[Bud SSR]

Tread on running boards have turned white. tried many products but they don't last. Can you buy new rubber tread to replace ?? Can you have old rubber tread sprayed with bed liner? Thanks, Bud

 

[abadssr]

Just gotta stub them once in a while others haves removed them and sprayed lining on them

 

[poppa]

Elbow grease will clean the treads, 0000 steel wool will help, a good rubber conditioner will keep them looking good. If you like there is a similar pattern on the boards under the rubber if you choose to use rhino-liner

 

[yellow bear]

The black pads are held down by double sticky 3M tape. They are NOT rubber. It's some sort of cheap plastic material. It will Never get any better than what you have Now. It's only a matter of time until the white re-appears. It's the Nature of the beast. Don't forget that in the auto industry since the early '70's, Nothing has Squeeked or Rattled.... it just goes "cheap, cheap, cheap"... !!! It's plastic... It can be dyed, but, sooner or later the White will... prevail ! I'll be removing ours and scrapping them soon. Still looking for a solution to replacing the Silver paint and black runner. Have some ideas, but still doing the pro/con thing right now. Maybe more later on... Others have tried in the past, powdered cleansers, hyd fluid, bleach, dish soap, oils, dyes, "as seen on TV stuff, abrasives, polishes, and the whole 90yds.... Instant gratification... No Joy... Please post if you find something that works. We Love to Learn, too....
I've shares some of the Negative and have a couple of ideas in the "works". Please Share....

 

[poppa]

The black pads are held down by double sticky 3M tape. They are NOT rubber. It's some sort of cheap plastic material. It will Never get any better than what you have Now. It's only a matter of time until the white re-appears. It's the Nature of the beast. Don't forget that in the auto industry since the early '70's, Nothing has Squeeked or Rattled.... it just goes "cheap, cheap, cheap"... !!! It's plastic... It can be dyed, but, sooner or later the White will... prevail ! I'll be removing ours and scrapping them soon. Still looking for a solution to replacing the Silver paint and black runner. Have some ideas, but still doing the pro/con thing right now. Maybe more later on... Others have tried in the past, powdered cleansers, hyd fluid, bleach, dish soap, oils, dyes, "as seen on TV stuff, abrasives, polishes, and the whole 90yds.... Instant gratification... No Joy... Please post if you find something that works. We Love to Learn, too....
I've shares some of the Negative and have a couple of ideas in the "works". Please Share....

Fuji I know this will sound stupid but if you wipe the boards off after they get wet they will look better for longer. For some reason they get water spots. Also I found 303 protectent helpful to keeping them looking better longer.

 

[James Dean]

3M- 303 protectant 14 years later mine still look like new. I would think if you cleaned them good and applied 303 protectant you will like the results.

 

[snomuncher]

Running Board Coating

As Yellow Bear notes, the black overlay on the running boards is a plastic material. Several years ago forum member TruckNRod told me of his success with painting this black plastic surface. Since then I have had similar success using professional coatings made specifically for bumpers and plastic cladding, such as the product shown in the attached photo. Meticulous preparation to completely remove any of the previously applied protectants, sealers, etc., is required in order for these coatings to adhere properly to the surface.

 

[shakatak]

I had the white/greyish running board treads, and has others have said 303 Protectant does wonders.
I have learned a few tricks that make the 303 work better, scrub boards well with a scotchbrite pad or good stiff tire brush, let them dry or dry them well, spray with 303, do not rub it in just let it soak in and you will like the results.

 

[Texasbaehr]

Mine were chalky. Scrubbed with Westleys tire cleaner and scotch bright pad and treated with 303. I go over them with 303 when it's washed. Two years now they still look new.

 

[oldtiimer]

Good as new

Use Mr Clean Eraser, a lot of elbow grease and finish off with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Just re-apply every once in a while. You will be pleasantly surprised. :smile2:

 

[wizzr]

Bed liner spray. Removed the cheesey tread, cleaned the boards and sprayed 'em. Looks great, tough as nails and I never have to think about them again.

 

[Flassh]

Mine are 12 years old and still in new condition. I use either Black Chrome, or Back to Black a couple times a year. One is Mother's, the other Meguiars, but can't remember which is which.

If your boards have deteriorated, clean them with tire cleaner and either steel wool or a scotchbrite abrasive pad, then apply one of the Black Chrome type protectants, let it soak in, repeat a couple more times. After that, reapply the Black chrome every couple of weeks, and you should be able to keep the plastic inserts looking nice and black.

I'm not much of a fan of the bed liner material. About the only thing you can do to keep the boads clean is to either scrub with soap and a brush and lots of rinsing, or power wash them. Either way, it looks like crap most of the time. Before you apply it and ruin your boards forever, check out a couple pickups with textured bedliner spray. I did one of my pickups with it several years ago, and that will never happen again. It's extremely durable, withstands abuse like crazy, but it always looked like crap. Even with power washing regularly, it was impossible to make the bed look clean.

 

[wizzr]

Flash,
It seems you're really down on the bed liner spray. Sorry you've had bad experiences with the stuff. Maybe in a truck bed it's different. But my experiences on the running boards are completely different. Contrary to what you experienced, the boards are very easy to clean. I simply wipe them down with the wash mitt when I'm washing the truck and rinse. Boom. Done. See the pic above. Now maybe you don't care for the look and that's a personal choice. But as far as ease of cleaning and maintenance, this stuff is easy breezy.

 

[xoxoxoBruce]

Seems there are a number of things that will work but the one thing they have in common is you had to look after them and do it.

 

[Auggie Doggie]

I wonder if the southern climates have anything to do with it deteriorating? All I do with mine is wash them when I wash the vehicle. No muss no fuss. When they are dry I wipe them down along with other rubber parts with F-11 Top Coat and they look like brand new. Never much work involved. My SSR has always been in the Northern states.

 

[DOOPHUS]

Exactly, Bruce . . . kinda like Exercise Equipment and/or a Gym Membership.

Shortly after "Adoption Day" way back in July of 2005, I began a JaxWax Leather Magic routine. About every four to six weeks I apply Leather Magic to everything that isn't Slingshot Yellow . . . the seats, the dash and the door panels as well as the "rubber wannabe" strips on the Running Boards.

It probably takes less than 20 minutes for the entire process and to this day . . . no signs of fading and/or white stuff on the Running Boards.

Time / Money well spent.

! :surprise: ! > ! :surprise: ! > ! :surprise: !

 

[salty1944]

running boards

i rubbed on a product called "back to black" two weeks ago. so far no white has appeared. a little more slippery than before.

 

[wizzr]

Augie, I don't think it has so much to do with Southern climate. More about UV rays. And yup, we got a bunch of that down here.

 

[Achias]

Thanks - I never thought of that. I use 303 on the other rubber parts, but never considered it on the boards.

3M- 303 protectant 14 years later mine still look like new. I would think if you cleaned them good and applied 303 protectant you will like the results.

 

[Achias]

I'm infamous in my neighborhood for always washing and waxing my vehicles (our other ride, a new Jaguar XJ was just smashed in Chicago). Using "Back to Black" is something I do every time I wax Ilsa, but I'm going to try 303 the next time she's waxed (which could be soon).