Composite Bed Chips

[ridgeaz]

Hey guys, I read as much as I can regarding this issue before I decided to post. I'm not going to cry over scratches on the bed or even some deep scratches. Yesterday, however, when I put a dirt bike ramp on the tailgate, it actually took out a small chunk(not large, but pretty deep) of the "composite bed" out of the area where the composite bed and the plastic meets on the tailgate. I examined the material, and it looked like composite cardboard rather than composite steel. I guess I wanted to know if anyone has a quick fix for this or if Honda will fix this for me. Again, this is not a scratch or dent, but an actual piece of the "composite bed" that falls off. I feel it is ridiculous for pieces of a truck bed to start coming off. Thanks very much for your time and your input.

[vertrkr]

It's not steel reinforced in the material but rather steel beams under the composite material to help support the load, Honda's marketing speak can make that a little confusing. Basically the composite material is a fiberglass reinforced material. Structurally I wouldn't worry about chip, it's not a big deal unlesss you look at it cosmetically. If it was a steel bed you'd probably have a dent and the paint scraped off to the bone, it's a trade off of what damage can happen, a chip or a dent. Can't hurt to show it to the dealer, maybe they'll do a good will replacement or not, I don't see how it would be covered by the warranty. Worst case is you can buy a replacement panel for about $100. I cracked one of mine and had to do so but it was totally my fault as I had the panel off and was trying to install it again the wrong way and started pounding on it hard to slip it into place, didn't work

[k757]

There are more than a few people that had the Line-X/Rhino lining (or similar) sprayed into the bed.

Here are photos (and discussion) of it done:
Spray on bedliner

[Pug]

Originally Posted by ridgeaz

Hey guys, I read as much as I can regarding this issue before I decided to post. I'm not going to cry over scratches on the bed or even some deep scratches. Yesterday, however, when I put a dirt bike ramp on the tailgate, it actually took out a small chunk(not large, but pretty deep) of the "composite bed" out of the area where the composite bed and the plastic meets on the tailgate. I examined the material, and it looked like composite cardboard rather than composite steel. I guess I wanted to know if anyone has a quick fix for this or if Honda will fix this for me. Again, this is not a scratch or dent, but an actual piece of the "composite bed" that falls off. I feel it is ridiculous for pieces of a truck bed to start coming off. Thanks very much for your time and your input.

ridgeaz,
The bed is 47 percent by weight of 25.4 mm/1-inch chopped fiberglass supplied by Saint-Gobain Vetrotex (Valley Forge, Pa.). The matrix (base) resin is a unique polyester/vinyl ester hybrid. This is an SMC (Sheet-Molded-Composite) material that has a "release agent" integrated with it that allows it to be removed from the molds in which it is formed. This release agent permeates the fiberglass reinforced resin to the point that your normal, everyday polyester resin body filler simply won't remain bonded to it. It would eventually simply fall off.
DON'T USE BONDO! You need an "epoxy".

Go here and read this summary of an epoxy fiberglass repair:
http://www.waco-tx-eaa.org/projects/...s%20repair.htm

There you'll find instruction/references/links that may help you in making a decision about how to deal with your problem. It may take some time to "load". There are alot of pics of a repair project.

Another link from "Fibre Glast" :
http://www.fibreglast.com/contentpag...enter-123.html

If the damage is severe enough to warrant repair, these links should get you started.
Hope this helps.

[toolz_not_toyz]

No sure what "composite steel" is suppose to be. Composite is composite.

While the bed will and does scratch...leaving unsightly primer marks, the bed will not rust (which is what other trucks will do). And, unlike other trucks, you can actually remove and replace the panels in the Honda's bed quite easily. I think that's pretty cool.

But as others have mentioned, you could get your bed panels Line-X'd, and it's something I'd think about if I could be guaranteed to get as nice as job as the link that was posted. That, unfortunately, is the variable: you don't know who is going to spray your bed and if they will take the panels off. My suggestion: maybe just take the panels off and bring them to the shop to get Line-X'd or Rhino lined.

[ridgeaz]

Thank you all very much for the information. Line-X sounds like a good option, and I think I'll wait until the bed is really scratched to do it. I have to read more about repairing fiberglass; it sounds pretty tough to do.