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Restoring cladding?

Of course you are.....but that don't make you wrong.
 
It has been quite some time since I have been on here on a regular basis... well over a year.

Forgive me, for I have sinned.  :needhug: I have neglected my cladding to the point, I am ashamed to be seen with the AV in public.  :E:

I have ordered Refinish/Restorer. Tracking data says it will be delivered Thursday.  (y)

Question. How warm does it need to be for proper application? We are currently in what I hope is the last blast of winter. Temps now are in the teens, forecast to be in the high 50's - low 60's this weekend.
 
Wait for the 50-60s.  We just updated our application and surface prep tips at www.therightcarstuff.com/tips.  Enjoy!
 
noahwoo10 said:
What have you guys found to be the best way to restore the cladding that will last a while?
All the posters are correct - go with R&R. I used many products on my 3 Avy's, only R&R works. I've applied on once this year, still no retouch is required - looks brand new still.
 
I put on the r&r today using the microfiber cloth that came with it.  Found an uneven finish although I put on two coats.  Seemed like I used a lot of it too, compared to others saying it lasts a long time.

For giggles I went out and used a sponge (yellow Home Depot tile sponge) new of course.  Cut a corner off and what a difference.  Even and used very little.  The cloth absorbed so much, I recommend using a sponge going forward.

Looks great
 
A very cheap and easy way to restore the cladding is with a heat gun. I had my doubts as well but it does work. This is a pic of my cladding above the mid gate on the roof. Left side i have hit with the heat gun. The right side i have not touched. I have tried a whole bunch of restoratives and spent lots of money but this is the cheapest and took me about a two hours to do the whole truck about three and a half if you include bed panels. I did it about three months ago and still looks fresh.
 

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RedBone86 said:
A very cheap and easy way to restore the cladding is with a heat gun. I had my doubts as well but it does work. This is a pic of my cladding above the mid gate on the roof. Left side i have hit with the heat gun. The right side i have not touched. I have tried a whole bunch of restoratives and spent lots of money but this is the cheapest and took me about a two hours to do the whole truck about three and a half if you include bed panels. I did it about three months ago and still looks fresh.

So u just point the heat gun directly at the cladding?
 
I did my 2004 with RR and wow what a difference.  It must be good stuff if it can restore what the Florida sun has baked out of the plastic.  Its been a month and it looks like it just rolled off the show room floor.  Two easy coats  (y)
 
badboy2 said:
So u just point the heat gun directly at the cladding?

Ya pretty much. 1600W gun. Medium temp on High was what i did. Just make sure that the cladding is clean before you do it that way you dont get any bloches. The Heat gun is also good at getting rid of the "Zebra" stripping that is common with cladding.
 
There are YouTube videos of guys using the large propane torches to do this restore. I have a smaller version torch used for killing weeds I am going to try. A friend of mine at work used a heat gun and only stayed black for about a week. I guess I'll find out first hand.
 
There are YouTube videos of guys using the large propane torches to do this restore. I have a smaller version torch used for killing weeds I am going to try. A friend of mine at work used a heat gun and only stayed black for about a week. I guess I'll find out first hand.

DO NOT USE HEAT TO ATTEMPT TO RESTORE YOUR PLASTICS.

PERIOD.
 
I am open to being educated but I first have to ask if it works? I have seen many products which produce short-term results and I am willing to explore all options.
 
From what I understand, there is a very temporary improvement but the it gets very chalky and virtually unrepairable. Yes, most the products are temporary but they don't do permanent damage. I have had some luck using boiled linseed boil after first wiping it down with denatured alcohol. Note that depending what kind of shape it's in, you may need to do multiple treatments to see any real results.
 
Restoring the plastics has been a very well discussed topic in this forum and on Facebook groups for these trucks.

My preference is a product called Carworx Refinish Restorer.

You can read the description of the product in the link above.

If you are looking for a permanent solution, then painting all of the plastic seems to be the way to go.

The Carworx product gives me the look I desire and it does last a long time.

But no wipe on product is going to last forever and some have undesirable characteristics, like running down the truck's paint when they get wet or just not lasting very long.

I first used Carworx over 8 years ago on my 2004 EXT bed panels.

My brother had used this product for years, with great results, on his 2004 Z-71 that he had purchased new, and recommended it to me.

Here is a picture of how my EXT bed panels look when treated with Carworx Refinish Restorer.

I do not have a "before" photo, but the bed panels were a nasty light chalky grey all over when I first bought the truck.

EXTBEDPANELS001.JPG

I use this product to treat every black plastic surface on my trucks, including running boards, outside mirror trim, the entire inside of the bed and tailgate and bumper trim.

Here is a picture of my 2003 Z-66 Avalanche after I spent less than an hour applying the Carworx product to all of the plastic cladding on that truck.

2003 Avalanche Z-66.jpg

I bought that truck used back in February, 2020 with 241K m miles on it.

I personally knew the previous owner and the history of the truck.

At no time since the truck was new had the previous owner ever applied any sort of treatment to the plastics.

All of the plastics were dull, chalky and extremely faded, especially the bed panels.

The truck was a company work truck and even though they kept it clean, no effort was made to detail it like one of us would have done.

Now, it looks pretty good, I think.

Both of my trucks will continue to receive fresh treatments of Carworx, as needed.

As mentioned above, DO NOT USE HEAT TO TREAT YOUR PLASTICS.

Doing so may give you a good, short term, result.

But, the real damage to the actual plastic material is severe and permanent.

After applying heat to the plastics, your only real option to recover the plastic is to paint.

No other process will make any difference, including the Carworx product.

Plus, the actual plastic will be damaged and weaker.

Just don't do it.
 
Convinced. I also did some external research and am convinced that heat isn't the best way to go. I'll use up the trim product I have now then consider switching - at least I'll have a base to start. Previous owner had over 550k miles on the truck and I'm guessing that it only saw automatic car washes, no real paint or trim care.

Thanks for the comments.
 
FWIW, and I could be wrong, but I have suspicion that RR base may be linseed oil as they smell similar. Big difference in price though.
 
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