Gatorback textured plastic coating

[tomstin]

I have three vehicles with black plastic trim (94 Accord, 95 Civic and 2001 Tacoma). I have tried several dressings including 303, Z16, Back to black, M38, Meguiar’s All Season Dressing (ASD), PP Trim Restore and B&B among others. The water based dressings hold up pretty well to washing but one rain storm and they’re done. The petroleum based dressings ASD and PP Trim Restore last a bit longer but tend to streak on my Tacoma fender flairs. Recently I saw the Gatorback product that is designed for the plastic cladding on the GM vehicles.



http://gatorbackcoatings.com/index.htm



“GATORBACK TEXTURED PLASTIC COATING PERMANENTLY treats all plastic cladding issues of oxidation and discoloration.� I ordered the 8oz bottle on Monday and it arrived at my home on Thursday, $19.90 including shipping and handling.



I test everything on my Hondas, they are outside 24x7 and as long as they start, the kids are happy! Doing a little research, it appears you need to have the surface CLEAN. When you think it’s clean, go over it one more time! After washing the car I went around all the black plastic cladding with the denatured alcohol. Some areas required three wipe downs to have the rag come out clean.



I found the bottle applicator (like liquid shoe polish) was tough to use for an even coat. I ended up using a 1 inch foam paint brush which gave me access to some tough areas along with a little more control for an even coat. It was a pretty straight forward application with both the bottle applicator and the brush to even the coats out. The surface ended up with a semi gloss finish. I could see a few areas I did not cover evenly. Looking back, I would have removed a few pieces of trim to get better access. Having the car on jack stands or a lift would make access to some of the trim pieces a bit easier. Plastic gloves are a good idea if this is a permanent as they advertise.



So far, meets expectation. Let’s see how it holds up to a few drives in the rain.



Looking forward to my Tacoma, I think I’ll try removing the fender flares and spray Gatorback. The flares are very noticeable and any mistakes will be VERY obvious. I think the spray finish on the flares will produce a better finish. Same goes for the black plastic windshield wiper cowling on the Hondas.



Pictures of the lower trim were not worth posting.



I’ll be back in a month or so with an update!



For reference: http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69092&highlight=gatorblack



http://www.avowners.com/forum.idc?show=forum_topics&FID=60



http://www.avowners.com/forum.idc?show=forum_posts&TID=2857&PN=1

[imported_cj99si]

Any dressing you have to layer many times to have it really hold and any dressing you most likely will have to re-apply. The gater stuff im not sure of, If no one answers try it out and let us know.

[wannafbody]

some have used TW Ice-not sure of durability tho

[VWdriver]

Since it`s hard to cover evenly is this product more for things like door handles than big plastic pieces? I was hoping to use this on the tray underneath the windshield but if it`s going to look all uneven I might just cough up the $150 for a new one. :( The other part I want to try it on is rubber around the windows that cannot be replaced at all (way too much $$) and it`s got a pencil sized ridge all around it. It just seems a little hard to get it right.



Did you happen to get any of it on the paint?

[tomstin]

Did you happen to get any of it on the paint? I had a recent coat of M21 on the painted surfaces so what little I got on came right off. As for the tray under the windshield wipers, if this stuff hold up, I will remove that cowling and probably spray the gatorback. With all the curves of those pieces I think the spray would be easier and give a better finish. For me, it all depends on the durability of the gatorback if I go to all that trouble.