I've tried yet another cladding/trim restorer & reconditioning product, so this thread is for all the details.
SHOWROOM NEW - AUTO TRIM RESTORER
This product is a permanent dye for the plastic and rubber trim and cladding.
While I was waiting for my replacement bottle of TC Black Fusion a few weeks back, I started surfing for other products...again. Found a Ford F150 forum where several owners had tried a few "permanent dyes" for the plastic cladding. I don't recall seeing any "dyes" before. Read up on a few and decided on "Showroom New"
http://showroomnewproducts.com/_mgxroot/page_10783.html
It comes in Black and Gray.
Sold on ebay $14.95 + $3.50 shipping or twin pack for $27.99 + $5.35.
I also bought the smaller sponge roller & tray.
:http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories
I ordered both, to mix them and get a nice dark charcoal color. Seller advised mixing was OK.
~ Mixed colors in a glass jar, decided on a 2:1 black to gray ratio. Used all 4 oz of black, and 2 oz of gray. Used sponge roller for application.
~ Surface prep is only washing with soap. I used the pressure washer soap/rinse at the coin car wash place. Blasted with soap for 7 mins or so, same for rinse.
~ Did entire truck, and a 2nd coat on front bumper when I ran out. Took about 3-4 hrs.
~ Took about 6 hrs to really finish drying, and almost all of the streaking went away. See pics.
~ Emailed manufacturer for tips/advice. Some streaking can occur, but was advised not to keep rolling over and over as it does cause it to dry more rapidly. Also, use sufficient product to coat area, and do NOT try to stretch product (like I did on front bumper 2nd coat!)
~ Ordered another 4 oz Black. Got it a week later, mixed up same 2:1 mix.
~ This time I used a 4" foam brush. The roller tended to spew product out of the edges from the centrifugal force, causing you to go over and over it, eventually the product gets too dry to spread properly.
~Did entire truck again with foam brush. Really mastered application technique of long broad light strokes and had very minimal streaking.
~ I had a real problem with the front bumper on driver's side, since this was where I ran out the first time, and couldn't address the streaks any further cuzs it was drying out. When I used the foam brush for the next coat, it evened out some, but I still wasn't happy.
~ Got wild idea to try sanding area on the front driver's side bumper.Used 2000 grit sandpaper by hand and was able to sand down the thicker splotches.
*** I can ASSURE you this is NOT a topical treatment, it's a dye that's absorbed into the plastic. I couldn't sand the color off despite 30 minutes of rubbing. I ended up with very dark gray particles on the ground after sanding.
I also wiped it aggressively with a wet textured shop rag....nothing came off on rag...so rain will not affect it whatsoever.
~ Used the foam brush and a fair amount of product and redid the front corner again. You can smooth out the product using the entire FLAT SIDE of the foam brush with lighter and lighter strokes to get it smooth. It came out better, but not perfect.
~ Rest of truck came out great, very minimal streaking. After thorough drying, almost all the streaks are gone. I'm very satisfied and love the darker charcoal gray color! It's way way darker than it was.
~It's not sticky, tacky or oily in any way, just a dry matte finish.
Looks like mine is just a notch lighter than Ebenezr's with the Black Fusion. WAHOO! Finally!
~ MYSTERY SOLVED on my strange cladding!!! My cladding was definitely "coated" or dyed that lighter gray color. It's highly probable it's the "gray" ShowRoom New product. This explains several mysteries...why all my scuffs on the sills and the flat part of rear bumper where you load cargo in/out all scrapes were dark gray, why my cladding screws are uniformly light gray, why any significant scratches I had on my cladding were dark gray.....it's cuz it was coated with a light gray color and the scratches got down to the OEM color cladding!! Any scratches or abrasions can be touched up with a foam brush.
And ya'll don't ever have to hear me whinning again about my light cladding!!!
~ One last point....I no longer have a "gas tat"...........
I've uploaded lots of detailed application and comparison pics in picasaweb. You can zoom in on each pic to see really close details.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1147574...eat=directlink
Here's a few pics of the finished masterpiece! (my hood is not latched so it's up a little bit in these pics)
I think it will look great with the silver skid plates that Rowhard is finishing up.
I also installed my clear front turn signal lens covers I got from Bantan!
I have a slight indent in pass door cladding you can see in pics.
(that's snow flakes in some of these pics....brrr.....)
Really shows how light my cladding was. Also, the SN was just freshly applied, very wet. Don't panic (yet)...the streaks magically disappear after it's dried....just do light coats and don't keep rolling it.
This is after first coat, not yet completely dry.
This was after 2nd coat...But this was my problem area cuz I tried to stretch the stuff too far and rolled it too much causing it to dry faster and those streaks weren't budging. Check out the color difference in the front fog lamp area! WAHOO!!
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