Aftermarket woodgrain tailgate band, pictures/experiences please

[General23cmp]

About to order the rear band, and I don’t want junk. I’m willing to pay more for better quality, but not NOS prices. Does anyone have a positive experience and pictures? All I hear are nightmare aftermarket stories. Thanks.

[sick472]

I got a black band from GMC Paul's and was happy with it except the thin stripes of black where already pealing off at the very ends. I removed them and painted them back on. The wider stripe where the letters are seems fine. We'll see how long it lasts. I don't know if parts get much better than what GMC Paul's carry even though the best can still be a bit disappointing.

[General23cmp]

Do you recall the brand of the band?

[rharris]

Mine came from Jegs, Trim Parts Brand. I received it as a gift and am happy with it.

[General23cmp]

Sick472, have any pictures? Thanks.

[sick472]

Here are some photos after the tape removal, re-paint, & install. The tape was better than electrical tape and harder to remove. It pealed off easily enough, but I had to take some thinner to it to get the tape goo off (brake cleaner, lacquer thinner, or mineral spirits...I can't remember). The original one that came off my truck had the wood grain tape and the thinner stripes where painted in. The big difference between my new painted stripes and the originals is that I taped off the wide center stripe (with letters) and spray painted the entire area of the upper and lower thin strips and while the paint was still wet...used some lacquer thinner on a t-shirt rag to carefully wipe the paint off the outermost part of the ridges (a fingerprint worth of thinner on the rag cleans up about an inch or so of paint, then move to a clean spot on the rag and another fingerprint of thinner and so on - this is a bit tedious, but the results are nice). I do recall taping off the upper and lowermost edges to avoid wiping off so much paint. I removed all the the tape quickly after spraying and wiped the paint lines smooth. I followed up with some 000 steel wool to brighten the outer edges after the paint dried. This left very thin lines of brightwork showing whereas the originals had a more bold look. Originally the whole ridge was left unpainted and the brightwork showed all the way into the flat area. This could be achieved by carefully taping of the ridges and only painting the inner flat area. I like the slightly different look, did not have the patience to do the meticulous tape work, the desire to go concourse correct, and I wanted to avoid paint lines (I tend to paint heavy coats).

Here's some full shots with different lighting...

[sick472]

Here are some close-ups. You'll notice some spots in the brightwork which I cannot explain, but they are very few. You will also notice some splits in the aluminum at the very ends (right and left ends - small and minimal) that were caused during the forming process. Overall, its a shame to have to pay so much for a piece that needs help, but it's better than finding and paying for NOS or not having them available...

[General23cmp]

Looks very nice. Thanks.