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Black Diamond after-market look on my 2011 Avalanche??

brunp

Full Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
30
So, I got my 2011 Avalanche and really like the 2013 Black Diamond look. It is silver and as always, the black seems to fade in the sun. I am wondering if anyone has gone the Black Diamond look route and if so, where they went and how much it cost? Out of curiosity, the dealer quoted me at $8500 (including everything). That is a little steep....

Do you you guys think of the look and how many actually went back to the black plastic look?

Paul
 
southern comfort makes slik kits that will cover up the black plastic on the outside faces of the cladding other than that you are looking at going the route of ext cladding .... if you use R&R on your existing cladding you could probably sell it to make up for some of the cost
however there is a thread on here about it seeming to scratch easy
 
I believe the Southern Comfort slick kit are just overlays onto the existing cladding.  You will not be able to sell your current cladding.

There are several threads on painting cladding.  Everything from rattle cans to having it professionally done.
 
I'm not sure Southern Comfort still makes a "slick kit" for the AV anymore. They went out of business a couple of years ago but they may have reopened?
The cheapest way to have a like new appearance is to use the Refinish Restorer like wyotonka suggests, it is a liquid that restores the rough plastic back to black.
If you want the smooth painted look you could sand down your cladding and paint it, but lots of labor and prep work then you have to worry about the paint adhering and color matching. Your dealer sounds like he is doing this since the cost is high.
As mentioned above several members have purchased the smooth cladding pieces for a Cadillac EXT and had it painted. If I remember it costs around $1,500 for the cladding then you pay for the painting and install maybe a couple grand for that.
I looked at doing that back in 2008 and even with my silver AV being new a very good paint shop told me that silver was a very hard color to match and the cladding could end up slightly different from the body.
If you go with painted cladding you then have to consider the surfaces like any other painted parts and accept that they can scratch so you have to remember to protect it from loads in the back or when leaning over it to pull something out of the bed.
You can find many threads about cladding mods on this site.
 
Everything Vaeagleav said is accurate in my opinion. There's even more involved than he stated about color match, prep, etc. that does justify what a shop charges. But $8500??? That sounds WAY steep to me, and I'm "in the industry". I would think that process would be about half that. I'd almost shop around a little. You don't want some "fly by night" "whole in the wall" body shop doing this work for you though, that's for sure! Someone that's reputable, and can provide you with a LIFETIME warranty.

You said you had an 11 right??? Did you tell the shop that, or did you just say "how much to paint claddings on an avalanche?".... "Non-Avy people" tend to think EVERY avalanche has side claddings and I could see a misinterpretation there where the shop thought you had an 02-06 style and there's a HELLUVA lot more "cladding" on those. Then i could see $8500. But on an 07-13 there's only a tailgate piece, two saddle bag lids, two sail panels, and the brake light surround/upper piece..... Shoot, thats only 6 pieces right?? Or am I missing something? $8500 dollars is WAY out of line for six pieces!!!!

And this is coming from a guy that DOES this for a living!!! This feels weird to me because I'm always trying to justify with people why paint jobs are so much money, but even I can't justify that!!!! I usually charge $1500-2500 to paint a full fairing sport bike and there's more pieces on one of those than your asking to have painted!!!(your pieces are textured tho, so you do have to add ALOT of sand n priming time for that, but still......)

I dunno, sounds like someone misinterpreted what model Avalanche you have.....
 
well, the quote was for new black diamond pieces and painted/installed. Not using the existing cladding that is on the truck right now.

Paul
 
wyotonka said:
i was saying if he went to the ext cladding he could sell the existing  (y)

what is the EXT cladding? How is it different from the black diamond cladding?

Paul
 
Hanz Groober said:
And this is coming from a guy that DOES this for a living!!!

Maybe you can do it for me if you are relatively close to Ottawa, Ontario (i.e., in New York state perhaps). ???  :D  :D  :D
 
brunp said:
what is the EXT cladding? How is it different from the black diamond cladding?

Paul
the Cadillac ext's have always had the same cladding that the black diamonds have now..
 
wyotonka said:
the Cadillac ext's have always had the same cladding that the black diamonds have now..

where can one get that? Is it relatively easy to obtain from wreckers? 

Paul
 
brunp said:
well, the quote was for new black diamond pieces and painted/installed. Not using the existing cladding that is on the truck right now.

Paul


Ohhhhhhhhh, gotcha. I thought that price was to paint the existing. That makes a lot more sense!!!! I guess you would have to get new pieces to match the Black Diamond brake light..... That's a cool brake light for sure, but the dollar difference to swap out vs paint existing just wouldn't be worth it to me..... They look the same in every other regard. But everybody's "fashion" is different.....

And I'm nowhere close. Washington State......
 
brunp said:
where can one get that? Is it relatively easy to obtain from wreckers? 

Paul

Agreed!!! But isn't the only difference(other than textured vs painted) just that one brake light piece??!! It's a big piece, and there would be no "modding" an Avalanche one to look like an EXT or 13 for sure. But isn't the rest the same(sails, saddle bags, tailgate) except textured and no paint? I only have a 13 for reference, nobody I know has an 07-12 so I can get a closer look for myself......
 
brunp said:
where can one get that? Is it relatively easy to obtain from wreckers?  

Paul

Check Kijiji for people parting out complete trucks... you should be able to get a complete set (inner and outer sail panels, third brake light and trim, and saddle bag lids) for around $500- $800 bucks.

These pieces usually sell first so patience and persistence is important!
And remember you will probably pay $700-800 bucks for prep and paint.

You can use any year for above parts, but the tailgate spoiler is different between 1st and 2nd generation Avy's/EXT's

Sample ad below...
(click on link to view ad)




 
no the piece that the brake light is in is not the only difference there is a difference on the inner sails also so you would have to buy the center sections with the brake light and the 2 inner sail panels
 
I have a full ext /black diamond set for sale.  Pm me I'm in nh so shipping won't be too bad
 
brunp said:
So, I got my 2011 Avalanche and really like the 2013 Black Diamond look. It is silver and as always, the black seems to fade in the sun. I am wondering if anyone has gone the Black Diamond look route and if so, where they went and how much it cost? Out of curiosity, the dealer quoted me at $8500 (including everything). That is a little steep....

Do you you guys think of the look and how many actually went back to the black plastic look?

Paul



I lucked out on converting my '12....even the dealer has to check the VIN to determine it is not a '13....it already had the $400 body colored component option which included the EXT painted sails, tonneau drains, saddle covers and tailgate spoiler, LED bar& shroud......another $80 for the Black Diamond badging and in my opinion that's what the look is worth.

My '07 was silver and looked just as good with a black sail as a solid silver, maybe better because the black sail made a nice match with the black tires, running board (and pin stripe/rear quarter decals)! As for maintenance, probably less than painted sails, there are many products that can make a faded sail look like it just rolled out of the showroom......best to use it before the sun's UV starts to degrade the polymers in the plastic.........Bondo brand Restore Black is excellent easy to apply, lasts up to 2 years of outdoor storage, helped get top dollar on the trade.
 
Actually both sails are different then a avalanche. That's why u can't get the same sail panel Windows for a ext and avalanche. The angle is different.
Hanz Groober said:
Agreed!!! But isn't the only difference(other than textured vs painted) just that one brake light piece??!! It's a big piece, and there would be no "modding" an Avalanche one to look like an EXT or 13 for sure. But isn't the rest the same(sails, saddle bags, tailgate) except textured and no paint? I only have a 13 for reference, nobody I know has an 07-12 so I can get a closer look for myself......
 
When I ordered our 12, I went with the "painted sails" option - at $400.00.  I was also going with an SnugTop cap on the back.  I ordered the truck from the Chevy dealer and the cap from a parts dealer on the same day.

I just happened to be talking to the guys at SnugTop in California - just asking a simple installation question - and the guys asked "You didn't order the painted sails, did you?"  I said yes, and he went on to say that the Avalanche top will not work with either the EXT or an Avalanche with the painted sails.  They are different sizes.  Who knew? 

The Chevy dealer bought my ordered truck because the order actually confirmed in 24 hours, and I ordered another one without the painted sails.  So, yes, the painted sails are different from the "standard" ones.

I drive a completly naked truck now.  Even took the "SnugTop" logo off the glass on the cap, and painted the front and rear bowties.  Never did this before, but I kind of like it.  It's a lot easier to wax and polish without all those bits on.  The only one I wanted to keep was the "Z71" in red that was on the rear quarter panels.  Those looked pretty good, but another member hear seemed to like them more than me, so I felt they should go to a bette home.

All the removes were pretty ease to do, following the various recommendations found here, and the only comment I could add would be, don't wait too long.  At least for the colour black.  My was done about four months after purchase, and I was starting to see a difference between the body and under the badges.

Michael

 
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