'03 Sport V8 w/cladding is the best

Register to hide this ad
Until you jackknife your trailer into it when backing up, or have someone else back into your front bumper. :bash:

I still love it though, and am so glad that I got it rather than the painted.:beer: You really don't see much of the damage, or at least not as much as you would with the painted.
 
I guess there was a good reason for being cheap.:p

I like 'em painted since the unpainted ones start to look bad IF they aren't cared for since the plastic will start to fade and look more grey than black.
 
I see the purpose to it, but I really don't like the look. It makes the T4R look more like a Ford Escape.
 
On the trail, it is great. I don't mind the look, I prefer the little harder, off-road'esque style to the slick grocery getter. I spend enough time polishing out scratches as it is.
 
BenSD said:
I see the purpose to it, but I really don't like the look. It makes the T4R look more like a Ford Escape.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I used to own a Ford Escape, and I hated the cheap look of the plastic cladding. Not to mention what happens if you get wax on the cladding....
 
When the 4th gen first came out with the cladding, I didn't like the 4th gen very much. After body color came out, I grew more fond of the 4th gen. And now that I got mine, I like all 4th gens with or without body color cladding and I'm seeing more non body color cladding 4Rs. I think the reason why I didn't like gray cladding in the beginning was the bumps on the fender flare.
 
Past on buying an 03 because of the cladding. I can see some of the benefits but thought is was just ugly, others must have felt the same because it was gone pretty quickly.
 
If you live in a hot, sunny state, come back in a few years and tell us how much it has started to fade. I had dark-gray cladding on a Jeep. By year 5 it had started it's decline towards blotchy, faded light gray. I gave up trying to restore it.

Nothing's going to protect unpainted plastic from the sun, rain, and road chemicals forever in my experience.
 
NViejeP said:
What exactly is cladding?
Click to expand...

We're referring to the plastic panel/pieces that runs on the rocker panels (lower half of the door) and the fender flares.

The first page of this thread has pictures of gray and body colored cladding.
 
I love the look it gives with the Titanium Silver, it definitely sets it apart from others in a good way IMO.
 
pipspeak said:
If you live in a hot, sunny state, come back in a few years and tell us how much it has started to fade. I had dark-gray cladding on a Jeep. By year 5 it had started it's decline towards blotchy, faded light gray. I gave up trying to restore it.

Nothing's going to protect unpainted plastic from the sun, rain, and road chemicals forever in my experience.
Click to expand...

There is a product that is basically a black dye that will restore the original dark color. A friend of mine used it on the black plastic fender flares of his Jeep Wrangler. It looks amazing even after 3 months of sitting in the sun. I forgot the name of the stuff, but it's very popular. If anyone wants to know, I'll ask him the name.
 
I wonder how good ol' 303 Aerospace UV protectant spray would work on this? I bet it would at least double the cladding look life.
 
Fourty-four said:
There is a product that is basically a black dye that will restore the original dark color. A friend of mine used it on the black plastic fender flares of his Jeep Wrangler. It looks amazing even after 3 months of sitting in the sun. I forgot the name of the stuff, but it's very popular. If anyone wants to know, I'll ask him the name.
Click to expand...

Its called "Back-to-black" by Mothers (I think). But the problem is that the cladding is grey, not black. The back to black may change the color.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 538 (members: 3, guests: 535)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,111
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top