Rear Honeycomb Diffuser

[MocaST]

Hello everyone, it's a pleasure to be a part of this forum and I appreciate everyone having me.

The rear diffuser/valance (if I'm referring to it correctly) on my car is quite weathered. My ST is Magnetic Metallic and with the specific part of the bumper being weathered to the point of a light grey it has no contrast. I am aware of using a "Back to Black" product but don't want to go that route due to having to reapply on a regular basis. Should I get a good Matte Black spray paint and throw a few coats on it? Or would my best route be buying a new one completely? (Honeycomb Portion). I've done some digging and can't seem to find an OEM replacement part number or part. Any advice/input would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Ford ST]

I can't believe I'm saying this but the wipe new product that used to be advertised on TV all the time actually works really well.
I would not use spray paint. If you look on Amazon they make dyes for faded plastic I've never used it, but there's plenty of reviews.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[green_henry]

Chemical Guys' Blue Guard has worked well for me.

 

[MocaST]

I can't believe I'm saying this but the wipe new product that used to be advertised on TV all the time actually works really well.
I would not use spray paint. If you look on Amazon they make dyes for faded plastic I've never used it, but there's plenty of reviews.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

I would have never thought to consider Wipe New! That's a great idea, it's supposed to last a long time once you do an application. I'll check out some dyes as well. Thanks for the quick response!

 

[MocaST]

Chemical Guys' Blue Guard has worked well for me.

Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check it out! Have you had to apply on a regular basis to keep it looking sharp or does it last a while?

 

[green_henry]

Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check it out! Have you had to apply on a regular basis to keep it looking sharp or does it last a while?

If you want to maintain the shine, you will need to reapply it (which is really easy because it comes in a spray bottle). The shine was less important to me than keeping it black vs grey, and it's done that well so far.

 

[MocaST]

If you want to maintain the shine, you will need to reapply it (which is really easy because it comes in a spray bottle). The shine was less important to me than keeping it black vs grey, and it's done that well so far.

Sounds good to me. Yeah I don't care for it to shine, I agree with you. Black vs grey all day! The spray bottle aspect is a big plus, that honeycomb would be a pain to wipe a product on. Do you do any taping to prevent from getting over spray on other parts of your car?

 

[green_henry]

Sounds good to me. Yeah I don't care for it to shine, I agree with you. Black vs grey all day! The spray bottle aspect is a big plus, that honeycomb would be a pain to wipe a product on. Do you do any taping to prevent from getting over spray on other parts of your car?

It's hand pump (non-aerosol), so it's easy to control the flow and spray pattern. I use the same stuff on my tires.

 

[MocaST]

T

It's hand pump (non-aerosol), so it's easy to control the flow and spray pattern. I use the same stuff on my tires.

Thats perfect. I'll most likely be going with this. Does it have to be ordered online or can I pick some up from a local parts store?

 

[green_henry]

T
Thats perfect. I'll most likely be going with this. Does it have to be ordered online or can I pick some up from a local parts store?

Online or https://www.chemicalguys.com/storelocator?showMap=true&horizontalView=true&isForm=true

Mountune carries a lot of their stuff, too

 

[MocaST]

Online or https://www.chemicalguys.com/storelocator?showMap=true&horizontalView=true&isForm=true

Mountune carries a lot of their stuff, too

Thanks man👍🏻

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Shin Etsu grease (Honda branded I think) does a good job of rejuvenating silicone and rubber seals, and has rejuvenated some plastics I’ve tried. It’s silicone grease so it’s kinda messy, but it’s good to have for door seals and stuff (use it once a year and they’ll never dry and crAck). I’ve brought back some sun weathered motorcycle plastics with it. Might be worth a shot since a 10+ year supply is only like 12 bucks. Test an inconspicuous spot - rub it on and let it sit for a few hours, then clean it off and see if the plastics are “back”. It can re-flexify some brittle/dry plastics. Mosquito repellent with deet can work wonders on some other plastics too (foggy headlights!)

 

[MocaST]

Shin Etsu grease (Honda branded I think) does a good job of rejuvenating silicone and rubber seals, and has rejuvenated some plastics I’ve tried. It’s silicone grease so it’s kinda messy, but it’s good to have for door seals and stuff (use it once a year and they’ll never dry and crAck). I’ve brought back some sun weathered motorcycle plastics with it. Might be worth a shot since a 10+ year supply is only like 12 bucks. Test an inconspicuous spot - rub it on and let it sit for a few hours, then clean it off and see if the plastics are “back”. It can re-flexify some brittle/dry plastics. Mosquito repellent with deet can work wonders on some other plastics too (foggy headlights!)

Great advice! I'll have to pick up some just to have around. Sounds like a great thing to have! When I get it I'll test it on some plastics and see how it does. Thanks Clint Beastwood!

 

[joesiris]

I recently had someone hit my rear valance so I have found the parts for it.. I needed the bottom portion not the honeycomb but here is where I found it
https://www.tascaparts.com/oem-part...9Zmllc3RhJnk9MjAxNiZ0PXNlJmU9MS0wbC1sMy1nYXM=

 

[joesiris]

that is if you wanted to replace it altogether and not mess with paints and chemicals

 

[MocaST]

that is if you wanted to replace it altogether and not mess with paints and chemicals

Thanks so much! Huge help. I looked for about an hour and for some reason couldn't find it. Maybe I suck at searching on the internet haha

 

[Woods247]

Checkout @koozy build thread. He cleaned his up recently.

 

[Business6]

Aerospace 303 Protectant is great to rejuvenate faded plastics. It's more of an upkeep sort of thing than an outright solution but if you do it every week or two for a couple of months it'll hold that deep black for quite a while. On my Miatas and have used it on my door seals, dashboard, convertible top, etc. I think they've expanded their product line a bit now but I haven't checked in years.

I also have shin etsu grease which works wonders on window tracks and the sort. I'd probably suggest that for heavy duty weather seal treatment. That shit is amazing.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Aerospace 303 Protectant is great to rejuvenate faded plastics. It's more of an upkeep sort of thing than an outright solution but if you do it every week or two for a couple of months it'll hold that deep black for quite a while. On my Miatas and have used it on my door seals, dashboard, convertible top, etc. I think they've expanded their product line a bit now but I haven't checked in years.

I also have shin etsu grease which works wonders on window tracks and the sort. I'd probably suggest that for heavy duty weather seal treatment. That shit is amazing.

shin etsu price to performance ratio is awesome lol

it makes sense that Miata guys would know about rejuvenating plastics, I’d imagine being top down all the time is hell on the interior materials.

 

[joesiris]

Thanks so much! Huge help. I looked for about an hour and for some reason couldn't find it. Maybe I suck at searching on the internet haha

yeah NP, that page is tricky because if you look at the st rear bumper its not the right part, it shows a one piece valance instead of a 2 piece