In Praise of Penetrol

Jeepers-n-Creepers

Have mud--will travel.
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With the extreme heat/sun of Central Texas (local stations logged 114 degrees here last Summer - 115 here on the farm), black hard tops especially take a scorching, including black OEM fender flares.

Until treating the same with Penetrol last week, my top and flares were badly faded. The before-and-after is amazing; the top and flares now look near-new.

*"Flood" brand Penetrol, pictured below (purchased at ACE Hardware, in the Paint section):

1544217465931.png



*Before:

1544218258705.jpeg



*After:

1544217597008.jpeg
 
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Looks so much better. What I am curious about on the flares is how long the 'good' will last. There's a lot of products that make flares look good for a short time, but they end up fading all over again.
 
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Looks great! What was your process for using it with the flares? Paint on, wipe off?

Thanks.

Once I cleaned the top (and fender flares) real good, and allowed it to dry in the sun, I used a rough surface mini-roller to apply the Penetrol. I then continued to cycle-back to my starting point, with a brush, to lightly feather the runs in a uniform direction (the Penetrol will tend to run, when applied with a roller).

Overall, the top came out pretty decent. If you look at it real close, you can see spots where it went on too heavy (unevenly). But it sure looks a whole lot better than it was before. I should have rather rubbed the Penetrol in with a rag, after the initial roller coat. I did rub the Penetrol on the flares with a rag, and they came out very nice.
 
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Looks so much better. What I am curious about on the flares is how long the 'good' will last. There's a lot of products that make flares look good for a short time, but they end up fading all over again.

Thanks.

Ya, I've been down that road with the "Back-to-Black" and "McGuire's" trim restorer, etc., and found the treatment lasts maybe 6 weeks.

In the case of Penetrol; it appears to me that it dissolves or loosens-up a very fine superficial layer of the existing finish (color), mixes it with the other compounds within the Penetrol, and reapplies the color--albeit also in a very superficial layer. And so, it seems to be a much better application than the Back-to-Black or McGuire's stuff.

Time will tell. And with the scorching sun here in Texas, the treatment will meet its match, soon enough.
 
Thanks.

Once I cleaned the top (and fender flares) real good, and allowed it to dry in the sun, I used a rough surface mini-roller to apply the Penetrol. I then continued to cycle-back to my starting point, with a brush, to lightly feather the runs in a uniform direction (the Penetrol will tend to run, when applied with a roller).

Overall, the top came out pretty decent. If you look at it real close, you can see spots where it went on too heavy (unevenly). But it sure looks a whole lot better than it was before. I should have rather rubbed the Penetrol in with a rag, after the initial roller coat. I did rub the Penetrol on the flares with a rag, and they came out very nice.
The instructions say to wipe with a cloth but my top is abrasive enough that half way through I had little chunks of cotton everywhere and it was horribly streaky so I just did it again and put it on liberally with the roller.
 
The instructions say to wipe with a cloth but my top is abrasive enough that half way through I had little chunks of cotton everywhere and it was horribly streaky so I just did it again and put it on liberally with the roller.

Do let us know how it turns out.
 
I'm hoping to restore the hardtop soon to a nice black. So did you buy the additive and just use that by itself then? Was it this one? Thanks!


Yep, this is the stuff:

1545323905011.png


This is all you need, no extra additive.

It appears that sponging it on, and rubbing it in, in circular motion thereafter, with a rag, yields the best results.

"ACE is the place with the helpful hardware man."
 
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I used penetrol on my hardtop with a roller applying some really thick coats, it never quite drys and mixes with the coating on the roof becoming slightly flexible, it brought the shiny jet black colour back.
After 3 years and a particularly Icey spring followed by a really warm summer it started to flake and strip off. It took a lot of effort to sand off so I decided not to reapply it again. I think much thinner coats being applied regularly is a better way to go with this stuff. But I’m a lot happier with raptor coating.