tonneau cover faded, can I wax it back to a shine?

[20"silverado]

I have a gaylords fiberglass tonneau cover on my 03, when I bought it, the cover was covered in a sheet of ice, once the ice thawed, the whole thing is faded to heck, does it need to be buffed? Or is there a type of wax I can use to hand wax it back to where it looks respectable?

[Tweaks]

In the sticky section over in the Detailing topic area I found a link to a very good how-to and what products produce what sort of results. What I took away from what I saw and read is that any cleaner wax such as Mother's cleaner wax will restore that original color if you are using the hand application method.

From personal experience with black colored vehicles, which is a color that will let one know whether or not the product is working as claimed, Mother's cleaner wax does an excellent job.

There's a dozen ways to skin this cat but I think if you had to do this job by hand and all you had access to was your local auto parts store's selection, if you were to get some sort of cleaner wax, you'll be in good shape to get the results you are after. I also like the results I get by hand and machine with the Eagle One Nanowax polish/wax. To get some experience on a piece of junk car with my new Porter Cable 7424xp orbital buffer, and to not waste my good polishes on a black finish in horribly scratched and faded condition, I opted to use that Nanowax stuff and I was amazed at how fresh the paint looked when I was finished. Can't go wrong with that stuff.

[20"silverado]

is cleaner wax good for fiberglass? Ill post pics of my tonneau when I get home tonight.

[Tweaks]

Is the cover upainted fiberglass? We have a 2000 silverado in the family that has some brand of fiberglass tonneau cover on it but the top side is color matched so I just clean, polish, and wax it like it's any other part of the truck. If you have the same sort of thing I don't see any harm in just treating it like a hood or a fender.

[20"silverado]

update, tried waxing it the other day, it looks good at certain angles, but in direct sunlight it still looks bad, here's some pics:





you can see here where I waxed it and didn't wax it:



then I gave the whole truck a wash/clay bar and wax:



what do you guys suggest I do to fix my tonneau cover?

[LndscpIllusion]

paint it blue. or give it a polish before a wax.

[Tweaks]

Get your hands on a good orbital buffer like a Porter Cable 7242 and tear into that thing with a good polish. Those are great photos and judging by the swirls I see in the newly waxed area, that cover needs a good polish before it gets the wax. It will look brand new if you attack it with the right equipment and some polish.

That cover would be some great detailing practice for someone like me who is looking for a paint condition like that to perfect my detailing skills.

[addiction2bass]

ya if anything more than that needed to shine id sand it and then buff and wax it back to a shine... thats just sunfade....
and if the clear coat is really bad looking still then just sand it somemore and have it reclear coated.

[rocktheworld]

Nice Truck!

[20"silverado]

what kind of polish do you guys suggest to use with the porter cable?

How much do you guys think a shop would charge me to buff/polish it?

[addiction2bass]

pay a shop to buff and polish it..... alot more than you wanna spend!
depending on how bad it really is or how much work you really wanna do to get it looking its best....
if its not to bad just some medium rubbing compound, then switch to fine rubbing compound, then wax it. should shine nicely then... only area thats questionaly is any clear coat peeling or flaking spots will still have that white color most likely.
JUST BE CAUREFULL ON CORNERS... you dont want to burn thru the paint buffing with a machine... i suggest doing the corners by hand! just dont let the pad get dry. i always used my dads air grinder and put a garden hose on the area... you got wet as hell but always turned out great. i wouldnt use a plug in buffer for anything more than waxing.

[Berlin]

Block sand it with some 10,000 or 15,000 grit sandpaper and plenty of water, then polish it with a high quality compound and wheel. If it doesn't look good after you wax it the only other option is to paint it. Be careful not to burn through the clear, in one of the photos it looks like you did.

[rockusaf]

When I had my truck painted I had them do the cover too since it looked about like yours. The buy said he wasn't sure how to fix it so he called a buddy if his that works on corvettes and he said the gel coat was shot and I'd need to get it recoated. I just had them paint it and it looks much better but you can see small cracks in the surface so I'm pretty sure it's days are numbered.

[addiction2bass]

Originally Posted by Berlin

Block sand it with some 10,000 or 15,000 grit sandpaper and plenty of water, then polish it with a high quality compound and wheel. If it doesn't look good after you wax it the only other option is to paint it. Be careful not to burn through the clear, in one of the photos it looks like you did.

10K-15K grit.... sorry man but im calling you crazy! might as well best out a piece of paper or cotton towel... that would take forever!
id start with afull light 600grit sand then switch to 1K grit MAX and then buff it good

[DMANbluesfreak]

I'd start at 1000 grit or maybe 800 grit to be safe. 600 is pretty rough. Then maybe up it to 1500 grit. but NO WAY 10,000 (maybe he meant start with 1000 or 1500).

[Berlin]

600 or 1000? You will never buff those scratches out, plus you will be through the clear coat in six strokes.

Coumpound is generally 5000-10000 grit. How many shade tree buff jobs have you seen where the car is all swirl marks? I will not touch my paint with poor quality rubbing coupound. Swirl marks are hard to get rid of.

You can wetsand with as low as 2000, but I wouldn't do it very long. If it looked really bad I might use 6000 or 8000 grit.

On new paint, the only thing I would touch it with is 10,000. Use 15,000 if you aren't sure how much to sand before you are through the clear coat. Then buff it with 3M Finesse-It, this stuff has a really really fine cut. It is what I use to remove swirl marks from other compounds.

Just had a fresh paint job sprayed on my truck, wetsanded and rubbed it, now it looks like glass.

Sand that paint with 1000 grit I guarantee it will look like A$$!

[addiction2bass]

LOL i hope... but 600 would just be for the really bad areas mainly.

[addiction2bass]

Originally Posted by Berlin

600 or 1000? You will never buff those scratches out, plus you will be through the clear coat in six strokes.

well i guess that depends on how the cars been painted... my old 66impala was dull as hell when i bought it, i sanded all the top surfaces with 600grit then switched to 1K grit and buffed it up with ruff then fine rubbing compound and it shinned it up great!!!!
but if your car was painted by a skimpy painter that only put on the clear coat thin ya you can go thru it.... like if you had a macoo paint job.... ;) well MOST LIKELY youll go right thru it.
basic rule is just sand till it feels decently smooth dry then switch to finer sandpaper.

[Berlin]

You can sand old lacquer on a 1966 for a long time because it is a mile deep with no clear coat.

Most current paint jobs including factory have 2 coats of clear. It is pretty easy to burn through or generally make it look like trash if you start rubbing it with the wrong stuff.

My $4500 paint job has 6 coats of clear, looks super deep, is glass smooth and has more shine than lip gloss on a stripper.

I understand you got something to look pretty good once with 600, but to recommend that to someone with a burned up clear coat is just plain mean. He is going to ruin his paint if he tries that. Go talk to some guys at car shows or just Google it. There is a better way.

[addiction2bass]

well my 66impala was repainted in 92 i was told with 2stage paint/clear.
but you saying 10K grit sandpaper is nuts. you must have lots of time on your hands and arms muscles of steel ;)