Restore rubber trim in five minutes!
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:57 pm
I did some prep work on my 09 vibe before having it painted and accidentally learned a new trick. If you have oxidized or grey rubber trim (mine was really bad around the rear quarter windows), you can hit it with a strong solvent like acetone or lacquer thinner and a scotchbrite pad to quickly remove all the pitting, then polish with a blue shop towel soaked in solvent. After the solvent dries the rubber will look like it just came from the factory, and it will even look a little better after you rub some silicone grease into it. Putting a harsh solvent like that onto rubber is pretty scary the first time, but after figuring it out I've restored all my rubber trim and door seals and they look great.