Help with faded fiberglass bed cover!

[steved1949]

The fiberlass hard cover over the bed of my F-150 will not take any kind of lasting shine. Does anyone have a suggestion that I can try? I was thinking of polishing compound, but not sure if that would creae more of a problem. I am more of a "newbie" to this site and would appreciate the advise of more experienced people. Thanks!!

 

[BillE]

Are you working by hand or machine?

Bill

 

[vet]

Welcome!

I'm sure Mike or someone will have an answer. I really don't know, but I'm thinking maybe a boat cleaner/wax might work.

 

[Vegas Transplant]

SS or BC/CC?

 

[steved1949]

Are you working by hand or machine?

Bill

I am working by hand. Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[BillE]

Yips, working by hand is gonna be a bear. Meaning, it IS gonna be a bit of a workout.

Let's try this approach...what do you have on hand? Waxes, paint cleaners etc. What kind of applicators, foam, terry cloth, MF?

Once we all see what you have, we'll be better able to (hopefully) get you going in the right direction.

Bill

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

The fiberlass hard cover over the bed of my F-150 will not take any kind of lasting shine.

I've had the Ford F150 Truck clubs, Ford F150 Lightning Clubs and Ford F150 Harley Davidson clubs attend my classes and if I remember correctly, the hard fiberglass tonneau covers are painted and clear coated.

I'm pretty confident this also describes your tonneau cover.

This is also a huge, horizontal surface. Do you live where it's sunny a lot and does the truck spend all of its time outside?


If so, you could be seeing clear coat failure. See this thread,

Beginning Clearcoat Failure

Here is the best example I've been able to find that shows beginning clear coat failure, it's from a thread I created on MeguiarsOnline called the The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive


Photos Courtesy of MeguiarsOnline

I'd like you to do two things,

1. Test the finish to make sure it's clear coated and not a single stage paint or Gel-coat. To do this you need to use a white polish or white colored cleaner/wax and use a white cloth. Then rub on a section of the cover and turn your cloth over and see if the color of the tonneau cover is showing on the cloth.

Here's a how to article showing how to do this...

How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint

2. Take a good picture standing over the top of the tonneau cover looking down on it and either post it to the forum or e-mail it to me.

[email protected]


Lets hope it's not clearcoat failure.

Once we determine what the surface is then we can come up with a plan of attack to fix the problem right the first time.

 

[steved1949]

Mike, Thanks for the info. When I used the white polish with a clean pad, I got some black paint deposit. Not like the 'vette, but still good news from my perspective. I used the clay bar kit I bought from Auto Geek and got a lot of Oak Pollen. Then I used the cleaner wax from Auto Geek and last a coat of Carnuba. It made a real difference. Now I see a few, what looks like water spots. Will the Swirl Remover take care of that? Thanks for everything, you guys really do car about cars!!!!! I will sure be a repeat customer, again, many thanks. Steve

PS> I live in North Florida and park in the sun at work.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Now I see a few, what looks like water spots. Will the Swirl Remover take care of that?

Sounds like Type III Water Spots as described in my article here,

3 - Types of Water Spots - Type I, Type II and Type III


Type III Water Spots
Type III Water Spots are spots that look faded or dull and are found primarily found on single stage paints after a water source lands on and then pools on the paint and is usually left to dwell on the surface for some measure of time before it evaporates or is wiped-off the surface.

Modern clear coat paints tend to be harder and impermeable, that is non-porous, so liquids don't penetrated easily and thus stain spots tend to be topical, that is only affect the very upper surface and are easier and safer to remove with a compound or polish.

Older single stage paints tend to be soft and permeable, or porous, it's common for liquids to penetrate into the paint and stain the paint below the surface. Removing stains out of single stage paints can be risky because in order to remove the stains you have to abrade the paint and if the stains penetrated deep then you risk removing too much in an effort to try to remove them completely.

Either a swirl remover, these are typically Medium Cut Polishes or a true compound should remove them. What you'll need to do is cut down to or abrade the surface enough to abrade past the stained gel-coat and the seal the surface with wax or a sealant.

Word Definitions - Compounds, Polishes, Glazes, Paint Cleaners and Waxes

Thanks for everything, you guys really do car about cars!!!!! I will sure be a repeat customer, again, many thanks. Steve

PS> I live in North Florida and park in the sun at work.

You're welcome and read through this...

Beginning Clearcoat Failure