Auto Detailing Guide - Exterior Trim Care

Trim Care Overview
Frequency
How-To
Facts and Tips

Trim Care Overview (Return to Top)

Your exterior trim is constantly exposed to the elements, but also products you use while detailing. There is no bigger eye sore than to see a freshly detailed vehicle with old wax stains on the trim. Your trim needs to be properly cleaned and protected regularly so that you keep it looking new and create a sharp contrast between your paint and trim. Believe it or not, it's the small details like this that make a good looking detail an outstanding one.

Frequency (Return to Top)

If you maintain your vehicle on a regular basis (every 1 to 2 weeks), it shouldn't be difficult to keep up with protecting your exterior trim. Depending on the conditions that your vehicle is exposed to, we recommend reapplying your UV protection every month or two.

How-To Treat Trim (Return to Top)

Caring for your trim consists of two steps, properly prepping the trim and protecting it. During your normal wash and dry, chances are you'll remove a majority of the contamination from your trim, but before dressing it, you want to take it one step further to get the most durability out of your protection. It's best to degrease your trim prior to protecting it so that you remove embedded contamination, old wax, and old dressing. One of the best degreasers which is safe on any surface is P21S Total Auto Wash. We recommend misting this onto a microfiber towel and rubbing the trim using some pressure. Another technique is to mist the product onto the trim and using a soft to medium bristled brush, scrub the trim. On textured trim, it is nice to use a brush to get into all of the cracks of the trim, which really helps make it stand out. If you don't have access to a degreaser, using some isopropyl alcohol can work well at prepping most trim.

After prepping the trim, you will want to dress and protect it to make maintaining it easier as well as protect it from UV fading. One of the best UV protectants out there is 303 Aerospace Protectant. Simply mist it onto an applicator pad or microfiber towel and wipe your trim. You want to apply your dressings as thin as possible. If you want a new matte finish, take a clean, dry towel and buff the dressing into your trim. If you want more of a gloss, apply a second or third coat and do not buff it to a matte finish.

Some products such as Optimum Protectant Plus and Poorboy's Natural Look will clean and UV protect most trim pieces in one step. This is a great time and money saver since you only need to buy one product and you can kill two birds with one stone. These products also work great on your interior rubber, vinyl, plastic and leather surfaces. Applying them is pretty straight forward. Mist them into a microfiber towel and work it into your trim using light pressure. For neglected trim, you can use a brush for deeper cleaning action.

Neglected trim should be restored by using a product such as Poorboy's Trim Restorer Properly clean and prep the trim to get the most out of any trim restoration product. Pour a little product onto a foam applicator pad and work it into the trim using some pressure. Using multiple thin coats is always more effective than one thick coat.

Facts and Tips (Return to Top)

Having properly cleaned and dressed trim creates more contrast with your paint
For best results, degrease your trim prior to applying a dressing
Make sure you are using a dressing that provides UV protection to prevent fading
Using a brush can help provide a deeper clean to your trim pieces
Old wax build up can be removed with a degreaser, isopropyl alcohol or even peanut butter