[Jschmidt684]

I’ve been extremely careful in caring for the black trim surrounding the windows, beneath the grille, and even the rear taillights on our ‘26 50e M Sport, but inevitably, there are a few swirls/scratches starting to pop up. It happens and will continue to happen, so not overly freaking out about it, but I’m curious what the best way to remove those scratches/swirls is aside from replacing pieces over time. Again, not going to do it every weekend or sweat every little thing, but if I wanted to remove a bunch of them at once, what’s the best way? Is there a way I can PPF those pieces also? The pieces beween the A and B pillars tend to be the most noticeable at eye level in particular. Thanks!

[Phillies8008]

Piano black plastic is the material of the devil and is going to scratch if you even look at it. You can polish it, and I've found that Meguiars PlastX works well. However, it's not going to last very long.

The only real way to prevent the scratching to is to put PPF on it – I just had that done yesterday to the piano black in the interior of my Z4. Otherwise you just need to learn to live with it, because you're not preventing it. Maybe one day car manufacturers won't use the goddamned stuff, but today isn't that day.

[TimmyTurbos]

Polish and PPF.
Also not sure on your washing techniques but wash in straight lines vs circles and never run it through a carwash unless it's touchless.

[fiveightandten]

You can indeed polish them and see improvement. But the truth is, the more flawless you make the surface, the more obvious imperfections are on them. Even fingerprints stand out more on pristine piano black, so be careful of the slippery slope this creates. Haha.

I use the Adams SK Micro for polishing these. (But there are cheaper options, as well as nicer ones too. This is a good mid tier polisher).
https://adamspolishes.com/products/a...40098604580961

You could apply PPF as others have mentioned, but as there’s no edge to wrap around, you’ll likely see some edge lifting over time. Particularly with these being touch points.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by Jschmidt684

I’ve been extremely careful in caring for the black trim surrounding the windows, beneath the grille, and even the rear taillights on our ‘26 50e M Sport, but inevitably, there are a few swirls/scratches starting to pop up. It happens and will continue to happen, so not overly freaking out about it, but I’m curious what the best way to remove those scratches/swirls is aside from replacing pieces over time. Again, not going to do it every weekend or sweat every little thing, but if I wanted to remove a bunch of them at once, what’s the best way? Is there a way I can PPF those pieces also? The pieces beween the A and B pillars tend to be the most noticeable at eye level in particular. Thanks!

A skilled shop can PPF anything and I also had like swirls on my black window trim and the shop did a stage 1 paint correction and applied PPF over it and it hides it pretty well. The stage 1 paint correction was included in the work and I didn't have to pay extra.

You don't need to do the stage 1 paint correction as it should instantly mask it like this.

View post on imgur.com

[fiveightandten]

Originally Posted by N1rve

A skilled shop can PPF anything and I also had like swirls on my black window trim and the shop did a stage 1 paint correction and applied PPF over it and it hides it pretty well. The stage 1 paint correction was included in the work and I didn't have to pay extra.

You don't need to do the stage 1 paint correction as it should instantly mask it like this.

View post on imgur.com

That’s a nice improvement. It makes a huge difference on dark colors.

It’s generally referred to as a 1 stage paint correction (not stage 1). When correcting in multiple steps (stages), you go from most abrasive / most coarse to least abrasive / finest. So a single stage correction is typically just a fine abrasive, usually referred to as a polish.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

That’s a nice improvement. It makes a huge difference on dark colors.

It’s generally referred to as a 1 stage paint correction (not stage 1). When correcting in multiple steps (stages), you go from most abrasive / most coarse to least abrasive / finest. So a single stage correction is typically just a fine abrasive, usually referred to as a polish.

On my invoice they put it as "Paint Correction Stage 1". So I just referenced whatever they put on my receipt.

[fiveightandten]

Originally Posted by N1rve

On my invoice they put it as "Paint Correction Stage 1". So I just referenced whatever they put on my receipt.

I’m just passing on the correct terminology / thought process. We all learn from each other here. No offense intended.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

I’m just passing on the correct terminology / thought process. We all learn from each other here. No offense intended.

No offense taken.

[Rick Danger]

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

You can indeed polish them and see improvement. But the truth is, the more flawless you make the surface, the more obvious imperfections are on them. Even fingerprints stand out more on pristine piano black, so be careful of the slippery slope this creates. Haha.

I use the Adams SK Micro for polishing these. (But there are cheaper options, as well as nicer ones too. This is a good mid tier polisher).
https://adamspolishes.com/products/a...40098604580961

You could apply PPF as others have mentioned, but as there’s no edge to wrap around, you’ll likely see some edge lifting over time. Particularly with these being touch points.

I have the Adams polish. its like a hand glaze. I had 3m stuff, but ran out. I just finished compounding and polishing scuffs on the door sills from the PO. depends on how bad the swirls are, but I'd start with a hand glaze first. If it doesn't all come out, then maybe some foam pad polish. finished with some carnauba. that's how I'd do it.