Lexucan

The wood trim 'round my gear shift has looked pretty old and hazy since I bought the car 5 years ago. Just the long-term effects of being exposed to the sun over the last 17 years, I guess. I'd tried interior detailing sprays, furniture polishes, various protectants, even carnouba wax, but nothing would take away the haze in the varnish, or whatever the clear coating is over the wood. So, while at a detailing shop today to pick up some supplies, I asked the shop owner, Ken, what he thought I could do to try to bring the trim back to life. He took one look at it and disappeared into his shop and then reappeared with a small bottle of Menzerna Power Finish PO203 and rubbed a bit into the wood for 20 seconds and then buffed it off. HOLY CRAP! The haze started to vanish before my very eyes!
So, I bought a bottle of this miracle product and took it home to complete the job. It took me about an hour of steady rubbing and buffing, and more rubbing and buffing, one little section at a time, but man, did it do wonders for my trim! It looks brand spanking new again!!
This crappy photo doesn't do it justice (it looks 100% better in person) but check it out! And the surface is as smoooooth as glass! So, any of you older ES guys (or should I say guys with older ES's ) who've been wondering what to use to revitalize your wood trim, this stuff REALLY WORKS!!!

charley240

iTrader: (6)

good job man, this will come in handy shortly.
Charley

ES3_Ray

yeah man, really any polish will do the job, even meguiars plast-x will work. you could do an even better job if you pop them out to really get them shining!

nice job!!

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Menzerna makes great polishing products. I use them extensively for my details

Lexucan

Yeah, Menz is well respected in the detailing world, but I never realized a polish formulated for paint correction work could also be so effective at totally revitalizing the interior trim.
Here's a better shot of the reflective mirror-like finish on what was until yesterday, a pretty dull and hazy piece of wood trim. The wrinkled looking lighter reflection is the back side of my windshield sunshade. The reflections at the top of the pic are my radio buttons...this just amazes me!

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for showing this, I gotta try it! Just curious, do you have any before pics of the wood just as a comparison? I want to know how bad your trim was compared to mine and how much of an improvement it was.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

I will now be trying this with some plast-x and post before/after's once i get to it!

Lexucan

Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a before pic cuz I wasn't expecting such a dramatic improvement. But, I can guarantee you that before I used the Menz polish, there was virtually no noticeable reflections in the wood because of all the haze. Now the surface feels as smooth as glass and reflects light like crazy. If you try it, I think you'll be equally impressed with the results.

Lexucan

GL with the Plast-X but I doubt that it has enough cutting potential to achieve the same results. Hope you can prove me wrong.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

I bet this was Ken @ Autowerkes Exclusive isn't it? haha. If it is, tell him Isaac from the states says hello

Lexucan

It was indeed! Great guy. Lucky for me, Ken's shop is only a half hour drive away. I guess for you, it would take a lil longer LOL

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

we'll see. I don't see it bearing that much of a difference, since these pieces are cleared/varnished = same **** as a plastic trim piece.

Whatever, results will show!

03 ES

sick!
i've been wondering what i could use to get the haze out of the wood trim in my 4ES since it has TONS of wood and most of it has a hazy look to it

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Nice! Small world up north haha. Are you considering protecting the surface after you polish it? I'd probably cover it with a wax just in case of future liquid spills and whatnot

Lexucan

Yeah, that's a good suggestion, thanks. But heaven help anyone who spills anything in my ES!