How to black the antenna base?

[SMG]

I replaced my original plastic steering wheel last night with an OEM leather wheel.

Over the summer I leather wrapped my plastic wheel, went under the spokes and all, looked stock to someone who knows nothing about NB's. Got tons of compliments!

Now that it's gone, my car feels much less ghetto inside, and I have a great sense of pride about it, a feeling I haven't had since I bought it, it is 100% OEM parts inside, just a lot of Turbo S parts, etc.

What I'm trying to say is that no matter how nice a job you do on it, you'll never feel as good about it as if it was actually a real new one.

Putting the new one in is a do-it-yourself job, why not take pride in that?

Anyway, my opinion, your car.

Do what you will.

[Tom Servo]

Hey can you use that forever black on the sides of the mirros? where they bend in and out? I was just wondering beacause mine is starting to fade like the attenna.

Tom Servo

[punkpie]

I had this same question many months ago re: my 92 GTI and found a cheap, yet awesome solution on another VW forum.

There's a specific black leather dye made by Kiwi designed for really tough dye jobs. Comes in a little bottle with a tiny wand applicator. It's extremely strong stuff and reeks to high heaven but when you apply it, it stays on. When I get home I'll look at the bottle for the exact name- works fabulous on blacking smaller areas. Cost me about $6 for a bottle.

[finklejag]

A pencil eraser will do the trick.

[EvilinaDM101]

Originally Posted by finklejag

A pencil eraser will do the trick.

maybe my antenna base is too faded . . . .ummm the eraser thing didn't work. I had 2 different types of erasers. A pink one and a gum one. It was worth the try!

[from Margaritaville...]

I used a black Sharpie for the time being but I'm going to use paint from a little bottle of Testors model paint (available at your local crafts store). Probably an inexpensive long term solution. I may even use a different color...

[EvilinaDM101]

Originally Posted by Alan Margosian

I used a black Sharpie for the time being but I'm going to use paint from a little bottle of Testors model paint (available at your local crafts store). Probably an inexpensive long term solution. I may even use a different color...

that's a GREAT idea!

I want to do the same! Gee, I wonder if you could guess what color . .

[niki]

A friend of mine works at a detail shop and used Back To Black on my bug and my boyfriend's Benz. It really works miracles- I went and bought my own bottle soon after. I use it on anything and everything I want back to black. My antenna base was almost white and after a few scrubs, it was perfect. I use the B2B maybe once a month. I also use it on the VW badges, the inside running boards (is that what they're called?? Inside the door??), and even on the weather stripping, like around the windows and tailights/headlights. As far as I know it causes no harm to anything and if you do get it on your paint a bit, you can wipe it off. You'd totally be surprised at how great a little bit of this stuff will make your beetle look on the smallest deatil. Oh, and make sure to get the plastic on your rear-view mirrors... wow, they look great afterwards!!

[mezonesxbox]

Try shoe polish!! Works for me....

[bhppy101]

Another method to try that I used to do to grey fading plastic is:

use a heat gun and make a couple of passes over the plastic......this heats it up and allows the natural oils to re-surface.....

This is an old trick used by Jeep owners when the fender mouldings would turn white. I have done it many times and it works perfectly! Just dont sit in one spot....keep moving the heat gun around.

[bhppy101]

heres what the fender plastic looked like after I used a heatgun on it....before I did it, they where almost pure white! The end result was almost back to new again.

[Tesla]

I use silicone spray and it works.

[who_me285]

some back to black may just be the easiest thing to do?

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by SMG

Buy a new antenna base, it's maybe 2x the price of a bottle of whatever you'd use to black it.

That's what I'm doing in the spring anyway.

SMG

Man If a new antenna base will help my crappy AM reception, i'm all over it.

[Fritznbud]

Careful, forever black can get messy. I have a nice pair of speckeled shorts from it. Some surfaces can take many, many coats to get to where you want it. And DUPLI COLOR is a spitting mess while on the subject of messes. Never buy spray cans of this nasty paint. *~*