Ideas on how to bring life back to a Clio 172 front grills?

[RSZWEI]

All the black plastic grills on the front of the 172 seem to have faded, any idea how to bring them back to live?

 

[The Russian.]

The 3 R's process.

Remove
Respray
Replace.

Satin black is the more preferred option, use the search bar and it will bring quite a few threads up.

 

[Yellow Dave]

Scrub them with an all purpose cleaner. Then dress them with something like autofinesse revive as a non permanent fix, or wipe down with panel wipe as well then dress with GTechniq C4 for a more permanent fix

 

[ThomasBrentnall]

Scrub them with an all purpose cleaner. Then dress them with something like autofinesse revive as a non permanent fix, or wipe down with panel wipe as well then dress with GTechniq C4 for a more permanent fix

Typically, how long does C4 last?

I'm undecided if to spray mine or use C4.

 

[Bluebeard]

I took mine off on the weekend. Washed it down with hot fairy liquid and water, left overnight to dry properly, painted with a can of satin black... Looks brand new!

 

[Yellow Dave]

On my car so far almost 2 years.

If you spray them, you will still ideally need to protect them, so if a good scrub will bring the colour back to life why bother painting them and be prone to stone chipping.

 

[ThomasBrentnall]

Ill give some C4 a go then! Where is the best/cheapest place to buy it from? and have you got any before/afters of yours?

Cheers

 

[JD]

DIY spraying will @Chip-mk1 within a few hundred miles. It's never going to be a long term fix and will actually look worse.

As above, C4 and decent prep is the way to go. Buy it from GTechniq direct or places like Clean Your Car. You get a 7.5% discount if you register for an account with GT, from memory. PREP IS KEY.

I've not got before and afters, but there is a cracking Porsche video on the site.

 

[JD]

http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/exterior-coatings/c4-permanent-trim-restorer/

 

[Bluebeard]

Whilst I agree with the chipping comments, and I'd not usually paint anything on a car unless its a last resort, the front grills on 172/182s goes blue instead of the usual faded black. All you do with any form of restorer is make it shiny blue instead of mat blue. IME.

 

[JD]

Whilst I agree with the chipping comments, and I'd not usually paint anything on a car unless its a last resort, the front grills on 172/182s goes blue instead of the usual faded black. All you do with any form of restorer is make it shiny blue instead of mat blue. IME.

That I didn't know. Bizarre! Fecking Renault.

 

[JD]

To be fair, aren't these about £35 from the Stealers? I'd buy a new one if you're that bothered. Then protect it. But not always cost effective or viable in NZ!

 

[Yellow Dave]

isn't the RS grille painted as standard now I think about it and not natural plastic finish?

 

[MatthewR]

To be fair, aren't these about £35 from the Stealers? I'd buy a new one if you're that bothered. Then protect it. But not always cost effective or viable in NZ!

I Paid £56 new last year.

Its up for sale however so if anyone is in need of a mint condition one pm me!

 

[RSZWEI]

Here is what one of the grills looks like:

I would think that the New Zealand sun is harsher than that in the UK or Europe.

 

[Mr Plums]

Whilst I agree with the chipping comments, and I'd not usually paint anything on a car unless its a last resort, the front grills on 172/182s goes blue instead of the usual faded black. All you do with any form of restorer is make it shiny blue instead of mat blue. IME.

+1

If it does chip, when it gets noticeably bad, take off, sand chips, respray.

I did mine again the other week, it took about an hr, spraying the grills is one of the best mods to make your car look newer/fresher/cleaner imo.

Gloss black

 

[mike.s_182]

When I had my 182 I had all grills painted gloss black. Looked so much cleaner and I had it for 2.5 years with no problems

 

[npt]

i've heard off people using a heat gun to get them back to original colour then keep it treated, aint done it but sure something would be on youtube

 

[npt]

If it does chip, when it gets noticeably bad, take off, sand chips, respray.

I did mine again the other week, it took about an hr, spraying the grills is one of the best mods to make your car look newer/fresher/cleaner imo.


where do you get these number plates in that size, any links?

Gloss black

[/QUOTE]

 

[Adamm.]

Spray if you want it to look s**t within 12 months, clean dry and use some decent trim restorer to make it look decent.

Edit, didn't read the thread fail lol.

 

[Bobby.]

I found a very light spray of Matt black restored mine perfectly and haven't faded since doing them four months or so ago.

As long as you don't give them a thick coat they can't/won't chip.