2022 BS Badlands, wheel lip trim marks removed with Mr. Clean Eraser

airems

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I noticed that I had several marks on the driver side rear wheel lip. I have since noticed marks on all the other wheel lips also. It bothered me as the vehicle is only 3 months old. I'm not a big fan of Armor All type products, so I went to the local body shop for a quote to replace the "marked" wheel lips. 6 pieces was $681 WHOA. I came hope and decided to try a few options. What worked was a "Mr Clean Magic Eraser' sheet. Took all the marks off and they are perfect now. Didn't take any elbow grease at all, just a light rub. Didn't affect the texture either. Just a FYI.
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J45

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These “erasers” are really no different than sand paper. I wouldn’t use it on my enemy’s bronco
 

thekingprawn

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These “erasers” are really no different than sand paper. I wouldn’t use it on my enemy’s bronco
These are chemical impregnated foam sponges. I went through a lot of them when I had sticky handed little kids. They're great for walls and anything else you need to clean with abrading.
 

J45

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With the equivalence of 3000-5000 grit sandpaper. It doesn’t erase… it sands.

edit: sands the clear coat
 

Elegance

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With the equivalence of 3000-5000 grit sandpaper. It doesn’t erase… it sands.

edit: sands the clear coat
To be fair, he's referring to removing marks on the plastic wheel base trim, I believe. I've used the magic eraser safely on my fender flares made of identical plastic to the OEM trim pieces and I've had no ill effects. Just a gentle swipe, don't go over the same area twice, apply Back to Black or some other trim restorer when done. No clear coat to remove on any of the plastic pieces.
 


Meanderthal

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I’ve used magic erasers on stainless exhaust tips and they work really well.

A 3000-5000 grit sandpaper is basically polishing and it would take a long long time to actually go through the clear coat, if you were using it on paint.
 

J45

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So… it’s an abrasive and not a good recommendation to people to remove scratches. There are better ways to respect the vehicle. Thought that was obvious from my other comments in the thread.

Live your life, but in general, this is a bad recommendation.
 

Feint

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These “erasers” are really no different than sand paper. I wouldn’t use it on my enemy’s bronco
That's not true at all. You'll know once you use it for the first time that it's very different from sandpaper. The abrasives on sandpaper stick very well to the paper and definitely can scratch if not used wisely. On magic eraser, the substrate is open cell foam, melamine, and as you use it, the substrate breaks down very quickly. It's like if the sandpaper fell apart the first time it met resistance. That's the cool thing about magic eraser: you use it and it removes things like magic marker from surfaces, but once the original surface is met, the melamine breaks.

@OP, if you are using it on piano black or something, I would test a small spot ahead of time. If you do see scratches, rubbing compound can help smooth them out. For things like the wheel arches, using magic eraser is fine as you already have discovered. No clearcoat on those to worry about.
 
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airems

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So… it’s an abrasive and not a good recommendation to people to remove scratches. There are better ways to respect the vehicle. Thought that was obvious from my other comments in the thread.

Live your life, but in general, this is a bad recommendation.
The marks weren't on anything painted. The wheel lip trim is made of dark gray plastic.
 
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Dark

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That's not true at all. You'll know once you use it for the first time that it's very different from sandpaper. The abrasives on sandpaper stick very well to the paper and definitely can scratch if not used wisely. On magic eraser, the substrate is open cell foam, melamine, and as you use it, the substrate breaks down very quickly. It's like if the sandpaper fell apart the first time it met resistance. That's the cool thing about magic eraser: you use it and it removes things like magic marker from surfaces, but once the original surface is met, the melamine breaks.

@OP, if you are using it on piano black or something, I would test a small spot ahead of time. If you do see scratches, rubbing compound can help smooth them out. For things like the wheel arches, using magic eraser is fine as you already have discovered. No clearcoat on those to worry about.
'Magic Erasers' are an abrasive, no matter how you want to bend around that word in the end the whole point of the product is to remove material.

Using them on plastic trim is fine but if you focus on one section for too long you're likely to have visible inconsistencies across the surface.
 

Glamdring70

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They're your cars. Do what you want. But Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam. It's the foamy version of those hard, plasticky dinner plates and cafeteria trays you've probably encountered. It is at least as abrasive as X,000 grit sandpaper. Dozens of sites will tell you not to use it on a car, e.g.,
https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/things-you-should-never-do-with-a-magic-eraser/

The important thing it to try it someplace that doesn't matter before you commit. I wouldn't use it on any plastic on my Bronco Sport, but I haven't even tried. I'm that sure it will dull or mar the materials.
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