[Mimmi]

Air deflector P/N: 12780681

12780681 by OES | Cowl Plate (9-3 4D/5D/CV)

12780681 by SAAB | Cowl Plate (9-3 4D/5D/CV) | Fits Saab 9-3 | eSaabParts: Saab Parts, Done Right.

www.esaabparts.com

 

[Bob12312357]

FWIW if its just faded & otherwise intact you can spray paint it, use a trim restorer, etc. The new one will fade in short order from UV damage as well.

 

[dbcoyle6]

Oh, I forgot to add, it's become very brittle as well, and broken in 2 places. So I'm replacing. I have rubber restorer for the window trim, etc... and UV protectant for post restoration. But now that it's garage kept now for good, the decay will be far slower. Thanks again! I'll be back with more " what's this thing?" dumb questions.

 

[EdT]

I would suggest you check out all your local you-pull junkyards. If you find any trim pieces or other items that you want to replace in good condition there, you will pay much, much less than buying new from Orio.

Of course if you're in the southern US, any car that lived its life there will probably have similar damage. However, there are Saab specialists such as Goldwing further north, where trim generally (as a generalization) does not get baked quite as much. But of course the car rusts to pieces instead.

 

[Leslie dancer]

I recently used a heat gun on some of my plastic trim followed up with solution finish. Then ceramic coating. Came out real well. Do a tube search

 

[dbcoyle6]

Air deflector P/N: 12780681

12780681 by OES | Cowl Plate (9-3 4D/5D/CV)

12780681 by SAAB | Cowl Plate (9-3 4D/5D/CV) | Fits Saab 9-3 | eSaabParts: Saab Parts, Done Right.

www.esaabparts.com

Success!!! It looks great. Thanks so much for the help. Installed new cowl today (learned a new term also). Next up, gotta get my moon roof operational again. This could prove more difficult, but I'm gonna go for it. It's in the garage so if I screw it up, it won't be rained in. =-)

 

[dbcoyle6]

I recently used a heat gun on some of my plastic trim followed up with solution finish. Then ceramic coating. Came out real well. Do a tube search

Will do! thanks.

 

[first-saab]

Don't fo

Will do! thanks.

Plasti dip also a good option. I worked well on my old 9-5.

 

[dbcoyle6]

Don't fo

Plasti dip also a good option. I worked well on my old 9-5.

What's that? oooOOOOoooo! Cool. I'm definitely trying this out. Thanks for the tip. https://www.dipyourcar.com/collections/aerosol-colors

 

[Germaniac]

What's that? oooOOOOoooo! Cool. I'm definitely trying this out. Thanks for the tip. https://www.dipyourcar.com/collections/aerosol-colors

Better try any dip spray on something similar which could be scrapped if it doesn't live up to your expectations first - I had used a plastidip spray (not the cheapest) according to the instructions on a set of rims and the result was more than underwhelming. Not only that it was nearly impossible to remove the brake dust (against the claim of the seller) making them look like never being cleaned since production, it took me a whole weekend to peel of that super hit in technology (short: S.H.I.T.) against the claim of the seller that it would be easy to remove again.

 

[Bob12312357]

Plastidip is removable but ends to be very difficult to remove....of course they sell a specific spray to aid in removal, & pressure washers help a lot. As for brake dust, if you aren't applying a topcoat over it such as ceramic coating you're doing it wrong.

 

[Germaniac]

Like I've mentioned I went after the instructions, including the topcoat. Over here that stuff was hip for a short time but its popularity waned soon again, so I surmise that I wasn't the only one experiencing that plastidips did not live up to the promises.

 

[Bob12312357]

What exactly was your top coat?

I don't like plastidip whatsoever but it works almost as good as cheap spray paint if applied correctly, just a far bigger PITA IMO.

 

[Germaniac]

The top coat was provided by the same company which had made the plastidip (can't recall the name, but they do also manufacture ordinary car paint). Went with all the procedures as required by them - cleaning the rims with isopropane alcohol, then applied primer, the plastidip and their topcoat. Took me three days.
When I tried to clean the rims for the first time with a mild water/soap solution, the brake dust stuck to the coating like s**t on a bedsheet and when I rubbed a little harder with a microfiber cloth, the dip on the outer rim edges came off. Wish that it came off that easy from the rest of the rims, too...

(Don't know if it's sold in the NA region too, but one of the best known brands over here, Foliatec (not used by me), garnered mixed to negative reactions for their plastidips.)

I had tried plastidip from another manufacturer with the sliders of my wife's Suzi. That was more like it, but if I had to touch up parts like these again I would give them to a shop for getting them powder coated or professionally lacquered.

 

[Bob12312357]

The best (really only) top coat worth using is ceramic coating. You can use it over paint, aluminum, plastidip, vinyl wrap, etc, etc. It lets you remove brake dust like its the dust on your dining room table.

 

[rich1068]

Just to throw a couple of other solutions into the ring, I can recommend black Plasti Dip for the plastic valance at the bottom of the rear bumper (it goes grey, or is grey and looked rubbish) and Gtechniq Trim Restorer for all other black plastics. It really works and doesn't wash off. I was going to suggest the Gtechniq stuff when the OP originally mentioned the faded windscreen cowl but then read it was broken anyway.