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Hello!
Greetings from sunny, humid and hot Florida.
Has anyone figured out a good way to polish the black trim around the windows? My wife’ GLC43 Coupe appears to have hard water spots that don’t seem to come out.
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Hello!
Greetings from sunny, humid and hot Florida.
Has anyone figured out a good way to polish the black trim around the windows? My wife’ GLC43 Coupe appears to have hard water spots that don’t seem to come out.
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Marco
Good morning,
I used this recently with success. You can pickup at a local Advanced, Autozone, Amazon, etc
Depending how bad it is, you may need to buff and reapply.
What water? Rain water, city water, reclaimed water....seriously, it changes things. For instance, if you are The Villages and have reclaimed water spots, tends to be acidic and it will etch your surfaces.
Well, I tried the White Diamond polisher and it unfortunately did not make any difference at all.
maybe they are not water spots but rather some type of oxidation in the black finish. I am attaching a photo to see if anyone has any ideas.
Again, what kind of water cause the spots if you know? If it is reclaimed water frequently vinegar will take off the edge of what is left from the calcified water spot.
Again, what kind of water cause the spots if you know? If it is reclaimed water frequently vinegar will take off the edge of what is left from the calcified water spot.
I would assume it is rain water that dries out in the sun. We get rains almost daily here, followed by sunshine.
That said, if it is city/reclaimed water it can etch that finish. That being the case, you can try to break down the edges (you see the ring of left over hard material) with an acid such as vinegar. I keep white vinegar in the garage (seriously, I do). One thing that has worked for me is to soak a small bit of a rag, set it on the water spots trying to not get it to eat off wax/paint.
I have seen a number of cars where people try to polish it off, they end up taking off that black finish and making it look far worse.
That said, if it is city/reclaimed water it can etch that finish. That being the case, you can try to break down the edges (you see the ring of left over hard material) with an acid such as vinegar. I keep white vinegar in the garage (seriously, I do). One thing that has worked for me is to soak a small bit of a rag, set it on the water spots trying to not get it to eat off wax/paint.
I have seen a number of cars where people try to polish it off, they end up taking off that black finish and making it look far worse.
Thank you!
Yes, living in Florida has its advantages and disadvantages for sure. One on them is keeping cars clean.
I tried your white vinegar suggestion and it did not seem to make a difference. I am running out of options but my last attempt will be with some TR3 Glaze. This stuff is discontinued but you can still find it on EBay, and I used to use it on my 1974 BMW 2002 back in college. It would make the dullest, most oxidized paint and trim shine.
I will report back soon!
Thank you!
Yes, living in Florida has its advantages and disadvantages for sure. One on them is keeping cars clean.
I tried your white vinegar suggestion and it did not seem to make a difference. I am running out of options but my last attempt will be with some TR3 Glaze. This stuff is discontinued but you can still find it on EBay, and I used to use it on my 1974 BMW 2002 back in college. It would make the dullest, most oxidized paint and trim shine.
I will report back soon!
Marco
Any luck with this? I have exact same problem with my night package window trim looking bad and oxidized.
Any luck with this? I have exact same problem with my night package window trim looking bad and oxidized.
No luck with any of it. I have the black trim, though. Not the chrome finish.
I am still on the hunt for a solution, short if replacing the trim or wrapping it as someone suggested.
For information purposes I purchased my car from Florida with heavy spots most likely from rain and sun and it took multiple applications with the white diamond but it did eventually come off. Just take your time.
I'll try to find pics of before and after but my oxidation was so bad it was multi colored purple and greens on the Night Package finish.
Every so often I have to redo this treatment in between rains to kill the oxidation process before it starts
The plastic trim above the windshield and in both sides of the sunroof got ‘sunburned’ and my SA replaced all under warranty. Not sure if that’s an option..
The plastic trim above the windshield and in both sides of the sunroof got ‘sunburned’ and my SA replaced all under warranty. Not sure if that’s an option..
Same here, looks like a whiteish hazing, if only I was still under warranty haha
Mix up some barkeepers friend and use very light pressure. The goal is to get the deposit but not go through any coatings. If you are unfamiliar with the product, look it up as it's been around forever. It is a very light acid polish with a ton of uses, and very cheap. Also great for exhausts etc. Once clean, coat the trim with ceramic coating.
Last edited by Baltistyle; Sep 20, 2025 at 12:20 PM.
I just wash the trim, wipe it with a little isopropyl alcohol, then hand-polish it gently to clear the haze. A trim-safe ceramic coating keeps new spots from sticking.
A gentle hand polish cleared up the haze on mine, then I wiped it down with IPA and added a trim coating to keep the spotting down. I grabbed the cleaning bits from a place where I could learn more about different automotive-safe chemicals and window cleaning gear in one spot, which made it easier to pick something that wouldn’t chew up the gloss trim.
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