Re: B.D. Begins cowl "repair"
Fours years later i'm finally able to bring an answer to my own thread.
In these four years i've discovered the world of auto detailing and learned what to do and what not to do when it comes to rubber.
A couple years ago I had the immense pleasure to receive a Batman Begins cowl from inkmonkey/findhead and this was (still is) the best Begins cowl out there.
But over time rubber will attract dust, dirt and will slowly dry out. Good quality urethane will NOT rot or degrade easily, but good care is nonetheless very important. Better safe than sorry!
For urethane cowls this is, to me, the best method :
- Give it a gentle wash (bathtubs work great) with warm water and mild soap. Use your hands to massage the cowl and reach everywhere. Do NOT use stiff brushes as they might scuff the rubber (soft paint brushes are okay). Also, the less chemicals in the soap the better.
- Thoroughly dry it with a soft cloth and a blow dryer (no heat!). Once again, be gentle. You're not scrubbing the toilet! Urethane is a tough material but surface blemishes can appear quickly if you're not careful.
As a finishing touch i've been using a product called "Natural Look" from Poorboy's.
Well known amongst car detailers, it is used for interior cleaning/dressing and does wonders when applied to vinyl, plastic, rubber and the like.
It smells great, cleans, protects from UV light, is non-greasy to the touch and helps preventing the rubber from drying out and cracking.
A lot of low-end rubber care products leave a shiny/greasy finish that does not suit Batman cowls at all. This is not the case with Natural Look.
First you might want to test the product on a hidden area (in my case the tip of the "V" in the back) to see if the aspect suits you and if the rubber does not do anything funny :
Let it sit for a few minutes, then buff to desired sheen. If the result is satisfying and matches your expectations, you can treat the whole cowl.
Warning: Never apply the product directly to the cowl. Always use a cloth.
I recommend you use a high quality microfiber cloth. You don't need to apply pressure, just wipe it gently. Don't over apply the product : A drop the size of a pea is plenty to treat an area the size of a postcard as it streches a lot.
Do one area at a time : neck, face, ears... And check regularly for missed spots. Try not to go twice over the same area.
By the time the whole cowl is done, you can start buffing the area you did first.
Use a clean microfiber towel to buff the surface to the desired level of shine. Buffing will also remove any blotches and/or strokes from the application. Again, no need to apply pressure. Just drag the towel (preferably folded in a square) across the cowl.
Now all you have to do is let it dry by itself for an hour or so, and here's the result :
Before/after pic (bottom is done, top is untouched) :
Since the product had just been applied it still looks wet but you can see how it gives the urethane a deep black color and hides all the imperfections. You will notice that water produces a similar effect but unfortunately this effect disappears once the water has evaporated.
And here's the final result, once dry and buffed :
Overview and close-up (night time, artificial lighting) :
Overview and close-up (natural sunlight) :
As you can see the color is even and the finish has a very nice "graphite-esque" satin aspect to it.
All the imperfections usually found on urethane pulls (light scuffs, small dimples, slight differences in aspect...) are softened and the cowl could almost pass up for painted fiberglass.
I hope this little tutorial was helpful!
Note: I would not recommend using this product on foam latex cowls unless you do proper testing first on a discarded piece of foam.