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I don't usually do product recommendations (wait a minute....I AM a "marketing & sales professional"), but I was truly impressed by the results! It's called Restore Black by BONDO. I bought a box of it at Walmart last summer since it was on clearance for $5. It sat in my garage all winter, so I figured it froze and was no good, but I tried it anyway. It is a very thick gel and comes with a very nice foam applicator. I washed the bumpers with soap & water and dried them first. Then, I wiped them down with Prep-All wax & grease remover. All you do is squirt out some of the gel on the foam pad & wipe it across the surface. The foam conforms to the bumper contours well and the gel applies super smooth & even with no runs. It dries in a matter of minutes, as the plastic absorbs the stain. I expected to have light & dark areas where my strokes overlapped and to be able to see brush strokes. It only took about 5 minutes to do the rear bumper, but when it all dried, the color was nice and smooth and even.
My bumper was pretty faded and looked a very light gray color (almost silver). After just one coat, it now has a very dark charcoal color like factory new. The more coats you apply, the darker it gets, so it is possible to get them a true black if you so desire. Personally, I prefer the factory dark charcoal to contrast with my black mudflaps and mid-hatch spoiler. I never expected a long lasting dye to be this simple to apply, have these results AND be this inexpensive! Much easier & cheaper than painting them. And now the best part: Clean up is with water! if you get any on your paint or hands, just wipe it off with a damp paper towel. I dropped a big glob on the driveway and just sprayed it with the garden hose and it disappeared. Surprisingly, however, once the dye is on the plastic for a few minutes it soaks in and water will not effect it. In fact, I accidentally got water spray on my bumper when I was cleaning out the foam applicator and I freaked! I dried it off with a paper towel and to my surprise there was no color that came off onto the white paper towel!
Below is a picture of the product. The regular price at WalMart is about $9.00 and there is enough to do multiple coats on both bumpers.....and STILL have enough left to do 4 or 5 more Festivas. Also included is a link to another thread that has "before", "after" and "months later" pictures. My results were just as dramatic. I plan on posting my own pics when I get my '93L all cleaned up.
My bumper was pretty faded and looked a very light gray color (almost silver). After just one coat, it now has a very dark charcoal color like factory new. The more coats you apply, the darker it gets, so it is possible to get them a true black if you so desire. Personally, I prefer the factory dark charcoal to contrast with my black mudflaps and mid-hatch spoiler. I never expected a long lasting dye to be this simple to apply, have these results AND be this inexpensive! Much easier & cheaper than painting them. And now the best part: Clean up is with water! if you get any on your paint or hands, just wipe it off with a damp paper towel. I dropped a big glob on the driveway and just sprayed it with the garden hose and it disappeared. Surprisingly, however, once the dye is on the plastic for a few minutes it soaks in and water will not effect it. In fact, I accidentally got water spray on my bumper when I was cleaning out the foam applicator and I freaked! I dried it off with a paper towel and to my surprise there was no color that came off onto the white paper towel!
Below is a picture of the product. The regular price at WalMart is about $9.00 and there is enough to do multiple coats on both bumpers.....and STILL have enough left to do 4 or 5 more Festivas. Also included is a link to another thread that has "before", "after" and "months later" pictures. My results were just as dramatic. I plan on posting my own pics when I get my '93L all cleaned up.
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