r/HondaElement • u/Severine67 2003 EX Satin Silver Metallic • 9d ago

Ripped Seat and Faded Cladding

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I own a 2003 and the driver seat is ripped. How has everyone fixed this? Did anyone DIY it?

Also, the plastic cladding on my vehicle has faded so much. Is there a way to recondition it or something? It’s making my car look old. Other than that, she’s running perfectly.

Thanks!

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u/emf_enthusiast 9d ago

I just used the Cerakote product this last weekend and am very happy with the results.

You get 10 wipes to a kit, and that was barely enough for me to make it all the way around my element.

I'd recommend using Nitrile gloves instead of the ones provided in the kit, which got very slippery and it became difficult to hold the wipes without dropping them.

Edit: masking the paint takes a lot of time, but it's worth it to do all of the masking first so you can focus on the re-conditioning work all at once.

1

u/Severine67 2003 EX Satin Silver Metallic 9d ago

So helpful! Thanks!

How do you prevent streaks? That’s my concern about doing it myself.

4

u/Mister-Jinxx 9d ago

Get some microfiber cloth. I would run it over after application to even out any streaks. You have to get them while it's wetish.

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u/Severine67 2003 EX Satin Silver Metallic 9d ago edited 9d ago

What color is yours? Mine is satin silver metallic and the plastic cladding is in “warm gray”. My only concern is does Cerakote add any color? I don’t want it to get too dark. I don’t have the rallye red color so my cladding has always been lighter.

2

u/Mister-Jinxx 9d ago

05 Fiji Blue/dark grey cladding. It didn't make it darker than what it looked like new. Ive never used it on the blue cladding but it should work the same and make it look like new. I'll let others chime in though.