http://www.flickr.com/photos/31853165@N06/5080074677/

Hey guys, this is my first time on here...but I JUST bought this 2004 s60 volvo. It is used, but not that bad at all. ONE thing besides tinting the windows, would be fixing the GRAYYY moldings. I looked up buying new ones and just replacing them all, but that seriously could get past $500....

I was wondering, has anyone ever PAINTED theirs? Or what have you done to fix them and get them back to black?? I really want to fix them, it's already driving me crazy. Whoever has good ideas or has done things to really help their moldings, lemme know!

Thanks!!

 

Armour All.....it will bring them back from gray to black, it may take you several time of doing it. I had the same problem and I used armour all and they look brand new...you will have to reapply the armour all when you wash the car or it rains....I reapplied to my car about every 2 weeks for the last 2 months and now they are maintaining the black color and not the faded gray that it once had....I hope this helps...let us know how you make out!

 

Alissa - your flickr link was shown as private for me, but I assume you're talking about plastic trim. I found the best product that works for me is 303 Aerospace Protectant
It provides longer protection and does not dry out the material.

 

Better than Armor all or 303 is shoe dye. Go to Wal Mart and get a bottle of KIWI black shoe dye, not polish, but dye. it has a sponge applicator and will blacken them up nicely. You might have to do two coats but they'll last for 2-3 years. Make sure you have a rag handy to wipe off the excess that might get on the paint. Easy fix and well worth the $3 is costs for the dye.

 

I did all the plastic on the entire car with this stuff, from the trunk upper and lower panels to the running boards to the fender wells. I used less than half of a 4oz bottle to do all this and still have an extra two bottles for the future and other cars. It goes a long ways and is easy to apply, absorbs right into the trim but wipes right off the car if you miss. It is like a huge felt marker and works wonders.

Before:


After:

 

Thank you everyone!! I'll definitely think about what would work best for me...I really appreciate the replies!

 

I just did this on my 854R. I used Black bumper trim spray paint. It tool a little longer cause I removed the trim from the car but the outcome is great, and won't fade like the back to black or any other dyes. Cost was in the $5 dollar range, and took a few hours to remove the trim, paint, dry, reinstall.

Here are some side by side shots of the trim before and after.

 

that looks nice, but how did you do the rest of the molding on the car i.e. the bumpers and the underneath parts????? I am sure you did not remove those parts of the molding did you???? looks good but 2 time consuming, go with the armour all or the 303 or the shoe dye, it will do the trick just fine

 

The 850's lower trim is already painted to match so I didn't have to mess with that at all.

I sure did remove the front and rear bumpers. The Rivets are a bit more time consuming but worth the effort in the end. Once I removed the bumpers I just taped off the trim and sprayed it still attached to the bumper covers. I replaced the rivets with bolts and nuts for ease of installation.

The sideskirts really aren't all that hard to remove on the S60's either. There are rivets on the ends and plastic clips along the bottom. If anybody's interested, I have the directions for removal and installation of the sideskirts.

You are right though, the dye's will do the trick just fine, but as a temporary solution. You want permanent, you gotta paint.

On a side thought, have you given any thought to painting the trim to match the car? It'll make your car look newer ('05+) and much cleaner. IMHO the black plastic trim kinda cheapens the look of the car.