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I have a 2021 Dirt Mountain Bronco that had dirt stains on the plastics especially the fender flares that I could not get off. Part of the culprit may have been dirt (clay?) combined with silicone from the dealer's tire dressing, I'm not sure, but if you're here you probably have this problem or have seen pictures of the stains on the fenders. I have tried many cleaners including the following which did not work:
Scrubbing Bubbles
Straight concentrated Simple Green
70% isopropyl alcohol
Cleaning Vinegar
and many other basic cleaners that everyone has around the house, like Fantastik, etc.
I also used various trim and plastic restorers like 303, Adams VRT, Mothers Back to Black, and Chemical Guys VRP. Those all made it look nice for a while but they are just covering the problem. The stains always returned.
Do not use a magic eraser. It ruins the finish. I have a damaged flare that I was willing to try anything on and found the magic eraser to be destructive. A regular polymer eraser worked pretty good but it too slightly damaged the finish.
Too much rubbing with a rag also damages the finish.
What I found that works extremely well is CLR that I got at Dollar Tree. It is LA's Totally Awesome found here:
https://www.dollartree.com/product/964130
Name brand ones might even work better and I will try and see, but for now I am satisfied with the results from this generic cleaner. It in no way damaged the finish.
I removed the fender flare and cleaned it as I was not willing to risk any damage to the paint so if you decide to try it with the flares on, let us know the results. I sprayed the cleaner on, let it sit for a few minutes, kept it wet, and then massaged it with a toothbrush. I'm not sure if any of the of the letting it sit for a bit or the toothbrush action helped because that was the first thing I tried. Perhaps just spraying the cleaner on and wiping it off would have been enough but I had it in my head I needed to agitate it because the texture is so rough and porous. Last I rinsed it with water. Hope this helps someone.
Scrubbing Bubbles
Straight concentrated Simple Green
70% isopropyl alcohol
Cleaning Vinegar
and many other basic cleaners that everyone has around the house, like Fantastik, etc.
I also used various trim and plastic restorers like 303, Adams VRT, Mothers Back to Black, and Chemical Guys VRP. Those all made it look nice for a while but they are just covering the problem. The stains always returned.
Do not use a magic eraser. It ruins the finish. I have a damaged flare that I was willing to try anything on and found the magic eraser to be destructive. A regular polymer eraser worked pretty good but it too slightly damaged the finish.
Too much rubbing with a rag also damages the finish.
What I found that works extremely well is CLR that I got at Dollar Tree. It is LA's Totally Awesome found here:
https://www.dollartree.com/product/964130
Name brand ones might even work better and I will try and see, but for now I am satisfied with the results from this generic cleaner. It in no way damaged the finish.
I removed the fender flare and cleaned it as I was not willing to risk any damage to the paint so if you decide to try it with the flares on, let us know the results. I sprayed the cleaner on, let it sit for a few minutes, kept it wet, and then massaged it with a toothbrush. I'm not sure if any of the of the letting it sit for a bit or the toothbrush action helped because that was the first thing I tried. Perhaps just spraying the cleaner on and wiping it off would have been enough but I had it in my head I needed to agitate it because the texture is so rough and porous. Last I rinsed it with water. Hope this helps someone.
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