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Did a little bit of resto work on DD recently. Her plastic door trims and sills were looking faded and patchy (as all car trim goes over time) so decided it was time to do something about it. Normally just put back to black on them once shes been washed, but the effect only lasts a few days so wanted a more permanent solution. Had seen videos of folk using heat guns/blow torches and it's meant to make them like new again. Thought, right, lets give it a bash!

Had the heat gun on a low heat and took my time with it...

Heat gun at the ready!

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_heat_gun_ready.jpg

 

Drivers door trim done, can see the difference compared to the wee bit trim on the front wing which hasn't been done.

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_close-up2_before_wee_wing_trim_done.jpg

 

And after..

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_close-up.jpg

 

Drivers door (done) compared to rear door (not done)

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_comparison-back-door-trim-not-restored.jpg

 

All done including the sills

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_3.jpg

 

DD_plastic_trim_revived_Honda_Civic_Aerodeck_MC1_2.jpg

 

Wee photo of DD and Poppy together

DD_and_Poppy_Honda_Civic_MC1_Aerodeck_1999_and_2006_Mini_CooperS_Convertible_R52.jpg

 

Really impressed with how they turned out. A week later, and they still look like that so going to give them another wee go over with the gun then maybe seal it with silicon spray. Has made a big difference to how she looks as she's now dirty again but trims look good!

 

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That looks like it's worked really well mate.. Do you have to mask anything off, or is the heat low enough for it not to matter? 

 

What's the theory, is it something to do with the oils in the plastic? 

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11 hours ago, dr_broon said:

That looks like it's worked really well mate.. Do you have to mask anything off, or is the heat low enough for it not to matter? 

 

What's the theory, is it something to do with the oils in the plastic? 

No masking required although I was initially going to mask it. Just got to be carefull, don't keep the gun concentrated on one area for too long. I used the flat narrow tip for the gun so more controlable where the heat goes, and had the gun around 10cm's away from the panel. Basically start at one end, pointing the heat gun at the one section for no more than 2 to 5 seconds then move along the part slowly, so it's spending 2 to 5 seconds heating the bit that's in front of it. I had the tip horizontal, so it was only really heating the plastic, not the paint (although some heat obviously transfers as it's blown over the plastic). I moved the gun slightly up and down towards the edges of the trim as I moved along it. I did 3 passes over the trim like this, then stopped to let the trim cool down and also let the gun cool down. Once gun has cooled down, move to next bit of trim. Once all are done, go back to the start and do it again. Think in total I did 9 passes over the trim (with the stops as mentioned above) and it came out really well. Like I say, just got to be careful and methodical with the movement.

 

And your spot on mate, the theory from what I've read/watched is that the natural oils and dyes in the plastic move from within it back to the surface, which leaves it looking like new again. Highly recommend it! Going to give DD's one final pass, then might do poppy's arches/kit (although it's still pretty black tbh).

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Nice one. Fresh plastics make such a difference to the look of the car. 

 

I've been using gummi pflege on the deck, and it's amazing how good it works.. It's mainly meant to revive and protect rubber seals, but it works on plastics great as well. Makes them look new rather than that weird look you get with back to black. 

 

https://www.micksgarage.com/d/dash-rubber-and-plastics/products/2517984/gummi-pflege-stift-100ml

 

Did it the last time I cleaned the old girl.. 

 

IMG_20220528_192732.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Sooooo, with DD off the road now for the past couple of months (MOT ran out and abs light has been on for a while) decided to get working on her.

Used the Civic5 ABS guide and found it was throwing code 15 which is RR sensor. Funnily enough, this is the one I suspected as I had her at the garage a while back to get new rear discs/pads fitted that I'd bought. I couldn't get the caliper bracket bolts out on that side when I was fitting them myself so had to get garage to do it. When we got her back, all was fine until a week later the ABS light of doom came on, so guessing they had either disturbed something/poss damaged it while getting the bolts out.

Anyhoo, moving forward I got the old one off (she fought me every step of the way! Most bolts holding the sensor cables in place either rounded off or sheared (or both!). Once off, tested it with my multimeter which showed zero resistance so indeed gubbed. ordered a new one, and got it fitted in place (Cable tied at one bit due to still needing to sort out the sheared bolts). Fired her up, bloody abs light still on! Did the whole code thing again, and now showing codes 15 and also 17 now which is RR sensor and LR sensor. Thought what the?? Tested both sensors in situ, both gave correct ohms readings. Looked at the fault codes again and it also states it could also be short/no power to sensors. Unplugged em at rear, checked with meter and 4.5 volts there. Not sure what it's meant to be, still trying to find that out. But least I know some kind of power getting there. Plugged it all back in then went and pulled the fuse for the ecu to make sure the memory is cleared. 

Ignition on, abs light went off!! Started her up, it stayed off for about a minute then came back on again!! Still same two codes.  Decided to pull the ecu fuse again and leave it out for 10 mins. Fuse back in, ABS light now going off as normal and staying off. Not sure if it's fixed or not as need to get her back onto her wheels and test drive. If ok, think it may have been a dodgy connection for the second fault. No light on now so that'll do for me!

Only pic I have is of comparing the old/new ABS sensor. Cost £44 delivered so well happy (even if it did take a week and a half to come). Big diff to the last one replaced (think it was £200 from Honda!)

Old one

ABS sensor 1.jpg

 

And the old/new comparison

old-new-abs-sensor-honda-civic-mc1-aerodeck.jpg

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Got it from https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/57470st3800 They seem pretty good parts wise, although not sure why so many to choose from and diff prices lol. To think, we used to only be able to by one type, for one rip off price from Honda! Now we have all these to choose from lol. Only thing I will say is their delivery times are pants. that's about a week and a half for it to come. 

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I've always been wary of them (and all the other websites that seem to be the same) - think they're based in Germany or something. 

Good that you had a good experience though... Might be more tempted to try them next time. 

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