KeysRx300

I have a 2001 RX300. And I have a stain I cant remove. Its on all of the 4 passenger doors. On the bottom edge of the windows. Is a hard black plastic molding. There is a brownish spots along the whole edge. Its almost like a rust type of stain on the hard plastic molding.

Ive tried a few different cleaners. It will clean up. And will look good for a couple of days. But the stain returns. Any suggestions?

Guitarman

What you describe, and it's not that uncommon, sounds like maybe mildew that has permeated the material. It happens alot to hard & soft rubber and sometimes plastics and vinyl....could be other things, but either way, it sounds like it may not come out.

You *could* try something like Tilex or bleach & water mixture on the trim, but I can't say if it will work or not. You'd want to apply it to a rag and NOT spray it on, because you want to avoid getting it on the paint etc. It may dull the material though, so try it out on a small spot first, or just 1 of the brown spots. If that doesn't work......

You will likely have to refinish the trim with a special paint made for that purpose. SEM and DuPont both make them (among others) but you'd need a spray gun or airbrush and compressor (or compressed air cannister sold at hobby stores for airbrushes etc.).

There is also this; http://www.autoint.com/autostore/pc/...0&idproduct=53

It works, I've used it. It is not a dressing, but a multi-step refinish product.

Outside of that, maybe someone else has some other ideas for you, good luck.

KeysRx300

Thanks for the help. Tried a couple of different things today. The stain will come off. But it will take a lot of work. I will ask around and see what else I can find.

Thanks

Tammy

I cleaned up my window trim with a little "Vinylex" on a small rag. Surprised me!

Guitarman

It sounds like you've got something other than mildew at work there. Mildew won't go away with dressings and normal cleaners etc. Yes, you can cover it up and disguise it, but it's still there and will reappear when the dressing wears away. Mildew gets ingrained IN the material, and not just on the surface.

Some pictures sure would be nice, maybe we could make a better guess as to exactly what you're dealing with. If you've found a way to beat them, well, I guess that's all that matters.

I'm still curious as to the cause though.

KeysRx300

Was able to work on the RX today. Cleaned it up inside and out. I was cleaning the engine compartment. And noticed I have something close to the stain. In the black area just below the front wipers. The area exposed to the sun which is not covered by the hood. Its not so much a stain as it is discolored and faded. Its a larger area than the molding. But it looks about the same as the stain on the molding.

I use Megliars aerosol spray to dress up my tires. So I sprayed some of it on the hood area. And it dressed up the nicely. So I put it on the molding. And it cleaned up. Will see how long it lasts.

My RX sits in the sun all day here in the Keys. Outside of my condo. Its never been garaged. Im sure that it being parked about 20 feet from the Atlantic doesnt help much. When the stain comes back. I will get a picture of it. And post it.

Thanks for the help.