My Black Bed Rail Caps are starting to "whiten". It almost looks like when you bend colored plastic and it turns white. It's not a bright white, but a "chalky" white. There's no residue.

I always use a Meguiars product for dressing and UV protection, but with the massive rain we have had in California the past week, all the protectant has washed away. I bought the truck in September, and there hasn't been an extended time where the Caps were not protected by the dressing, so exposure probably isn't an issue.

Any ideas on what this is, or how to make it go away?

Thanks in advance!

 

It's residue from your dressing. I've seen 2-3 year old work trucks that have never seen any dressing whatsoever, and they aren't white.

The NXT Tech Protectant seems to last a bit longer and not leave a haze as quickly as most dressings. It's made by Meguier's.

 

Can you post a picture or three?

 

RockyJ, thanks for the quick response.

RP - I knew you'd come to my rescue. It's been a rainy mess here, but if the rain stops long enough, and I can figure out how to post a picture within a thread, I most certainly will.

 

I just scrubbed mine off (armor-all trim care buildup, I didn't know any better). If you get this wonderful little product, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser; it's basically a white sponge that when slightly dampened works better a stripping off layers than muratic acid.
Got that off and about a years worth of smoke, sweat and grime off my door panels and inner trim pieces. I have no idea why it works, but it does.

Anyone else tried these little lovelies?

Oh yeah, it also got my tile grout clean inside the house.

 

Yep. I used it with great success on my 01 but, recently, there has been a thread or two talking about how the ME whitend their door handles... (2004 F-150).

USE CAUTION!

RP

 

I got lucky at lunchtime. The sun was trying to peak out. What do you think?

 

Hmm... you haven't accidently or intentionally waxed your rails have you?

I'm not sure I've seen anything like this... It really looks like wax.

Is there a chance that the twerps at the stealership could've given it a 'go-over' when you had it in for service or as part of the stealership prep?

-RP-

 

Also, is the other plastic on your truck doing this? Specifically the plastic where your protectants have been applied? (ie: bumper top cover, mirrors, handles, etc?)

RP

 

RP,

I put blue painter's tape on the rails when I wax to keep the wax off the caps. Mirrors, handles, bumper covers all look great.

Maybe during dealer prep they applied something strange.

I'm at a loss.

Thanks for posting the picture. That is what I was trying to do when I posted, but all I got were the links. How'd you do it?

 

I use Mother's Back to Black on the trim of my screw. I have only been using it for about a year or so and it seems to work well. It saved the running boards on my 4-runner. I used to put Armour-all on them (even though I knew better). After five years of Armour-all + two years of ex-girlfriends neglect (neglect is putting it nicely)my running boards were almost white. When I got the 4-runner back from her, I spent two nights with back to black and a towel, and they looked almost new (sorry no pictures).

It's worth a try!

Regards,
Kevin

 

The only things similar to this that I've seen are as follows. One, it could be good old fashioned oxidation of the plastic caused by the UV rays from the sun. It's pretty common, especially in areas where there's lots of sun. If it's this, there's not a whole lot you can do because the structure of the plastic has broken down. You can cover it up with some of the dressings and protectants out there though.

The other place I've seen something similar is on a bedliner where the owner used a solvent based tire dressing to make it look black and shiny. (I assume it also alllowed pianos to slide forward into the cab with greater force, but that's another story.) In any case, the solvent appeared to dry out the plastic and turned it permanently grey.

My recommendation? Stoner's has a trim renewal product out there (the name eludes me) that's supposed to be perfect for your application. Might want to try that. Oh, and whatever RockPick suggests will no doubt work too. Good luck!

 

Just a note to those posters talking about 'oxidation', etc.
This is a 2005 truck, it's brand new. Most of those chemicals out there will do more harm than good on the brand new plastic. We aren't talking about a faded, neglected 10 year old truck here. If the truck is 4 months old and the bed caps already look like this, then it is simply residue from whatever the owner has already put on them.

I'd try soap and water first. Then if they still don't clean up you might try a top end dressing like the NXT (NOT the same stuff you've been using).

 

Everyone, thanks for the suggestions.

I am going to try simple soap and water to try and start from a clean slate.

I've used a Meguiars product on the trim, not the NXT, though. I don't remember the name, but I'll check tonight.

 

Rocky,

My bad. I missed the 2005 part. It's gotta be whatever was previously applied. You're right.