Cerakote ruined my trim finish. What happened and how can I fix it?

A

andyfs

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Sep 10, 2023
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2000 sport- the trim was looking quite dull and faded so after doing some research I decided to try cerakote. I followed the instructions exactly. When it dried, the finish was terrible. Very streaky, almost as though the trim was having trouble absorbing it. I panicked and put a second coat of it on the trim which helped but not much. See photos for what happened. Here’s my questions

1- what went wrong?
2- how do I fix it?

I hate the way it looks. Any suggestions from here?
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I put Cerakote on mine about a year ago and they’re still looking good. Not sure what you did for prep, but I washed and dried mine a couple times. Think I used Dawn. Wiped them down with alcohol before applying Cerakote.
 
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Take them off
Light grit sanding, and Rustoleum Pro Bedliner

I looked at many polish products and theyre bandaids, short year or two it seemed like. Just be done with it with bedliner…..or do what I did and just trash em and buy a new style and bedliner em before install
 
Show us what Cerakote product you were using. I have Cerakote on my fender flares for over a year and they look brand new. Were your flares gray and faded before Cerakoting them?
 
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I have the Khaki factory flares. I washed them with dawn, pressure rinsed, and let them dry for a few days... ANY moisture will cause the Cerakote trim restorer to streak. I applied it to mine a year ago now, and it still looks as good as it did when I applied it...
 
I sanded with high grit sandpaper then painted mine black. Looked good until the AZ sun eventually faded then some. I stopped caring but wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if the look got bad enough.

I wasn’t a fan of the aftermarket fenders that I purchased so I returned them. They looked unfinished and “plasticy”. Figured there’s little point in going new if they needed to be painted. I’d go this route if i needed a set and couldn’t find originals.
 
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You might be able to use some 100% isopropyl and a white (or a well used green) scotch Brite pad and clean it off... but you need to apply it in shade, after fully degreasing and making sure it is 100% dry. Any grease, or other product, or water will cause it to streak.
 
Cerakote trim coat is an excellent product in my humble opinion. I used it almost 2 years ago and it still looks great. I think the people that have had poor results didn’t prep well. You must strip the surface of all prior products. I used blue dawn. What I see in the pictures is you tried to stretch the use of each wipe. Put it on thick (very wet). I used all 8 wipes, the hard top took 4 of them. I would recommend washing with blue dawn and re do it.
 
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We went over my bosses rubicon fenders with a map gas torch lightly at a distance till the white went away and they still look brand new. It was amazing. I’ll do the same on my sport to document the before and after some time soon.
 
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