sure what pics do you need?

 

This is the only picture I have on my phone at the moment, I can get a better one tomorrow if you want. I dont think they come carpeted or painted on the underside of the tail piece that goes over end of the tailgate.
The last picture of me pointing is where they should have a short pliable type grab handle to pull down to close it.

 

I'm really liking the look of these trucks with the shell. Am I mistaken in saying that tail piece looks pretty much the same on all three of those ARE shells? SteveKozs' just looks dusty or something. Same pattern in the fiberglass on all of them.

 

Grab Handle for Closing: I grabbed an old lanyard from a box of discarded conference ID tags and screwed it into one of the screws on the back side of the bottom of the rear window/door trim. Hangs down enough to grab and pull to start the closing process.

 

That's a good idea

 

It looks like yours is carpeted? Are you saying it's NOT?

 

Its not carpet, if you click on the picture and zoom in you will see the fiberglass hairs.

 

Not nice.

Why not either finish w/ something like West System? (I use this for LOTS of jobs, big and tiny. It is my go-to product for something like this project.) Knock off strands w/ sandpaper, mask w/ tape, then brush on some epoxy and allow to harden.

Here is an example using West System and fiberglass matting to repair cracks in a tool.

 

Its minor details to me really. It doesnt get touched and only see it when it's open if you look up. If it really bothered me I'd 3m spray glue some matching carpet.
In all reality, I didnt even notice until I saw this thread

 

There are several ways I can fix this tail piece. My feeling was why should I have to fix something that is brand new. The rest of the cap looks good, A.R.E. states that for their Z series they engineered it to provide the best fit and finish possible. I think the engineers missed this area of their caps. It amazes me that for a little glue and a small strip of carpet they really could have finished this off properly. Yea, you don't see it until you open the window... but it's just not done right.

Has anyone ever removed/replaced that tail piece? Is it just the 3 screws holding it in place? I could just sand it in place and spray paint it satin black but projects always come out better when done on the bench.

Thanks

 

Agreed. The small stuff makes a big difference.

When I swapped my Jeep headliner I used 3M Super 77 Aerosol Spray Adhesive. It worked great and I've had excellent results w/ this product on other applications. In every case this has had excellent long term durability.

 

I used the 3m spray adhesive when I redid the carpet in my 1980 Corvette. Worked great. For this area I just want to clean it up. I’m not even going to try to level out the high spots. Light sanding to knock down the loose fibers and a couple coats of paint will make it sooo much nicer. ARE replied to my email saying they NEVER use carpet in this area. My luck I'll sand to correct or carpet and something non related will happen to that piece and they won't honor their warrantee. I think this tailpiece is only warranted for 1 year..

 

Definitely don't buy a A.R.E. , I ordered the cx evolve the first week of June for my 22 F 150 ..it came in the last week of September . While looking at the cap I found 5 different nicks and scratch's . I told the dealer I would not accept the cap . the next day I got a call from the dealer and she said ARE would get this cap back to the factory and remedy the problems . Last week I got a call the cap was back and they could install , again I walk around and looked at the cap first ...found another nick and a few bubbles in the paint , entire top of the cap looks rippled .., guessing they didn't sand it down correctly when they did a repaint ..I even had to pay an uncharge for the tri coat paint ! So again I told them this cap is not going on my truck , I paid over 3 grand for the cap with taxes ! Next day she calls me and says A.R.E support states that they upheld their end of the deal and took care of my issues , If I want a refund there will be a 500 dollar restock fee but if I take this cap which Ive already paid them for I can get 200 dollars returned to me ...I am truly livid ...poorest quality of paint I have ever seen and I even paid an up charge for tri coat paint . Scheduled to be installed the end of the week , I can't afford to just throw 500 bills away and get nothing in return . Can't believe that for this amount of money this is the product quality that A.R.E. is pushing down the publics throat . Wrote A.R.E. customer support last week with pictures and my complaint and have not even heard back from them . So the words out , lets do all we can to stop the Ford folks from buying a sub standard product ! DO NOT SUPPORT A.R.E. !

 

just curious why your snapshots have © on them and what the purpose is when posting on an Internet forum?

 

My second ARE Z topper on my 2021 F350. The fit and finish and color match to Lithium Gray is perfect and zero complaints. I have an excellent dealer who will not accept imperfections in the paint from ARE. Choose your ARE dealer wisely.