Coconut oil to treat my FX4 trim pieces..

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It's no secret that a Ford FX4 has tons of vinyl pieces on it: all around the bed and back bumper, the front bumper, running boards, fender flairs, mirrors and a lot more. It's basically everywhere.

Being mindful of the cost of keeping all this looking good, one can spend a ton of money trying to get that elusive cared for look. My garage if packed full of products that just didn't cut the mustard.

Today, after washing the truck I got to pondering what would be an alternative to OTC products. I decided to give LouAna pure coconut oil a try. Coconut oil is a pretty amazing product: it can withstand quite a bit of heat, as you can cook with it; it is a solid at 72 degrees and a liquid at 73, and it is pretty much clear when a liquid. What have I got to loose? So I put some the old girl and was quite pleased with the results:

Before, looking at a running board end cap that always looks terrible...
3EDC44FC-4E05-45F9-AEAC-FF8DDE164355.jpg

And after:

2F2113D3-1FE1-4618-BCD5-BF9C7390F695.jpg

The cruddy cell phone pics don't do it justice but trust me it looks good as anything I've spent bucks for.

Fender flair before:

82629FAC-8140-4A86-8CDC-6BCE859D43E6.jpg

And after:

D07E54C6-E090-4680-8FEC-CDA68CA82858.jpg

A couple of notes: I used paper towels to put the coconut oil on and to wipe up the excess. I tried wiping up the excess with a microfiber towel and it just didn't work. Also, this doesn't appear to leave an oily residue on the plastic, it appears to go right in and leave the plastic relatively dry. After about an hour I could wipe my hand on the bed rails and it came off clean, not oily - which is more than I can say for the many other products I've used over the years. It cleans up about as easy as black wow when one gets sloppy - I used a spray wax to get any smudges off the paint and ordinary glass cleaner to get it off the windows.

How long will it last? Be darned if I know, but if it lasts just 2 wash jobs I'll be thrilled to death! I will report later how well it holds up but for now, I like it. I don't recall what I paid for the coconut oil but it was in the cooking oil section at the Kroger and if it had been ridiculously priced I guarantee you I wouldn't have bought it.

Just wanted show all my fellow bitogers my new discovery. If it's been mentioned before I apologize for the waste of band width.
 
Coconut oil is one of nature's miracle products. It has endless uses. I use it on my hair as a straightener/conditioner. I wonder how well it would work on leather seats?
 
how does it look once it gets cold out? (considering when in liquid form, it goes solid)

Good question. But it seems to have absorbed into the plastic as the trim pieces are completely dry. I figure if the whole project goes kerflooey I'll just wash the trim with some dawn and start all over again...
 
Originally Posted By: Ndx
Why coconut oil over several otc products ??

Did you even read his original post?

Originally Posted By: double vanos
Being mindful of the cost of keeping all this looking good, one can spend a ton of money trying to get that elusive cared for look. My garage if packed full of products that just didn't cut the mustard.
 
Just because the oil can withstand heat doesn't mean it won't oxidize and go rancid. Being exposed to sunlight and ozone certainly means it will rancidify and wear off quickly and then it will also attract dust more than a silicone based treatment. I also would'nt use it on leather unless you want your leather to smell like rotton fry oil after a couple weeks.

Coconut oil works as a beauty treatment because you eventually bathe and wash it off. There are off the shelf stuff that works just as good. Get one of the gel treatments or Mother's Back to Black or Turtle Wax Trim Restorer both work well and last a long time.

Some things you can experiment with but sometimes leave the kitchen products in the kitchen. Chocolate can polish an aluminum can to start a fire, does that mean you should polish your alloy wheels with a Hershey Bar?
 
Originally Posted By: qwertydude
Just because the oil can withstand heat doesn't mean it won't oxidize and go rancid. Being exposed to sunlight and ozone certainly means it will rancidify and wear off quickly and then it will also attract dust more than a silicone based treatment.


This may be correct, havn't tried it. I have tried Sunflower oil as a protectant, on rubber, plastic and steel.

This certainly oxidises. It then sets, and on steel eventually forms a hard, plastic-like skin which isn't at all sticky and is quite resistant to wearing off.

On rubber and plastic it seems to be absorbed, which may be a bad thing long term, but so far, so good.
 
It will be interesting to see. Going rancid is a concern, but I wonder if it is a concern in reality.
 
I would not worry to much about it going rancid on the exterior. Going rancid on the interior would suck.
 
I am testing JOJOBA Oil now, i used 303 protectant told it was safe but searching found out its Not an ebay site selling 1 gallon had a link to https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/
saying its not safe and i read somwhere it was made from coconut. Cant Beliebe that now.
I hope the JOJOBA Oil Stays on the Plastic and does not just Run Off after 2 Days.
On the Interior i will still use 303 on the Exterior eben if its Poisonous.
So Far it Looks Great and Just Like 303 Protectant has a Shine.
 
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Interesting idea!

I wish I could use that here, but unfortunately, it will end up attracting a ton of extremely fine dust particles. I even avoid tire shine products for that reason, you're looking at brown tires within an hour of applying product.
frown.gif
 
I use Pledge to detail my engine bay and it attracts honeybees. I'm guessing the lemon scent attracts them.
 
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