Do we have a consensus yet re the CLADDING

[DK]

Do we have a consensus yet as to what product is best to restore the black to the cladding?

I've heard good and bad about several products -- some streak after rain, etc.

I'd really like to treat my cladding but I'm confused.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Anita]

I dont think we have a consenses yet. There are still lots of different opinions.

I'm sold on Zaino's Perfect Tire gloss

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-16&Category_Code=Zaino

It will streak in moderate rain, however the lotion goes on so evenly and quickly that I dont mind the re-apply. Before that I used Mother's back-to-black which also had some streaking, but it took so much longer to apply so I looked elsewhere.

[Cyrk]

Meguiars Endurance Gold. Even smells like grapes... can get a little greasy if you do not wipe it good, but I like that stuff the best.

http://partners.drivewerks.com/catalog/images/drivewerks/meguiars/G7410kit.jpg

[LittleBeast]

Just my opinion but the best product I have found that lasts for weeks is Mothers Back to Black, it is awesome.

[Icekold]

I used Meguiars for the first time this past weekend and All I can say is WOW! I waited because my cladding was in good shape (so I thought). The difference was like night and day. My fiance who HATES my VX cause I love it so much, actually commented on how good it looks (and smells LOL). So even though I have a full bottle of Mothers, I'm stuck on Meguiars.

[etlsport]

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/premiumautocare_1892_16806803 (http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/premiumautocare_1892_16806803)
i havent tried many products.. this stuff called black again has made me happy.. goes on very easy and gives a really nice shine, after heavy rain i noticed a couple of streaks where water ran out of the doors, but they were easy to touch up..... theres are some close up shots in my gallery from the show i entered, thats what i used to prep for the show and i got lots of compliments on the cladding there.. 5.99 at strauss discount auto...
heres a link to a desc. of it http://www.autogeek.net/blackagain1.html

[rowhard]

I have been trying different products with mixed results. Yesterday on my quad weekly bathing of said VX, I tried something different, I dried the cladding first then kept after any drips/runs from the paint work as I dried the rest the rest of it. It helped, didn't need to reapply anything this washing. Something to keep in mind if you just got to wash your baby but don't really have the time to do it right

[tomdietrying]

Mothers Back to Black - it's inexpensive and a very good product.
Peace.
Tom

[Apostle]

I used armor all tire foam. as long as it does not rain the first couple of days, no streaking and lasts about a month

[Joe_Black]

Meguiars Endurance Gold. If you go over the cladding with an old clean t-shirt shortly after applying it you won't have any streaking issues. Typically it looks real good for a couple months before need re-application.

The best part is you can also use the same stuff on your tires while you're doing the cladding. ;)

[johnnyapollo]

Endurance for me as well. I may try the Zaino product though (upon Anita's recommendation), the next time I order from them I'll add some to the invoice.

-- John

[Apostle]

Meguiars Endurance Gold. If you go over the cladding with an old clean t-shirt shortly after applying it you won't have any streaking issues. Typically it looks real good for a couple months before need re-application.

The best part is you can also use the same stuff on your tires while you're doing the cladding. ;)


like you said, good for a couple months.

when i washed (past tense) the VX i liked to go around the cladding and make sure no new gouges have appeared. using the spray i know once a month the cladding will be checked.

not sure what it is about Florida, but people down here tend to open their car doors with force, not caring what is next to them

[maxw]

I've used a number of products but I find this to be the best. Just left the car for a week in an outside carpark by the airport.When I returned, it had been pouring rain for the last few days. No streaks, just beading and it looked great. Lasts a long time and not expensive.
Max.

http://www.americanshine.com/

[jkstephens83]

Mother's Back to Black has worked great for mine. It has even lasted through a couple of hard rains without streaking so I'm pretty well sold on it. You can find it at any auto part retailer, it's in a red bottle with a red and black label.

[Bulldoggie]

I must be the only one who thinks the cladding is fine as it is, dry.

[E-ZooZoo One]

I only have experience with two products so far…
Mother’s Back-to-Black & TurtleWax’s new ICE.


Of the two, personally I prefer the ICE; hands down, 10,000-times more so.

Although I’ve only had the ICE on there for a few days - already I can tell you that it goes on a whole lot easier; it’s far more resistant to rain and carwash-induced thinning/streaking; and it doesn’t have that sticky-wet residue that attracts road grime like a magnet.

In all fairness thought, the ICE isn’t perfect…
Instead of being sticky, it has a strange sort of dry statically-charged attractive force to it, much like an old vinyl record album that’s been left to sit out for a long time in a dusty room. --- Perhaps it’s just the time of year, but it seems to actively reach out and grab every single bit of pollen within a 5-mile radius and leave it loosely adhered to the cladding – oddly enough, in some rather curiously unnatural semi-circular patterns. --- But after a quick rinse at the carwash, it’s as good as new… the water beads-up and rolls right off.

I’ll report my long-term impressions over in the ICE Thread ;)

[geshaw30]

Chances are you'll never get a total agreement on anything 'round here :argue: but, on this issue, you'll find the majority have sided with Meguiars Endurance Gold
________
Www..****tube.com (http://www.****tube.com/)

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Personally I've gone with 2 products...I use Back2Black first and let it dry overnight or wait until I wash the VX again and then I hit it with Eagle 1 Tire Shine (Silicone of thick viscosity) and let that stand overnight to "soak" into the cladding. I believe that Back2Black kind of dries out the cladding (plus my VX is never garaged and the cladding gets sunbleached!) so I've gotten good results letting the Eagle 1 Tire shine soak into the cladding which seems to give it a pretty long-lasting rich look. If you go over the Eagle 1 T.S. with a towel it won't look too greasy afterwards either so it won't attract dust real bad. Just my .02

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6255&cat=500&page=1

[Joe_Black]

not sure what it is about Florida, but people down here tend to open their car doors with force, not caring what is next to them
It's all them darn tourists with rental cars, or yankees about to leave town. :p

[climbcovey]

i have had the best luck with the meqires.

[Ironman pilot]

Auto Glym's bumper care!

[CrnCnn]

I just bought some "Restore Black" made by Bondo....


VERY dissapointed, I am now ready to go with the Line-X or something to that effect. This stuff SUCKs... All I got was uneven looking crappy Cladding, also very streaky unless you hit it really fast with a cloth to rub it in, even then very dissapointed :mad:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jimmylongwong/KEYBANG.gif

[etlsport]

aw man clint! sorry buddy.. i used that stuff on my vx and its STILL staining my cladding (i used it back in summer...) i only did it on my drivers side fender.. but you can still see the streaking.. i made a post about it a while back when i first used it, guess i shoulda put it in more than one place though, i havent found any way to get rid of it but using mcguires on it reduced the streaking when its freshly applied

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=8617&highlight=bondo+test+cladding

[CrnCnn]

aw man clint! sorry buddy.. i used that stuff on my vx and its STILL staining my cladding (i used it back in summer...) i only did it on my drivers side fender.. but you can still see the streaking.. i made a post about it a while back when i first used it, guess i shoulda put it in more than one place though, i havent found any way to get rid of it but using mcguires on it reduced the streaking when its freshly applied

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=8617&highlight=bondo+test+cladding


Its cool, just makes it easier to decide to go with the bed liner stuff

[Chopper]

Meguires here too, but I much prefer their vinyl and rubber protectant, #40. It's in the beige spray bottle...part of their professional series of products. You have to go to a paint store, or their website to get it. Goes on easily, buffs to a DRY matte sheen, resists streaking and washing off after it has been used two or three times ( has a definite cumulative effect) I've tried all the other stuff (except Zaino's) and I can't imagine it's much better.

[CrnCnn]

I shouldn’t have washed it today, that’s were it all started. I was washing it and noticed a pretty healthy few scratches from some scumbags’ car door. They run about 3 inches long and about an inch from top to bottom... grrrr... I thought I would show some love to it for taking the punishment and make it all pretty... DAMN see what I get. I think my day will be spent tomorrow on this mod, if you want to call it that...

[etlsport]

maybe you could try just going over it with more and more of the evil bondo product? its more or less paint, so another coat would probably even out the light patches and not make the dark streaks much darker... i havent seen your vx.. but id imagine it couldnt make matters much worse judging from my experience with that stuff

[IndianaVX]

crncnn,
have you tried that super clean product. when i first got my vx, i cleaned the stuff the dealer put on there, and it basicly took it down to the bare plastic. i also used a scrub brush to really get the cleaning down into the texture. im not sure what the stuff you used was, but the dealer used something similar to thin tar....lol.
the super clean took it off. its in a purple bottle, im not sure off hand who makes it, auto zone, walmart, etc carry it. after that, invest in some MEGUIRES.
thats all i got. sorry about your troubles brutha.....
take it easy
david

[CrnCnn]

maybe you could try just going over it with more and more of the evil bondo product? its more or less paint, so another coat would probably even out the light patches and not make the dark streaks much darker... i havent seen your vx.. but id imagine it couldnt make matters much worse judging from my experience with that stuff

Well I think I would need another bottle, and at 10 bucks, its not worth my effort. I tried going over were I started, on the Passenger fender, and it still look horible.



crncnn,
have you tried that super clean product. when i first got my vx, i cleaned the stuff the dealer put on there, and it basicly took it down to the bare plastic. i also used a scrub brush to really get the cleaning down into the texture. im not sure what the stuff you used was, but the dealer used something similar to thin tar....lol.
the super clean took it off. its in a purple bottle, im not sure off hand who makes it, auto zone, walmart, etc carry it. after that, invest in some MEGUIRES.
thats all i got. sorry about your troubles brutha.....
take it easy
david


I think I might try that first, I know what stuff your talking about I used to work at Kragen and Autozone so I have seen it. I dont know that I am bold enough to go for the liner stuff yet. I will clean it off as best I can and use the Trim shine that I have used before, Bart uses it as well. Maybe I will try the ICE by TW, they have it at Wal-Mart for 16 bucks.

Edit: I seem to remember someone finding a product that was intended for motor homes, does this ring a bell for anyone.. I will keep searching for the thread.

Edit Again: Heres the thread, bot much info on lasting but at least I got a name. http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9547&highlight=RV

[etlsport]

in my experience ICE doesnt change the color of your cladding much, i dont know that it would cover anything

[CrnCnn]

in my experience ICE doesnt change the color of your cladding much, i dont know that it would cover anything

Oh sure add more Pee to my cornflakes. Just kidding. Thats what I need, to darken it, because the previous owner didnt care for the caldding and its fairly faded. That is why I was leaning towards the liner stuff.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jimmylongwong/FELIX.gif

[Mark B]

I have used Mothers Back to Black. It is pretty good and easy to apply.
Also used ICE when I wax the VX.
Got some Maguiers Endurance Gold at Big Lots and have not tired it yet.

[etlsport]

how about mark miller's painted cladding? that looked fantastic and he made it sound like it wasnt that difficult to do

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9401

[k4tmc]

I really like the Armorall Extreme Tire Shine Gel (orange plastic 18 oz bottle with foam applicator). You have a wet black shine for a few weeks then just "black" for weeks more. My mid December application stills looks black, even using the VX as my daily driver through rain, sleet and snow.

Henry

[CrnCnn]

how about mark miller's painted cladding? that looked fantastic and he made it sound like it wasnt that difficult to do

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9401

Yeah I decided last night I will try that instead of liner, at least I can take the paint off if I decide to change it. Now the next step is getting my step dad to let me roll out the 69 Camaro for the day, so I can use the garage.

Has anyone pulled off there cladding, I am wondering about the tape that is supposed to be under there. Did you replace it? Let it go, or what?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jimmylongwong/Screwdriver-01-june.gif

[maxw]

Recently converted to Autoglym products ; they're amazing and last a long time. Completely revitalized the cladding and great cosmetic result. Had to put some elbow grease into it, but I found that even if I place large glops of the stuff it blends in well and leaves no streaks.

http://www.autoglym.com/frame2.html

[maxw]

oops...it's called BUMPER CARE.

[etlsport]

ive pulled the front bumper.. didnt find any tape there, but it was very easy to pull off.. small big of advice on removing the front cladding, the two torx screws between the grille and headlights are cosmetic only, dont remove them because theyre a pita to put back on, if you look on tone's website he has instructions for removing the rear cladding (on his how-to for installing his tow hitch)

[CrnCnn]

ive pulled the front bumper.. didnt find any tape there, but it was very easy to pull off.. small big of advice on removing the front cladding, the two torx screws between the grille and headlights are cosmetic only, dont remove them because theyre a pita to put back on, if you look on tone's website he has instructions for removing the rear cladding (on his how-to for installing his tow hitch)

Thanks Eric, I wouldve done my best to break 'em if you wouldnt have told me. I plan on doing the paint job next weekend. Weather permitting

[rowhard]

Well, something I have been doing and it works pretty good and doesn't cost anything. I keep the cladding wet when washing the car, then I dry it first with a rough old towel. Seems to work pretty good for me.

[k4tmc]

Etlsport,

Well...I took off one of those front torx screws to see how easy it was to paint them. When I went back to install it, there was nothing for it to screw into. So what held it there to begin with? What is the best way to put it back?

Henry

[rowhard]

You must be talking about the one between the headlight and the hood, a,, the outher ones are real. There is just a floating nut plate that fell down inside when you removed it. I glued mine in, (Did the same thing). Some have cut a small square out of a pop or beer can, poked a hole in it and screwed it back on.

GO BEARS

[etlsport]

yep exactly what i did.. i took the cap from a 2 liter bottle, cut it into a small square (feel behind the hole and you will feel that there is two small ridges back there, cut the piece so it just fits between the ridges, then i poked a small hole in it to start the screw through and used that to hold it in place.. worked like a charm

[k4tmc]

Thanks guys. That is just the type of detail I need to get that bolt back.

Henry

[kinnaq]

I find these ingredients together as a whole clean the cladding pleasingly well: sodium hydroxide, fatty acid(s), Water, amphoteric polymer and a touch of coloring w/perfume. No streaking and no toweling - it is self-drying!

Just ask the bald man with big ear ring. He knows!:yesy:

[Mark Miller]

As soon as I have some time I will paint my cladding.
I'm ready to see the black pop with the silver paint.

[nfpgasmask]

You should paint your roof rails and spoiler to match too. ;) Did you ever find a replacement cap for your roof rails? I remember you were missing one.

Once you get this done, we will have to have another meet up so I can see the results....

I still have good luck shining and darkening my cladding with Trime Shine or Trim Detailer. Both of those products do the trick for me...

Bart


Thanks Eric, I wouldve done my best to break 'em if you wouldnt have told me. I plan on doing the paint job next weekend. Weather permitting

[CrnCnn]

You should paint your roof rails and spoiler to match too. ;) Did you ever find a replacement cap for your roof rails? I remember you were missing one.

Once you get this done, we will have to have another meet up so I can see the results....

I still have good luck shining and darkening my cladding with Trime Shine or Trim Detailer. Both of those products do the trick for me...

Bart


No i havent looked yet. I am waiting to see what I am doing about a roof rack setup. I want to get the Yakima lowriders and the crossbars but then, not sure.

Hopefully the weather clears up for the weekend. I need to see if there is a ideal temp. for the paint.

[dave3702]

Which Endurance Gold? On Meguiar's website, there are two gels listed. One is natural & the other is high gloss. What's the general preference of the Meguiar's users?

[geshaw30]

It's the high gloss
________
Maryjane (http://maryjanes.info/)

[CrnCnn]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jimmylongwong/untitled2266.jpg

Not the best weather for painting my cladding this weekend... GRRR...

[Mark Miller]

Just bought some more Dupli-Color Bumper Coating spray, it reads that the temp needs to be from 60-92 F and less than 60% humidity.

I saw some bulldog bumper paint today at pep boys.