Yikes! I don't know if I would try that with the cladding still on the vehicle... can't imagine what paint thinner would do to the paint if you slipped. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Riff Raff
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Yikes! I don't know if I would try that with the cladding still on the vehicle... can't imagine what paint thinner would do to the paint if you slipped. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Riff Raff
I would try a heavy coat to loosen up the existing application, let sit 5 mins MAXIMUM, and wipe off the excess with a microfiber cloth. I used the kind of microfiber cloths designed for cleaning windows and camera lenses. Not the fuzzy kind, use the with a real smooth very tight weave, almost like satin. You will ruin your expensive cloth, but additional lint sticking to the cladding will not be an issue. Hopefully it will take off the accumulated dust too. After your heavy coat to try to work out the errant dust etc... try a couple more VERY light coats one coat later that night, and one the next day to completely work out he swirls and streaks. I'm not an expert with this stuff, but have used it enough to get a feel for its qualities.Quote:
Originally Posted by Petos
Cheers, guys... I will give it a shot (apply another coat and whipe it off hoping that it will loosen up the existing excess), and post on the result.. thanks again :thumbup:
Petos
PETOS--- Any results yet on getting the varnish-like goo off the cladding???
Pressure washer will blow it off. Turps will clean it up fully. The power wand at a carwash blew some off an Avalanche I did for a customer...Try the PW
I was googling at few websites & found this product which i assume some of you folks may have aknowledge of.
The product is named "Wurth stone guard black aereosol" offered by properautocare.com which offers another option to solve the fading issues our toys suffers from weather.
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/classic-motoring_2072_48597565
Sorry, fellows, forgot to post a reply... well, I went with the suggested route of reapplying RR and then rubbing hard trying to get rid of the earlier stuff... well, I had limited success, I would say, looks better now, I guess the good old Russian winter will help to make the goo go off :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Riff Raff
also, I suspect that the previous owner actually painted the cladding (really hard to see but i think he did do that), so application of RR maybe was not a good idea in the first place.. maybe it is the reason why it did not work well when I applied it the fist time...
Just put the order in for some RR. Used back to black a few weeks ago and it looked great for about 5 days. then i drove thru one of those midwestern hurricanes and now it looks worse than before :( I wasnt expecting anything speccial for 7 bucks though. Hope this does the trick:thumbup:
Oh it will do the trick, it's fantastic. It's a coating not a treatment, that's for sure.
I just noticed this week (after 4 months) that I had a few small areas where the R/R appears to be kind of scratched off (from brush or branch maybe?), so I'd recommend putting a heavier 2nd coat and maybe a 3rd coat on. It may be because I used a microfiber rag to apply it with, as I didn't have ANY residual to wipe off as instructions described.
I'm going to try to do the entire cladding again soon. There's PLENTY left in the can to do it over.
So, I finally got around to the RR.
It's amazing how good it looks. If it holds up as long as chopper and everyone is saying it's worth the few hours to simply not have to screw with it every few weeks.
I'm extremely excited to say the least. The cladding it the one thing that just keeps our babies from not looking as amazing as any new car on the road. with that solved in some part we'll always be rocking.
I went basically the same route as Kat and it seemed to work pretty well. I used a heavier cloth that held a good bit of the liquid so it went on pretty thick. I did an initial coat that had swirls/faded streaks etc. I then went back with a soaked cloth and just wiped VERY evenly all the way around two more times. I was very careful to avoid leaving excess behind to glob.
So far it's amazing. I still need on more day to do the tiny detailing and get to the roof rack and mirrors a bit better. My hood insert was in BAD shape and just the one coat I got on today looks a million times better. I hope to do another one or two on that. If it fades again though I"m on the verge of just having it painted.
I need to go back and do the jams and rear door surrounding areas as well.
So in total I did 3 medium coats on the cladding. took me maybe and hour and a half to do it timed right.
I think that in a few weeks I'll wash her and may do one more good coat all around for good measure.
I just can't believe how good she looks. Now I can put in my new headlights and find some door seals, etc. I also think my windows are starting to stick, so may be doing that fix soon as well.
Wonder what the door and window rubber runs for a complete set?
Anyway, thanks to all those who went ahead and risked doing this treatment. I'm VERY excited to see how it holds up.
- technocoy
I ended up putting on too thin of a coat the first time last June because I used a soaked rag, and since then, the front bumper has had some slight flaking off I believe from wind and abrasion.
So I hit it yesterday cuz it hit 68 degrees, the min. for working with this stuff. I used a foam brush which worked much better and it looks great. I actually applied it generously, then brushed and brushed to keep it from slowly dripping. After about 7-8 mins it gets thicker and it stops dripping and the brush strokes disappear for a nice even, satin finish. Doesn't really darken the cladding (unfortunately) or cover up any discolorations but it sure makes it look brand new otherwise.
This hard coating will last for years now I believe....and there's still at least 8 or 9 applications remaining in the can. :thumbup:
The more I read on this stuff the more I'm inclined to think its only advantage is that you don't have to apply it very often. My cladding was terribly faded last fall before I did my first coat of Back to Black, and in one detail it was tremendously darker. A few months ago I accidentally stained a large section of the cladding below the gas cap, but the next coat of B2B made it completely disappear. Even when I neglected the B2B for a couple of months, the stain still never came back.Quote:
Originally Posted by VX KAT
In my mind B2B is simply a better product, IF you can tolerate applying it every 2-4 weeks.
They're really two different animals, as R/R is a permanent hard coating (that says it penetrates the plastic), not a treatment. My front had some areas that flaked off as I mentioned from abrasion from airborne stuff, but everywhere else was fine. I just didn't apply it correctly first time. I'll never have to do it again now.Quote:
Originally Posted by vt_maverick
Wish I'd tried the B2B on my gasoline stain last year. I can see where that kind of product could kind of dissolve the gasoline. Now mine's covered with R/R so nothing will penetrate...so my "gas tat" stays.
some one told be black shoe polish is the best stuff hes used for his clading.. his looks great..its one of those chev.. truck suv things
Actually, that crossed my mind...to put shoe polish on, THEN apply the R/R to seal it on...or I contemplated how I might be able to "dye" the R/R....but Dave the chemist reminded me there's probably a ton of things that could go wrong with that type of mixture....so alas, I used it as is and have very nice satiny grayish cladding...shall we start a poll on color?:pQuote:
Originally Posted by don moore
Figured I'd keep KATs thread going since there is a lot of information in here.
I've been nearly a year now with my treatment of RR and it still looks nearly like the day I applied it. The only difference (which I see as a positive) is that a bit of the shine has mellowed so it looks a little more like the natural texture of the cladding.
I'll continue to post an update here and there as the time goes by. I'm going to wash her in the next week or two, so I'll take some good photos to show.
I think the biggest issue is getting the application right and then hand washing only. Per KATs experience I'm thinking powerwashers are a BAD idea.
I've still had only a positive experience with mine as well. Late this summer I applied a second coat because the original appeared to be thinning or wearing out or something. I like it so much I used it on the cladding on my 2003 Escape and it made that ride look much "younger" too.
Sorry you didn't have as good of luck as others of us have Kat! I love RR personally :yesb:
would it (RR)..work in conjunction with a product that would first bring the cladding back to as dark as possible..then the application of RR....as i would want the cladding as dark as possible
Believe that the cladding needs to be completely "naked" prior to RR application, otherwise it won't adhere as well. RR is supposed to both darken and protect the cladding.
pretty sure everyones stated it doesnt darken the cladding
RR claims it does:
RR Manual (see page #1 "Characteristics")
Pics from rowhard's gallery:Quote:
Refinish Restorer is a natural oil based product that restores the original colour and shine to almost any plastic or varnished surface.
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../IMG_00037.JPG
thanks....
[QUOTE=vt_maverick;218199]RR claims it does:
RR Manual (see page #1 "Characteristics")
Refinish Restorer is a natural oil based product that restores the original colour and shine to almost any plastic or varnished surface.
Pics from rowhard's gallery:
[Quote]Doesn't really darken the cladding (unfortunately) or cover up any discolorations but it sure makes it look brand new otherwise.[Quote]
From VXKat post
I'm pretty sure Sue would tell you her cladding isn't a good benchmark. If that were the case, we'd have to conclude that it neither darkens nor adheres.
[QUOTE=circmand;218205][QUOTE=vt_maverick;218199]RR claims it does:
RR Manual (see page #1 "Characteristics")
Refinish Restorer is a natural oil based product that restores the original colour and shine to almost any plastic or varnished surface.
Pics from rowhard's gallery:
[Quote]Doesn't really darken the cladding (unfortunately) or cover up any discolorations but it sure makes it look brand new otherwise.I "think" the difference in those two statements are due to:Quote:
From VXKat post
1) Rowhard had done more extensive and proper prep work on it, and it looks pretty "chalky" in the pic. After his prep, his is actually lighter than my "normal" color.
2) Mine "seems" to be a lighter hue of gray to start with, ( oh my, we've beat this one to death haven't we gang?)....it darkened it a tad, just like anything "moist/oiled" appears a bit darker....just not by very much, IMO.
My cladding was pretty faded and required contant Mother's BTB applications.
I would say it restores your cladding to the same darkness as new. The key is going very little bits at a time and letting it "soak" into the cladding. It took me nearly 2 hours to put mine on I went so slowly and put two coats. The first coat I went around piece by piece with a saturated rag and really rubbed it in.
I also washed mine VERY thoroughly before hand and took windex to some of the parts of cladding where I new that things like armor-all or eagle products had slung from my tires.
I THINK the consensus about KATs (correct me if I'm wrong KAT) was that she either had some type of application before she owned it that was blocking the RR from penetrating the ABS very well or there was some type of residue she couldn't get completely off in her initial prep.
KAT also had the unfortunate experience of being the first to find out that if it chips at all, power washing is a bad, bad thing.
I agree techno.Quote:
Originally Posted by technocoy
I'd let it go at least 3 months with zero products applied and no automatic car washes, then did a windex heavy duty wipe down a few times, a few hrs of 409 soaked paper towel stuck on the cladding by the filler door.....but even then, mine never seemed "chalky" or parched...just lighter bluish/gray in color...so maybe PO did apply something???
Funny thing is, I'm having a heck of a time blasting it off some parts of my pass side (I overestimated that 95% off estimate in an earlier post...didn't realize there was still some there, not nearly as shiny as when applied)....so I do have some that's adhering really good. :confused:
The better a product adheres to a surface the harder it is too remove it.Quote:
Originally Posted by VX KAT
I'll make a separate post about the lights too, but just wanted to keep this thread updated...
It's been about a year and 3 months since I did the RR, and I washed her real good today since I had the time for once.
Here's how she's still looking with NOTHING but washing.
http://www.kwurk.com/vehicross/vx2011_1.jpg
http://www.kwurk.com/vehicross/vx2011_3.jpg
http://www.kwurk.com/vehicross/vx2011_4.jpg
Sorry a few are really bright on the paint... I wanted to expose the cladding so you could really tell how dark it still is.
My cladding was very faded when I originally put the RR on as well.
There are a few places in back where it's started to fade just a LITTLE and a couple little bits here and there where rocks have hit, but it really looks no different than if it were naked and the same thing happened.
I figure an a cooler day in the shade I'm going to try a "touch up" coat to see if it helps add to the coating. I'll post another update after that.
This is good stuff as long as you get it applied right and/or your cladding isn't cursed like KATs! I could imagine easily going the rest of the year before needing to really touch it up. I haven't put any other product on it since I put the RR on.
I applied one coat last year, and just did another coat recently. It looks great. I'm reluctant to do multiple coats at the same time, as I don't want it to build up and level off the cladding texture, or be more prone to chipping. I apply with a quality 2" paint brush in sections and buff nearly dry with a good microfiber towel 10-15 minutes later. This destroys both the brush and towel, as in the morning they'll both be hard. Best applied in, and left to fully dry overnight in a cooler garage. I've also used RR on the plastic bits of the factory roof rack and on corner pieces of the Thule 696 rack with equally impressive results.
I applied the R/R to my wing and it's still perfect. That's about 25 months ago.