Well my 85 Turbo is in getting a paint job and before it went to the paint shop I removed all the side trim,emblems,bumper covers,sunroof seals,grilland light covers and anything else that wasn't nailed down.Now I'm cleaning everything and wanted to know what anyone has done to clean up the black trim.One problem is the rubber is dried out and I wanted to know if there is anything I can do to bring it back,maybe sand the dry stuf off? Or is there a product like a paint that will work? Also what should be used to put the Volvo emblems back on? The hardest thing is waiting to see the new paint job.I know $1200 for the paint job is a lot but I plan on keeping it till the wheels fall off. Thanks in advance,Charlie

The first thing you want to do is remove the oxidized rubber. There are a couple of ways to do this. What's worked best for me is to use a citrus-based degreaser (I got the last bottle at a bicycle shop) and a medium to soft scrub brush. I've found that a couple of passes with medium pressure work better than trying to scrub it all off at once. And then you want to treat the rubber with a product that doesn't have silicone or anything else that's just going to add to future oxidation. I've always had good luck with products from Griot's Garage (www.griotsgarage.com), although I have not used their rubber dressing. They also carry a rubber dye in the event the scrubbing doesn't (and it sometimes doesn't) remove all the oxidation.

But don't paint it, for godsake. I've seen it done and it never works; the bumper flexes and expands, and the paint always cracks and chips.

Best of luck,

Michael

Keep it until the wheels fall off. I like that.
I have a waxable black rubber trim on my 242 thanks to the previous owner, which I am pretty happy with. It isn't as think as the orignal Turbo trim, but is a bit thicker than the rubber IPD is selling. You might want to consider something like that if you can't salveage your waistline trim. Keeps the parking lot dings way down.
For restoring the metal parts I have used SEM bumper coater on a few things on my car, bought at a local auto parts place that has an extensive restoration section. It looks good and works pretty well, but chips fairly easily. I would not use it again on a smooth surface, but it works great on the bumpy surfaces. I painted my grille with a satin black Epoxy paint, which has been working great. I first painted it with the SEM a year or so ago, and had a ton of paint chipping off, but the Epoxy paint is untouched after 4 or 5 months. Proper prep work goes a long way. A local bookstore should have some books on auto restoration which will walk you through the process with great pictures if you don't already know.
3M makes a auto trim adhesive tape which is black foam very similar to what Volvo uses to attach trim emblems. It can be hard to find, but it works really well. They also make a general purpose foam tape which is white, and looks pretty ugly under the trims until it gets dirty, then it looks dirty.
--
1981 242 GLTi 1967.5 122S
Seattle, WA

I would check a specialty shop that supplies the auto body shops in your area. They have everything imaginable to refinish any part of a car body.
--
Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.