a microfiber applicator works very well.

 

I use "Bartenders Friend", little on the sponge and wipe, works great and it's cheap. comes as a powder in a gold can like scouring powder, but no grit for scratching like Comet

 

Bartender's or Barkeeper's Friend? Amazon has the latter.

Use it dry on the sponge, or add a little water?

 

Yes! sorry, Barkeepers Friend, I use a damp sponge, one of those yellow ones with the green scub pad on the back, but I use the yellow soft side! Sorry about the typo, Chemo brain!

 

I will order some Barkeeper's Friend today. I like the idea of using it with a damp sponge (yes I have the yellow/green ones) and getting small quantities of the product wet only when it's time to use it.

I have thrown away so many premixed paste cleaners when they dry up in their tubes! Thanks.

 

Sorry for intruding but I like your conversations
Thanks for that

 

We are about the same age, you will get this one,LOL. "a little dab will do ya"

 

You are always welcome, jump in anytime!

 

No intrusion at all. We collaborate here at MBWorld, so all are welcome as we try to figure out these cars!

 

Yea, LOL, that slogan has fared better than the product (Brylcreem)