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What gets Gatorbacked?

minreg

minreg

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
80
Location
Florida
Had an AC issue today and stopped by the dealer. While I was there I got an appointment for Gatorback. Im just 2 weeks from the end of the 3yr warranty.

I have a 2004 and confused about what can and cannot get Gatored.
What can get done other than the bed parts?




 

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Also I want to be sure this stuff has good adhesion. The dealer said they clean it with the provided aerosol spray. I didnt ask about scuffing?

What can I do to help this process? I was going to do the MrClean magic eraser on it. Anything else?
 
Gatorback will be on all your upper cladding.  Don't waste your energy on the Magic eraser, if you want to aid things, get some denatured alcohol and wipe ot down thoroughly.

They should follow the instructions on the can, which will advise them to scuff and clean.
 
I was told that my front bumper cap, lower tailgate strip and the wheel well moldings will all be done as well.

I found that interesting since I dont remember reading of others getting those done. I had the head guy walk around the truck and point to everything that could/would get done.

So I wondered if the black surround tailgate handle could be done why not the other surround handles? He said that the lower valance, door mirrors, bumper plastic, door handles and the door molding could not get done. Because they were made of a different material. Im fine with that. Right?

After the head guy approved it and I told the paint and body manager what was getting done. He said that was unusual to have more than just the bed parts done and he made a call. He verified and said no problem.
 
minreg said:
I was told that my front bumper cap, lower tailgate strip and the wheel well moldings will all be done as well.

I found that interesting since I dont remember reading of others getting those done. I had the head guy walk around the truck and point to everything that could/would get done.

So I wondered if the black surround tailgate handle could be done why not the other surround handles? He said that the lower valance, door mirrors, bumper plastic, door handles and the door molding could not get done. Because they were made of a different material. Im fine with that. Right?

After the head guy approved it and I told the paint and body manager what was getting done. He said that was unusual to have more than just the bed parts done and he made a call. He verified and said no problem.
Click to expand...

Moldings, flares, bumper caps, front valance are not the same material as the main cladding.  Per the TSB, those aren't covered for treatment (they also don't suffer the fading issue like the cladding does), but if you have a dealer willing to coat them, then it's your call.

Realize that the front valance on yours is a notably lighter color than the Gatorback dark grey will be, and those pesky rocks will leave visible color-changed chips if you choose to coat it.  The bumper caps, flares, etc. are all also black currently, and you'd be lightening them a hair by coating them with the dark grey.

The later black one is a much better upgrade that doesn't encounter this problem.
 
minreg said:
Had an AC issue today and stopped by the dealer. While I was there I got an appointment for Gatorback. Im just 2 weeks from the end of the 3yr warranty.

I have a 2004 and confused about what can and cannot get Gatored.
What can get done other than the bed parts?



Dont forget to sign up below>......
FLORIDA ROLL CALL THREAD
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everybody.

Im not sure how many different plastics are on the Av but Im all for doing the  bumper top cap and tailgate strip.
I will just paint the front valance myself.

I was suprised when he said the wheel flare molding would be done. Thats what Im unsure about. But they promised I would love the Gatorback. They seemed pretty positive about it. But when I asked about a warranty they said "we do it one time."

Oh, Its gonna be the BLACK, not dark grey. It was their idea to go black from the get go. So I didnt have to argue about that.

They made it a point to say that they will only do the Gatorback while its under the factory warranty. So this will be my last opportunity to get it done before it ends.

The truck does look good in the above picture when its all cleaned up. But when I got it from the dealer there was so much "goop" on the plastic and cladding it was real slick.

Then after a couple weeks you can see its not all that great. 
Guess thats it. Welcome more comments.
 
minreg said:
Thanks everybody.

Im not sure how many different plastics are on the Av but Im all for doing the  bumper top cap and tailgate strip.
I will just paint the front valance myself.

I was suprised when he said the wheel flare molding would be done. Thats what Im unsure about. But they promised I would love the Gatorback. They seemed pretty positive about it. But when I asked about a warranty they said "we do it one time."

Oh, Its gonna be the BLACK, not dark grey. It was their idea to go black from the get go. So I didnt have to argue about that.

They made it a point to say that they will only do the Gatorback while its under the factory warranty. So this will be my last opportunity to get it done before it ends.

The truck does look good in the above picture when its all cleaned up. But when I got it from the dealer there was so much "goop" on the plastic and cladding it was real slick.

Then after a couple weeks you can see its not all that great. 
Guess thats it. Welcome more comments.
Click to expand...
if you have to do it yourself,  Armageddon's came out very nice...

Just Painted lower valence
 
on my '04 WBH...?
I had the front bumper cap, the side moldings and the fender flares done as well as the standard upper panels/covers/tailgate strip. I had already painted my lower front valance with Fusion black satin, and I didn't care about the rest.

They would not do the BLACK, and I had a hard time getting them to do the "non-standard" parts.

Its been on almost 1yr, and looks good yet.
 
What did you have to do to get this done under your warranty?  Are all Av's covered by this?  By that I mean has GM said that if you have cladding, you can come in and get this done....kind of like a recall?  My warranty is up in few thousand miles, and would like to get this done if possible.
 
bigkevj said:
What did you have to do to get this done under your warranty? Are all Av's covered by this? By that I mean has GM said that if you have cladding, you can come in and get this done....kind of like a recall? My warranty is up in few thousand miles, and would like to get this done if possible.
Click to expand...
you have to sweet talk dealership it out of original warranty..

or email Gatorback for help...
 
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