December, 2006: When the Helix was delivered from Long Island, it was
apparent that it had been exposed to a lot of sunlight and weathering.
A check of the shelves at a nearby O'Reilly's revealed a Restore Black kit by the well-known Bondo folks.
The instructions on the box seemed simple enough, although the warnings made it sound like an adventure into Hazmat Hell.
As it turned out, the main worry seems to be staining one's hands - and even that washed off easily with soap and water.
The first application left some streaking,
and the applicator supplied with the kit (a square sponge) was too bulky
to get into tight places.
A second swipe took care of the streaks, and an old toothbrush allowed me to reach the corners and crevices that the sponge missed.
Regardless of these minor gripes, the effect is exactly as advertised - the black plastic appears as new again - notice the glove box in particular, which was light gray before treatment.