Q:

Motorcycle: Way to stop plastics fading?

I have a 13yo motorcycle that has a black plastic instrument panel. Although it is not regularly exposed to the sun the black plastic is fading to a chalky white.
I was wondering if anyone knew of a treatment or way to prevent this from occurring?

A:

Meguiars and Turtle Wax have both been making all kinds of plastic cleaners and protectants for a long time, and something like ultimate black is probably one of your best bets. Ideally though, you would have been applying some of this stuff to your bike for the last 13 years to prevent fading in the first place. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Sometimes though, you just have to replace the plastic on motorcycles if you want it to look new. A little bit of sunshine here and there will take its toll on motorcycles. Even just an hour or so a day multiplied by 13 years starts to add up.

A:

I've never done any replacement of black plastic on my motorcycles.
I had a BMW mechanic show me a trick on an early 80's BMW he was restoring.  He sprayed all the plastic with WD-40.  Just saturated it.  He then wrapped all of it in plastic or sealed the smaller pieces in sandwich bags.  A week later we powerwashed all of it and let it dry.
That was three years ago and all of his black plastic looks fantastic.

