I know Diamondbrite paint protection isn't very popular amongst the regulars here, but we do have a problem with our black vinyl arches etc., which I'm hoping someone can help with.
We recently bought some "Replenish" black vinyl/plastic/tyre wall treatment product from Jewelultra. We used a fair bit of their products including a scratchX and rainX equivalent product. So far everything we've used of theirs has been first class. Been a very happy customer so far.
The replenish product went on great and gave our arches that "just wet" look we all desire. However after it had been on for a few weeks, after washing or a heavy rain spell, we noticed our arches were turning a nasty shade of white - like the car was actually 20 years old, not 4 months old.
So I called Diamondbrite and spoke to the Scottish Regional manager. His explanation is as follows:
At some point our vehicle has been waxed with a silicone based wax. (This must have been during preparation at Menzies because we don't even possess any wax products - been diamondbrite fans for years). The silicone in this wax embeds itself in the porous surface of the black arches and is very difficult to get out. ANY product we put on top of this silicone will look ok at first, then eventually turn the nasty shade of white we are seeing.
His advice for removal is as follows:
Scrub with a soft brush with a detergent like fairy, rinse off and allow to dry naturally. The scrubbing will bring the silicone to the surface and the natural drying will allow evaporation of the silicone. he said we may need to repeat this process for a couple of weeks to get rid of it completely.
Apparently if you use a silicone wax on your car (especially the black vinyl) it is very difficult to remove.
We've done what he suggested today, but needless to say our arches look frikking awful, having to dry naturally. All spotty and streaky. If this will definitely work, we can suffer this for a couple of weeks, but we'd rather go for a fix that will fix quicker if there is one.
One idea we did have was what Mark (VintageB3) has done with his arches in this thread. But will this get rid of the silicone wax left behind? Is this wax not just the normal wax spilled over from a normal waxing of the car? Or is this a silicone based wax he was trying to remove?
Mark, or anyone with info on this would be appreciated.
A.