Bed Rail Question

So, I have an 06 and I am in the south. THis means the paint and the OEM bed rail covers have deteriorated a bit. The question is this, is there a way to seal the bed rail covers in order for the fiberglass inside not to find its way into my arms when I need to get something out of the truck? I itch so bad after having my skin come into contact with the rails. Any advice would be grreat.

 

The OEM bed rails are molded plastic, charcoal grey plastic from the factory. When they will scuff up they can and will scratch up your skin. The best prevention is using an agent like Griot's Trim Restore to keep them replenished. There's no fiberglass involved, unless you have something custom.

Sounds like yours are scuffed to hell. Honestly, the best thing to do may be to find a pair that aren't scuffed at the junkyard (check www.car-part.com for trucks near you) and use Griot's Trim Restore (3-4 coats with 15-20 mins time in between) to get them back to looking OEM. It's the only product I've found to actually work half worth a shit on the bumper and bedrail plastics, and mudflaps.

You probably don't want to buy OEM new, I want to say it's like $120-140 per rail cap. But I can pull part numbers if you want.

Meanwhile, easiest way to remove those things is to start at the tailgate end, grab the cap firmly and either (A) wiggle left to right (side to side) while gently lifting up or (B) push toward the bed while twisting the outer edge up to pop the cap. Then rock it to walk it up down the length of the bed. Essentially all that's holding it in are two barb-like tabs, but they'll snap if you're not careful about it.

Westin used to make replacement caps, but those are sadly NLA.

 

Thanks, I will look into the restore. They don't seem so scuffed up, but may be.

 

Do you have the step side bed?

 

Nope, it's a fleet side

 

What’s the fiberglass comment about? Which part is made of fiberglass?

 

The way ot affects my skin when in contact, I felt like it's fiberglass re enforced. It's not I guess,,,

 

I've seen a lot of people comment on it feeling like it has fiberglass in it and being itchy. I've never really noticed it, might just be how it ages depending on the weather its exposed to.

 

I think of you take some bronze wool (bronze, not steel), medium coarse, you can probably knock down and get it smooth again. May help with the itchiness.

 

Thanks all, I will try some of the suggestions. I am in the south, so the sun is brutal in the summer.

 

Well shit now you mention being in SC, there was a guy in Augusta and another just north of my BIL in Anderson that were selling nice used bedrail caps for like $20 on Facebook Marketplace.

It was just outside my acceptable driving range. I cap at an hour for anything under $100, or I'd have gone to get them. If I'm spending $20 in gas to get a $20 part, it doesn't make sense at that point.

 

For what its worth, I had no luck with the restoration products. I think mine were just too faded

I repainted them using bulldog adhesion promoter and SEM trim black for about $16 a can. Color looked good as New. So far no issues with flaking or peeling and as I recall it was about 6 to 9 months ago

I would not recommend the bulldog adhesion promoter now due to the cost. It was already expensive and now it's gone up to about $50 a can. The rust-oleum adhesion promoter is rated practically the same for roughly $10 a can

so you can get them refreshed for about 30 bucks







I believe I did 2-3 coats of the adhesion promoter and 2-3 coats of the trim black

 

I've been thinking about just pulling my caps and getting the tops sprayed like the rest of my bed. I know the caps have already worn through the paint in multiple spots.