Our Magic Rub Bar removes stubborn marks

For neglected surfaces

The Magic Rub Bar is a ripper cleaning tool to use on many stubborn marks after all liquid cleansers have failed to remove them. Built up dirt, scuff marks, dried up wax and many other marks will disappear from your cars interior and exterior. It's especially epic on more neglected surfaces, some that you would have thought almost impossible to move. But it cleans them off, super quick and easy, which is why we think it should be a part of everyones car cleaning kit.

What is it?

This Magic Rub Bar is a sponge made from a German made resin foam called Melamine. It's been used for years as a thermal insulator and sound proofing material till one bright spark found out how well it works as a cleaner. The bars' unique foam construction is what makes it such a great cleaner; feel it and you will first see it's a very rigid foam for its density. On a microscopic level you can begin to understand why it works so well. It looks a bit like foam from when you fill your car wash bucket, but is actually a finely structured, three-dimensional network consisting of extremely strong, slender and flexible plastic filaments.

While the bar is being rubbed over the surface, the large accessible surface area produced by this airy micro-structure hold onto the particles of dirt and grime, pulling them off the surface and into the bar, which is why it's such an amazing cleaning product.

Through a few weeks of intensive testing on many different types of these sponges, we found not all melamine bars are the same. The one we have here is the best combination of not being too aggressive, while also working exceptionally at cleaning the areas we needed it to work for us.

What can it be used on?

We've done numerous tests and found it to work brilliantly at cleaning scuff marks left by boots, built up grime all over the car, sunscreen on plastic, lipstick and make-up, crayon, marker pen, mould, food and drink stains, cleaning white walls and raised white lettering on tyres, removing dried wax residue and water marks on plastic, even bringing back old grey plastic to black, and cleaning numerous other "mystery" marks that just appear in your interior over the years.

Most common areas best used for the bar would be interior plastic kick panels, door sills, lower door and dash plastic, door rubbers, brushed stainless steel, chrome, non shiny paint, glass, vinyl, leather, suede and new micro-suede (read more below on using it on these last four).  

What shouldn't it be used on?

Be aware however, that with this bar being a mechanical cleaner, it can be mildly aggressive to some surfaces. Always test a small area first!

Do not use the bar on anything that is easily scratched like clear plastic, polycarbonate or plexiglass. Anything that is shiny or polishable, painted or varnished (like carbon fibre, or wood etc) as it can micro blemish these surfaces, requiring a professional polishing to bring back their shine. 

Be extra careful on soft materials like vinyl and especially leather, which is a soft polyurethane coated material. Just remember it should be used as the very last alternative to our liquid cleansers Vinyl Care, Fabra Cadabra and Leather Love for removing any marks, and you need to use it gently on both these surfaces, as you can slowly wear through if you are too aggressive.

Also, the bars surface will slowly wear out and lose its effectiveness over time. So unless it's a large area you need to clean, we suggest cutting the bar into smaller portions with scissors, and use all 4 sides, rather than wear out the entire bar on one job. 

The two bars we have in our kit are more than enough to clean even the biggest interior jobs we've tackled.

Let's get rubbin'

Always test the bar on an inconspicuous area first, to make sure it's suitable and compatible with that surface.

It's a simple one to use, first dampen the sponge with water, or if it's a more dirty area that needs to be cleaned, use the Fabra Cadabra, then gently rub the surface in a circular motion, inspecting it closely at regular intervals, till the mark is removed. Rub the bar on it, till it magically removes the marks. Even the most ingrained dirt cannot resist the hard micro-structure of melamine foam.

The bar works a bit like a pencil eraser, so small particles from the bar will be left behind, but these are easily cleaned off with a wipe from a clean microfibre cloth. For a perfect finish to the job, apply a dressing to it, like our Vinyl Care with plastic or vinyl, Leather Love for any leather.

Leather

As we say above, you need to have a very gentle approach if you need to remove a mark from your leather. The Magic Rub Bar should only be used if all other cleaning methods have been exhausted with our Leather Love cleaner. Only use it as a spot cleaner, and don't rub aggressively, to lessen the risk of rubbing through the polyurethane surface covering. 

 

Vinyl

Again, like the leather, although not quite as sensitive, it can still be affected if you're too harsh when rubbing the bar on it. Take a gentle approach, rubbing and inspecting the area you're cleaning often. Once the mark is gone, wipe clean with a microfibre cloth and then treat the area with our Vinyl Care. Another thing to remember, is that vinyl that has been recoloured or painted should never be cleaned with the Magic Rub Bar, as it will remove this painted or dyed surface from the vinyl. Always test in an inconspicious area first.

Natural Suede

For light coloured natural suede, as you can't let it get wet, gently rub the dry bar on the mark till it's removed.

Micro-Suede (in many new cars)

For any marks, first try removing them with our Fabra Cadabra and if that doesn't work, spray some Fabra Cadabra into the rub bar and gently rub on the surface. Once the mark is gone, wipe clean with a dry microfibre cloth.

White walls and raised white lettering on tyres

White walls and raised white lettering on tyres - spray some Sublime Clean into the bar, rub gently till back to white and then wipe off any residue straight away with a clean cloth.

Greying black plastic trim

If you have painted areas next to the plastic, apply a masking or painters tape over the paint, to stop the chance of it being marred. Apply water to the bar and gently rub over the plastic surface till the greying is gone, turn the bar to a new portion reasonably often, dry off and inspect to see wether it needs further applications. Once dry, you can finish it off with an application of Vinyl Revival. 

Wax residue/water spots in black plastic trim

As above, apply water to a small cut off portion of the bar. You don't want a big sized bar as the chance of it rubbing accidently on any adjoining paint can be high. Rub and inspect, then wash off once the residue is gone with water. Dry with a chamois. Once dry, apply either our Mr Black or Vinyl Revival.

We have used this bar for many different purposes, and it seems we find more weekly! Give it a go, I know you will be surprised to see how many ways it can help keep your car, van or boat looking its very best. You can currently only get it from our online store by clicking here, but we hope to have it out to many of our retailers in the near future.

If you have any questions, please email info@bowdensown.com.au or FREECALL our office on 1800 351 308.