What a **** poor design the outer plastics on the FX4's are. They started to fade badly after about the first year and have only gotten worse looking since. Now, a decade later and I just can't stand looking at them anymore. I'm tired of the white, chalky residue that's covering my cowl and fender flares.

I've tried all sorts of various cleaning and reconditioning products over the years. Meguires, Turtle wax, Armour all, etc, etc. The last "product" I used was "Wipe New" which seemed to work the best and last the longest, but it too has worn away and in its wake, months of car was wax, sun damage, road grime build up, etc has them looking worse than ever.

I've finally just decide to break down an paint the lot of it. I've tried everything from dish soap, to Super Clean, to Windex, etc. I went as far as to scrub the fender flares with paint thinner and a scotch brite pad to finally strip the old wax from them, but it still left them with a dull, faded finish.

I'm using Duplicolor Bumper coating which covers well and dries quickly, but I really need to find a way to clean the cowl? I'm not going to have the luxury of getting into every nook and cranny of the cowl like I was able to with the flares, so is there a harsher chemical that I can use to literally saturate, then hose off that will lift it? I'm not even opposed to using some form of acid if it works.

 

the wiper cowl in between the hood and windshield? a heat gun brings it back to looking new pretty damn well in my opinion. look it up. takes seconds and looks great.

 

Naw, I did the heat gun trick a few years back. It's as temporary as the detail products are. Its beyond faded now though.....It's build up. So much so, that I can scratch it down with my finger nail and reveal the grey plastic beneath.

Like I said, I can remove it with some solvent, a lot of elbow grease and a scotch brite pad, but that's not really and option when trying to get into the edges and pockets of the cowl.

 

Probably too late to be of any real help to you, but since you're so frustrated with that plastic, I'll share my experience with you. Maybe it'll help some.
First, I'd avoid the Dupli-color product. It doesn't apply all that well and doesn't last all that long either.
I used Rustoleum on my cowl. It bonds with the plastic and works really well.








I used Dawn dishwashing liquid and a long bristle brush to scrub the cowl before painting. Dawn cuts through dirt and even more importantly - oil. I scrubbed it thoroughly with a good stiff brush and rinsed well. Gave it over night to dry, then painted with several thin layers, rather than one thick one. I was quite happy with how it turned out.
A year later it still looked good when I traded it in.
Good luck!

 

That certainly does look good wrvond. And yeah, you're too late, I've already done the flares with the Duplicolor. lol I will say though, it did go on quite easily and covered well. I've had great luck with Duplicolor paint products in the past, so maybe my streak will continue?

I'm gonna say our winters here in Ontario, Canada are probably far harsher than what you're used to see in West Virginia though....and they really like to pour the salt onto the roads here too. So I can only pray my paintwork looks that good a year later. That being said, we're almost mid way through December and there isn't a single flake on the ground....so maybe mother nature is cutting us a break?

I haven't gotten to the cowl as of yet, but I have to say I'm not optimistic about the Dawn removing that chalky substance though. If and ultra powerful degreaser like Superclean won't touch it, I don't like the chances of dishsoap? Might try a little WD40 in a couple of spots on it tomorrow. That stuff has performed miracles on things you wouldn't dream it could touch for me before....maybe I'll get lucky with it again?

 

I would say the key is getting down to the bare plastic to allow proper adhesion of the paint. WD-40 is likely to leave a film that will prevent adhesion.
Instead, head to the local hardware store in the plumbing department. Look for something called liquid fire or similar. Make sure you get rubber gloves and eye protection while you are at it. This stuff is essentially phosphoric acid and should strip that cowl down to the solid material pretty quickly and thoroughly. The only alternative I can think of that would work would be a bead or sand blaster.

 

That looks great ..... my '07 has a lot of plastic parts being a Flareside .... but only those wheel arch accents seem to fade and need attention. I'm thinking come Spring, this might be the way I go on the arch trim and cowl while I'm at it.

I have tried some DupliColor products on other projects, and I agree Rustoleum is much better.

Something else that is a really super product is the line of SEM paints and dyes.

 

The thing that can get the faded plastic back to looking new is the Mr. Clean white sponge erasers. I like the using the no name brand from the dollar store, you get more for a buck plus they seem to last longer. You'll be amazed on how good they work. Use them on a 2001 Escape outer plastic dry, not wet is the key. I use to use stp an old bottle I had laying in my garage from the late 1990's in 2015. They kept the plastic looking good for about 6-8 months. I ran out of it the 2nd round & can't find the product no where in southern Cali no more. Armour all sucks, turtle wax sucks but the eraser came to the rescue. It won't work on the new 2018 jeep wranglers plastic or vinyl already tried cause there starting to fade.

 

Works fantastic....All the exterior plastics ... Then oil em once a month....👍

 

Rustoleum Trim and Bumper Paint has been an excellent product on my 05 FX4. I've painted the cowl, front grill, door handles, fender flares and rear bumper step last summer and so far they look great this year.

 

I also did the heat gun trick. Looked good for a couple months. Now every drop of windshield wiper fluid stains them and it is quickly fading. I actually have new cowls OTW right now. They come with everything including hoses and nozzles. The only thing they do not include, or so I am told, is the 3 way splitter, which can be found on Amazon for $4.

So I did the heat gun trick, and then the nozzles sprayed terribly. Yes, I removed them during the process. Yes I was careful with everything. So I bought some replacement nozzles and during the second removal of the cowls, broke TWO!, yes two of the back retainer clips. They must have been hanging on by a thread because everything went okay the first time. THEN!, lol... then I broke the 3 way splitter and managed to superglue it back together. Nozzles did not improve. So, this time I bought all new parts including the pump and going to replace the entire hose system and clean the res out.

Another beautiful fail on this truck for me. That, and the aerodynamics of the front plaster my windshield with bugs during the summer here in MT, so my wiper nozzles need power. The sad part is, the wipers get a full cycle once before the spray even kicks in, and the poor location of the blades leaves a flow of water trailing on the drivers side and up through the middle. Every time. It's like the blades should be 22 and 21 inches, but 21 inches on the passenger side hangs half way off the windshield. SO... lol again, I bought a bug deflector as well and hoping that helps.

That, and I have replaced the windshield twice in under a year due to rock chips. Thought the second one was just a failure to set the adhesive and cracked, but the safelite guy showed me the rock chip in the same place the first one happened. Nothing since, but there have been close calls. Mud flaps should be mandatory here in MT, and restrictions on how far your tires can stick out. Ridiculous chain of events to replace these parts.

/rant

PS. I have used under body coating and it holds up well, but I did paint the grill with trim paint and put some bug screen behind it with 3M velcro strips (youtube video on that if you are wondering) to hide the beat up radiator and control the bugs getting to it. The only problem with those paints is that I have to use the local car wash, and that uses a pretty hefty amount of pressure. First time I did the underbody, stripped it right off. So I did it propper this last time (rust reformer, sand, prime, paint) and holding up so far. /second rant

 

Still looks good . I will be doing all black areas next .

 

Well everything but the flares have held up perfectly. I've had to repaint the flares several times probably due to contaminants in the plastic but for 15 years old it still looks damn good!

 

I've been using trim shine for years. Works good for me. https://www.stonercarcare.com/produc...toner-car-care

 

Yes, the Stoner Trim and Shine has been my only salvation. Spray it on, keep it off the paint and glass. If the black plastic is in decent shape, a couple coatings will make it look new. I only now use about once a year on 2007 F-150 XL (lots of black plastic) with about 170,000 miles. It never sees an auto car wash (any more) which may be the real cause of the problem. The stand-alone and spray car washes are only used as needed with plenty of driveway cleaning in between. And we do live at high altitude with de-icing on the roads plus often mud splattered roads. Ford's black plastic trim on earlier models is a problem. Although it seems to have improved considerably with our 2013 and may never be a problem with our 2019.