Gtechniq - C4 Permanent Trim Restorer - Restores Faded Trim to New Condition; Exceptionally Thin Optically Clear Film, Protective Durable Coating for Up to 2 Years (30 milliliters)

We’re selling our 2002 Ford Explorer Sport, a car that has a ridiculous number of large plastic body parts. After so many years, all that plastic looks really faded, streaky and tired – a terrible first impression for a solid car. After researching products here on Amazon and combining that with my personal car detailing experiences, I decided to look for a true plastic restoration product. I was tired of the polishes and oils and acrylic sealers that have to be reapplied so frequently. I chanced on this product from a YouTube video, and I’m so glad I did! It’s simply extraordinary... the pictures I've attached really don’t do it justice.As several reviewers have mentioned, you have to put some time into preparing the plastic body parts. The instructions list a bunch of exotic products that Gtechniq sells ($$$) for the task, but you can improvise save some money. For example, I had already tested another unsatisfactory product on the front bumper, so I needed to fully remove the remnants of that product. To do this, I just grabbed what I had in the garage:1) scrubbed the bumper with GoJo (the hand cleaner) and a stiff bathtub scrub brush. I used GoJo because it cuts through almost anything, especially oils. It also has pumice to help in the scrubbing action and it rinses well with water (honestly, the main reason I reached for this is because I have a gallon dispenser of it in the garage). I used this only for the front bumper, to thoroughly remove the earlier product.2) thorough hose rinse with hard spray (and a quick dry by using my leaf blower... a trick I picked up in an Amazon review).- - from here all the plastic surfaces got the following treatment - -3) thorough scrub wash with Dawn detergent. I typically only use Meguiars soap on the painted surfaces, but Dawn is an aggressive oil-fighter, so I chose that for this task.4) another thorough rinse and blow dry (drying at each stage lets you evaluate whether you've gone far enough with the cleaning).5) a spray of denatured alcohol wiped down with a cheap microfiber. Buy a gallon of alcohol at a hardware store and put it in a large spray bottle. Cheap and effective as a final rinse. The alcohol evaporates pretty quickly, so by the time you work your way around the car, your starting point should be dry and ready to go.That's it! Nothing exotic, and not really much work, even with the ridiculous expanse of plastic I was working with (just glad I don't have a Ridgeline).Now the application of the C4. This part goes quite fast, and you're instantly rewarded with watching your plastics come back to life, so it's anything but dreary. The idea is to put a very thin, even layer on, which is easily done with the supplied pads. No need to go heavy – in fact the full instruction sheet warns that thicker coverage may crystallize and result in a chalkiness.You spread on a thin coat, making sure it’s even, and then wipe it down lightly with a microfiber (again, use a cheap one for this... one you can throw away). This light wipe down is to even the coat further and lift off any excess... you’re instructed to wait no longer than 5 minutes to do this, so if you have large surfaces like mine you’ll have to work in small sections. It’s easy to feather the edges during the wipe-down, and no problem blending smaller sections. The process overall seems very forgiving.I would advise doing all this in the shade and on a cool morning. This should give the coating a chance to fully cure before any rain or evening dew. I would NOT advise doing this in a garage unless you have fans and good ventilation – this stuff gives off strong chemical fumes that don’t feel healthy. If it were a U.S. product (it’s from the U.K.) I’m sure it would have the typical warnings for folks in California :) I didn't find any actual cure time in the instructions, but I did get some Windex and soap on one surface after about 4 hours and didn't notice any ill effect.For the Explorer Sport, I bought the 30ml bottle. Even that wasn’t enough to do all the (ridiculously large) body panels, but I think I was not "stretching" the material far enough at first – it goes against your intuition to push a finish so far. After awhile I could sense when I had enough on the surface, and the material went further. After I ran out of C4 I finished up with the highly regarded Car Guys Plastic Restorer, which is good stuff, but I could easily tell that these are two completely different products: Car Guys is more of a wax or polish, Gtechniq C4 is a true coating... more of a matte clearcoat.It’s expensive. It takes awhile to be delivered. It’s takes a bit of prep work. But what it does is truly unbelievable... and it’s supposed to last “up to” 2 years. Others are saying it lasts at least a year, which is fantastic. Check my photos – the first one is a bit overexposed so you don't see the difference as clearly as it was in real life. The second shows the finished bumper, the third shows the side panels. In all, a ridiculous amount of plastic... did I mention that?BTW, those headlights were an opaque yellow mess... I used the 3M 39008 restoration system to make them look that good. And finished with the Meguiars UV headlight coating. Just an amazing combo.

This stuff did an amazing job of restoring the faded black on my son’s 2019 ford ranger. Everything looks new again. Not sure how long it will last, but I will add again if needed in the future. Great product.

I used this about 2 1/2 years ago and my trim still looks good. It's expensive for the amount you get but1/2 bottle did my entire car. It was easy to apply and has lasted a very long time. Worth the money.

This product is amazing. Brought back the oxidize trim to new condition. Would highly recommend this product.

Good product. Easy to apply. Works good, restored the plastic trim real well but didn’t last as long as I expected. Looks good for about 3 months. Definitely better than any other product I’ve tried. A little expensive. I would buy it again

This did great on older weather withered plastic bumpers. I used this a month ago and still looks great.

I’ve had it on my Cherokee, 2015, for 5 or so months. It is still excellent. Highly recommend.

Product looks awesome when you first put it on. I mean it looks almost showroom. However: starts to fade in the sun. Not bad but noticeable from when it first goes on. But don’t let it get wet. Product spots badly. Won’t wipe off. Check photos and you’ll see what I mean. So I warn you off this product.

Funciona muy bien

No cubre, abrillanta menos que los productos comerciales del tipo y mas baratos, es un fraude