Composite Bed Irritates Skin

And see you thought it was just limited to the 3rd gen sub-topic...

 

Raptor liner in a spray can is a pretty great alternative. Just make sure to use their adhesion promoter. I used both products for my OEM fender flares and I was happy with the outcome.

 

Let’s see em

 

they have a nice texture to them. photos dont show it well. But they hold up great to trail use.

 

I had to make sure it was a 2nd gen thread

 

Interestingly, although my bed has a few good dings in the surface exposing the fiber reinforcement, it does not have/show the same sparkle as the door and bed handles and a few misc other parts.

 

I was having this same issue on my RC, I ended up putting a oem mat so I can lay on the bed without that infernal itch, have the materials to line-x the bed, gotta find the time to do so.

It's weird you're also having the issue with the bed caps, these are plastic and not fiberglass like the bed.

 

I was thinking the same. I'm pretty sure my 13 bed rails are plastic/vinyl. My bed yes , it's that composite.
How about a heat gun to the rails , the micro spikes should lay down after they melt.

 

I tried getting a pic of the sparkling on the rails, but my camera kept auto-correcting them out. But it sparkles like it has some amount of fibers in it. I'll keep working on solutions, and report back if I come up with any findings.

This is the best I can get. If you look closely, you can see thousands of tiny white dots. Those are shiny reflections in real life, but my phone wouldn't pick them up or filtered them out.

 

So, if an aircraft crashes, and it has composite materials on it, we use sprayed wax, to encapsulate the carbon fiber so we dont breathe it in. Try waxing those rails...just a thought.

 

Those "sparkles" are likely due to UV damage to the plastic. UV radiation typically isn't ionizing, but it can create free radicals that significantly degrade the plastic over time.

The exterior plastic parts on our trucks likely have additives that inhibit this deterioration, but if the truck is parked in the sun all day, every day, the plastics will inevitably break down over time.

 

Gel coat or Raptor Liner are probably the best choices.

 

try some aerospace 303 sealant

 

Interesting thread. Sounds like it comes to coating it or replacing it, if you want to do something about it. I never thought the side rails would give issues like that. It would be interesting to see what the surface looks like under a microscope (one of those hand held ones). Obviously there's something there that's irritating your skin, regardless if we think it's pure plastic or not. I would think a good bedliner type material would be fine. Something you can apply again in case of a hard scuff.

 

I considered that, but wasn't sure how it was different from Armor All. I've tried Armor All and Back to Black on those rails, and neither seemed to have the same effect they do with the interior plastics or rubber materials. I can apply it, rub it in, get the rag dirty, and then the rail still looks hazy and doesn't seem to help much.

 

Based on some of the rapid breakdown I can see on the black exterior plastics, it appears that my truck was left outside in full sun all day, everyday for its first 6 years. From evidence I've pieced together, I believe it must have been a rental vehicle that sat in a parking lot with no shade that whole time. The black plastics especially have all faded substantially, but it's the side rails on the bed that are the most confusing. My door handles look faded and sometimes shiny, but they don't irritate my skin.

 

Any product you can wipe on with a towel won't work (303, wax, armor all). Because the bed rails are fairly easy to remove, just pop them off, wipe them down with alcohol and then give them a few layers of matte UV resistant clearcoat. As with all spray painting, the first few layers need to go down with a broad mist so you can build up first, and then your last coat can be "wet" (avoid excess that may drip though).

Krylon or Rustoleum will probably hold up OK, but if you want to do it right go to an auto paint and body supply store and ask them for a recommendation. Expect to pay around $20-$25 for a single can.

 

I have anodized aluminum bedside caps (and tailgate cap) on mine because I hate plastic caps with a passion. Mine are KB Voodoo, quality is OK, but much better than plastic in my opinion.

If the caps are made of a thermoplastic then another option is to take a torch to them to semi-melt and the recrystallize the polymer (i.e., heat it without melting it, then let it cool). This can be tricky though as you don't want the flame to be too focused or you'll create hot spots and start to burn it, a nice wide flame works best. That being said, I'm not sure exactly what the bedside caps are made of or if it's even a thermoplastic. There might be some material info on the underside of the caps though. I'd check but I trashed mine long ago.

If it's ABS or a similar polymer, you can also treat it with acetone to chemically "smooth" the damaged surface. But this is also tricky because you really only get the best results with acetone vapor and not just wiping liquid acetone onto it since you have a hard time applying it evenly and it evaporates too quickly.

If you try either method, test it on a small, inconspicuous area first.

You can also coat them, as other people have mentioned. I've had success with Raptor liner (did my bed and bed cubbies in Raptor liner).

With all that being said, I still think aluminum caps are the best option, but you definitely have other options.

 

Took me forever to find a thread on this matter. I’ve been having the same issue the last few years, and my truck has never been garaged so I’m sure it’s from being in the sun. I also see it on my door handles but haven’t had an issue with fibers in my skin like the bed rails.
I’ll probably end up spraying with rustoleum bed liner until I can get alluminum ones.

Any updates OP on what you did??

 

I haven't done anything yet; just been avoiding touching it with bare skin for the most part! But mine has also been kept outside most of its life, so it is for sure the result of being left in the sun and the material breaking down. I may eventually try some kind of paint or wipe-on product, but for now I'm just avoiding it altogether.

Let me know if you try something and how it works.