Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer G16910 aims to fix one of the age-old problems with vehicles that have black plastic trim, particularly in larger pieces. These pieces fade and start to turn medium to light gray which completely destroys the look of the vehicle.
I have in the past tried a lot of different products to fix this problem and have even heard of people resorting to black spray paint. I have even used Meguiar’s Black Plastic Restorer G15812 (hereafter called simply G15) which is used as wax. The problem is that most products tend to either fade or wear off very rapidly, sometimes in as little as hours. Some products don’t actually restore the black but are nothing more than a black plastic cleaner. I find this superior to Meguiars back to black, Forever Black, and Car Guys Plastic Restorer among others.
The Meguiar’s Black Plastic Restorer G15 product, for example, looks really nice when it is applied, but within a day or two starts to look faded. It also tends to attract dust and dirt a little too much for my liking. If however, you plan on using this for a vehicle at a car show or for one to be put on a showroom floor, then that product might be a better choice as it is faster to apply, leaves a glossier finish, and can be more accurately applied.
On the other hand, if you want something that goes on easy, lasts for weeks with no maintenance required, and then starts to fade slowly, the Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer G16910 is your product.
So how is the Meguiar’s Black Ultimate Plastic Restorer G16910 product different?
Other products try to wax, clean, or put an oil like coating on the black. Think of the meguiars ultimate black plastic restorer spray more like a smoke-colored Plasti Dip. Indeed if you get it on your paint or windshield, the black plastic restorer leaves a slightly tinted coating that looks pretty bad.
This leads me to the downside of this product which is that you need to be very careful when applying it and might even consider masking off areas around the glass.
Now let’s say you don’t mask off the area and need to remove it off the glass, I find a green scrubby sponge works very well at removing it quickly and easily. As for paint, you can use a rag and standard cleaner but it will require some elbow grease. Fortunately, the overspray is far more visible on the glass than on the paint, even white paint.
It isn’t just bad looking on the glass, it really messes with the windshield wipers as they hit it, causing them to stutter like mad as they try to stick to it instead of sliding over the smooth glass.
The other bad side of the Meguiar’s Black Ultimate Plastic Restorer is the cost, just under $9 a can from online vendors. When it takes virtually an entire can to do the car that is a little pricey compared to the $7 a bottle for the G15 version which can do an entire car using less than a quarter of the bottle. I suppose you are paying more for how long it lasts on the car than how much it initially covers, which makes sense if you think about it.
Not only does it last longer, and picks up less dirt, but it also is far easier to apply. Simply spray it onto the plastic and allow it to dry a few minutes, done. It might take you a time or two to get even coats with no runs but with just a little practice you will have your black trim looking showroom new in no time.
My personal method of application is to have a piece of cardboard about ten to twelve inches long, and about six inches wide. I hold this against the paint or glass that I do not want to be sprayed and move it as I move the can. This gives me a pretty nice edge and keeps the majority of the product off paint and glass. I do have to watch out for dripping off the cardboard onto the paint or glass however so I typically use a shop towel to wipe off the cardboard when it looks like it is starting to drip.
I should note that the product works best on trim that is in good shape to start with. For example, it makes Buster’s trim look far better than Lola’s simply because Lola’s trim was neglected and has faded to a light-medium gray whereas Buster’s has been pampered since new. Lola’s still looks far better after using Meguiar’s Black Ultimate Plastic Restorer and before, but it does not look like new, it just looks way better. Lola’s also starts to look worse faster, simply because it looks worst to start with.
Since this is a spray coating over your trim, I think it is probably also the best car trim protectant you can get. A wax or oil type cleaner offers no real protection and just wears off. This actually puts on a protective barrier which protects against dust, dirt, and other abrasives. I can say that since I have been using this on Buster for several years now, and I bought Buster new, his black trim looks remarkably good even going on six years old. While I can not say for sure, I give a good portion of the credit to this black plastic restorer for the excellent condition of the black trim.
My overall rating for Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Restorer G16 is four stars. I am subtracting one star because it is easy to overspray, does tend to run if you do not use light enough coats while letting it dry between coats, and does tend to get used up very fast. Even with that, it is the best product I have found so far for returning your black trim back to the nice shiny black it was when you bought the vehicle.
I hope you enjoyed my review of Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer!
