What is this and how do you clean it?

What I am referring to is this residue you often see on window seals and other associated trim:





The car pictured here is a Ford Taurus, but I have seen it on all sorts of cars. I've tried APC on this to no avail...so what is it? Is this a sign of the seal failing, or some sort of built-up residue that can be removed? And if it can be removed, how do you go about doing so? It also seems to appear on painted parts, as you can see in the first picture. I seem to recall someone on here mentioning removing it on a write-up, but I can't for the life of me remember who or what they did to remove it.

Thanks,

Clark

 

I doubt you're gonna lift it. Looks like chemical staining on faded trim. Maybe some cleaner wax?

 

I agree with David. Unfortunately I think your hooped bud.

 

Nothing a little Tremclad and masking tape can't fix

 

I was thinking that it was some form of degradation. That's what I've been telling clients when they ask. However I'm thinking about offering to repaint it (at a price of course lol) just as another service. What kind/brand of paint do you recommend? I see Joey mentioned Tremclad but I've never seen that before...

 

Google black trim paint, there are quite a few different brands of trim paint. Paint is probably the answer to this issue, but first thing I though of was steam.

 

I have this issue on both of my vehicles. You can make it look better by using the black wow brush and some apc. You can apply your favorite dressing after cleaning. It won't solve the issue, but it will improve looks.

IMO, those stains are areas were the finished plastic trim has faded and the rough plastic pores are accumulating dirt (because there's no slick top coat). I also noticed that these stains usually happen in areas were water tends to drain from the roof.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll try some more focused cleaning on those areas to see what I can do. I've noticed that some of the areas are rubber trim, and others are painted black trim. Would both be safe to paint? I would think I should keep any sort of paint off the rubber trim, but I could be wrong if there's paint designed for that. As for the metal trim with the same problem, I would imagine that's safe to paint. I only ask about the paint just in case I get someone who wants the problem dealt with in a more permanent manner, and is willing to pay me to work with that area. Trying to open up more options for my business

 

This discoloration could be weathering bloom, chalking, or chemical attack. Weathering bloom may occur when sealing is inadequate, and the surface of the anodized coating has become etched during weathering. Acidic pollutants in the environment promote this effect.

It may be possible to restore the original appearance by an abrasive cleaning using a light abrasive (P21S Polishing Soap). Coarser abrasives such as sandpaper or steel mesh should be avoided, along with acid or alkaline cleaners, any of which would damage the anodized coating.

After washing surface use Klasse all in one (AIO), for water spots or stubborn stains use with a terry weave towel to increase abrasiveness

 

I saw a post by CEEDOG (Corey) where he cleaned them up using a Flex and polish but I tried once and could not duplicate the results. Given that trim materials vary, I suspect the method may vary.

 

hmmm, I might try the tip with the P21S Polishing Soap...it's something I've got on hand at any rate. My BF's Passat is having this problem too, and sometime this summer I'm gonna attack it with a complete detail, including my first paint correction I'll update with my experiments on the trim.

 

I had something like this on my car. It was the same color. I used tar & bug remover, and a lot of elbow grease - but it worked.

 

I have seen this on loads of cars out my way. For the most part its not something you can remove.
For the hard plastic trim you can just paint that to restore a nicer finish. The rubber covered trims are harder to deal with. I have heard of people using products like PlastiDip to paint those as it is a rubbery paint.