Cladding options

[Nfuriate]

I'm at an impass about the cladding on my truck. The rear bumper is faded pretty bad, but I've never been crazy about even the unfaded grey. I'm considering a handful of things here;

-Paint all the cladding black, possibly with Krylon Fusion and UV topcoat
-- Might be easiest, but worry about fading/chipping
-Paint white to match body
-- This would likely be done by a shop just to get the right match of white, but would cost more
-I have a can of Herculiner that never got put on my old Ranger
-- Not sure I want to go that "Rugged" right now
-White bedliner sprayed by a shop
-- Not even sure I could find one, at least that wouldn't charge me a kidney

I tried spray can bedliner on the cladding and a few inches of rocker on my Ranger. I ended up with a fair amount of chipping, but probably could have prepped better. I also used Fusion on the grey grill of another old truck. That ended up chipping like crazy, but, again, prep could have been to blame.

Despite the potential cost, I might be leaning toward the white bedliner. It should be durable and the texture should help with any color difference.

Opinions?

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Here's my solution to that...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322733&highlight=wahoo

 

[OffTrac]

Rustoleum Universal satin black has held up on mine very well. I've used Krylon and Rustoleum and prefer the latter. There is a Rustoleum flat clear coat-like product that I've been meaning to give a try just for better protection but haven't gotten around to finding it to give it a try. I have a thread mentioning what I did.

Herculiner will look dirty all the time and is nearly impossible to make look clean (based on those who have tried it).

It really comes down to what you want to spend. A rattle can and a few hours or a pro shop and big money.

 

[Pjibs]

I painted mine in June I believe, and I have seen no chipping or fading. I have only lost paint where a woman scrapped up against me in the parking lot..... And that was fixed with a few new layers of paint and it looks the same!

I WAS going to get the cladding Line-X'ed, but the guy said that no amount of prepping will keep the spray-on bed liner for a long period of time.

I say bust out the rattle cans! I think the black will look better than the white just because its a good outline color and will mess well with your tires. The white will probably get very very dirt with every puddle/debris you run-over on the road.

Just my 2 cents! Best of luck,
J.B.

 

[JohnnyO]

I painted the fender flares on my daughter's Jeep with Krylon Fusion satin black. It looks good enough but I did just touch them up over the weekend as it does tend to chip. Also used it more recently on the step bars of my Gen 2 Trac and it is holding up well.

 

[LONO100]

here's mine right after i painted the cladding. i used krylon fusion satin black for plastics. its all about the prep work. its almost been a year and i just need a few touch ups here and there.

 

[Blake A]

This is how mine looks with Hurculiner. It also needs some kind of UV coating though.

 

[arko88]

I saw allot of remarks regarding prep work so i thought i would throw in a tip. A real simple yet cost effective way to prep common surfaces is to use a product called Scuff Stuff
(http://www.prestaproducts.com/Scuff_Stuff__Surface_Prep-details.aspx) and a scotch bright pad. Just follow the directions and your golden for most DIY painting. If you really want a good stick you can spend an extra buck or two and find an adhesion promoter.

 

[LONO100]

i find the best way to prep the cladding (and a lot of other stuff) is to first give it a good bath, then to sand it down with a fine grit, this will give it a good surface for the paint to stick and will also knock off a lot of crud you couldnt get off with the wash. its the same principle as using a scotch bright pad. painting is 90% prep work, you get good preparation in and you will get good results.

 

[interscope8]

If you go with painting it black, DO NOT slack on prep work. I did mine last winter (1st mistake) and was rushed for time. I did it in 2 days, 1 day after school, next day after school before work and I had to rush to wrap it all up for work. My prepping wasnt up to par and its starting to chip badly. No I really need to redo it all. I may even consider going to a junkyard and buying cladding off of another trac or the rear of an X Sport.

 

[Pickupman_69]

def all about the prep work,I did 7 coats on the rockers and 3 on the bumpers with several coats of clear coat and the only touch ups ive had to make were from scuffs from the trails.

 

[OffTrac]

I can't recommend Rustoleum Universal enough.