irock87camaro

Hello all, this is the first thread I've started on here and it's because I couldn't find an answer on any other threads. I was looking for info on how to repair the roll up cargo shade for the trunk. My camaro came with the option but when I bought the car the shade was missing. I recently found one at a junkyard and it was completely froze up, sun faded, not reeling in or anything. Only good aspects were that all the parts were there from the rubber end caps, the plastic ends, to the handle, and I was only charged 7.50 for it. So here goes my restoration attempt...

irock87camaro

1. - I started with a full can of PB blaster and sprayed it into every open gap that got to the spring and mech inside and got it to pull out but not retract
2. - To work the mech, the ends must be compressed to activate the spring inside, so I stood it up vertically, one end against the floor and the other I pushed down on with my hand, meanwhile using the other hand to twist the bar all the way forward and all the way back until it is somewhat free again
3. - Few quick tips, remove the canvas or vinyl piece because it's easy to reinstall and gets in the way of this process, also the PB blaster will probably leak from the bottom so keep rags handy
4. - Once the system is somewhat working again I reinstalled the canvas, compressed both ends, and had a buddy pull the cover in and out to continue to free up the mech, still won't reel in all the way yet
5. - I again removed the canvas, applied more lube, turned it vertical, and repeated step two, but this time I had a buddy use both hands to compress the end, while I used both of my hands to rotate the bar, at this point you should feel the tension building
6. - WARNING - if you hear a click, STOP, you're probably going the wrong way and could brake something, I heard multiple clicks and nothing broke but I figured that wasn't normal so I went the other direction and started feeling tension which means I was doing something right (not sure if I heard a click from too much tension but either way, clicks are bad)....moving on
7. - Once you believe you have twisted the bar enough, continue holding it in place while your buddy let's the pressure off the ends, this will lock the bar in place, now reinstall your canvas or vinyl piece into the bar
8. - When you have reinstalled your canvas or vinyl, have your buddy hold the handle attached to the fabric, while you compress the ends of the bar, if you did everything correctly, the fabric should begin reeling in all the way til the handle meets the bar, if not, repeat steps five through eight until it reels in all the way.
- Note - the more you twist the bar - the more tension you'll feel, the more tension you feel - the more the spring is winding, which means it will turn the bar more which reels in the fabric more. Think of it like a wind up car, the more you wind the **** on the car the further it goes, except in this case the more you turn the bar, the more it'll completely reel in your cover.

irock87camaro

My previous post covered the repair of cargo shades, but mine like alot of others requires almost a complete restoration. So now that I finished repairing the mech, I installed it in the car and opened and closed the trunk multiple times as well as pulled it in and out to test functionality which has been restored. Now onto the restoration part. This is still in progress so I'll be posting pictures soon. I removed the fabric from the bar again and cleaned it with turtle wax upholstery cleaner which is available at any auto parts store. Once clean I sprayed it with a hose, front and back, until suds stopped coming out, and the water coming off was pretty dirty. Dried it in the sun and hung it up to dry. Then using some duplicolor vinyl and fabric paint, gloss black, I painted the cover. Still drying and will check results in the morning. Meanwhile, using some plastic wrap from the grocery store, I wrapped the bar entirely from top to bottom. Before sealing it though, I left the top open, and poured in Evapo-rust, then sealed it completely. Finding a tub to fit this thing is impossible and the cost to fill that tub with Evapo-rust would be ridiculous. On the label they say this is the next best thing for de-rusting large objects. Anyway, some of you may be thinking, what will this do to the plastic ends? Evapo-rust is plastic friendly as stated online and also from personal experience. Still soaking for at least 12 hours, the longer the better but no more than 48 hours because it's just wasting time and won't do any good. Once that time is up, I'll be cleaning the rod with distilled water (since there's no iron in it.) Once the Evapo-rust is flushed out with the distilled water, I plan on using carb cleaner or alcohol, to remove any remaining water, evapo rust, rust, or who knows what else. I'm using those two products because they are less harsh on plastics and will evaporate leaving no residue. Finally, I'll be using the spray-white lithium grease to re-lube the internals until it runs out both ends so I know everything is covered, then reassemble and re-install. Check in tomorrow and let me know if there are any questions or suggestions.

irock87camaro

The roll up shade canvas finally finished drying and is looking good. It will need one more coat to be perfect but I rolled it up by hand and played with the paint and none came off on me or on the canvas so its holding up well. Only difference is the fabric feels rougher which is no big deal but ill try to fix that later with a stuff brush to remove loose paint and the rough feeling.

irock87camaro

I removed the rod from the plastic wrap and Evapo-rust today. Kinda hard to tell what it did to the inside where the spring and the mech is, but from experience I know it works. From the pics you can tell that it cleaned the ends really well, but didnt clean the bar too well but that doesn't matter too much because not much of the bar is seen, and it doesn't affect functionality. So the ends and internals were all it need. Tomorrow I'll try cleaning it and reassembling it but until then I gotta get more fabric paint and some cleaner.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Thanks for posting this. While mine works fine now, I know I'll have to tear into it some day.

irock87camaro

DON'T USE CARB CLEANER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first time I applied it, I wiped vertically and noticed that the two areas were pretty different. The wiped part looked clean but a little foggy from the carb cleaner drying, and the unwiped part looked grungy and nasty from soaking in Evapo-rust. I then noticed the rag I used was covered in pure black. After several more wipes I noticed the plastic was getting a little deformed at which point I stopped. I used just alcohol on the opposite end and only got yellow stuff off which is more like what was expected. No matter what kind of evaporating cleaner you use, they always leave some kind of fog on the object. So you'll have to probably wipe it off again with water or something to clean off the fog. so......
1. - soak in evapo-rust for at least 12 hours
2. - clean off evapo rust with alcohol
3. - if needed repaint plastic ends (I now need to)
4. - re-lube the spring and inner of the tube
5. - re-attach canvas or vinyl piece to the bar
6. - re-install cargo cover into your car
Another tip, do this on a sunny day, it'll help whatever cleaner you use evaporate faster which will prevent any damage. I had good results with the alcohol but again don't use carb cleaner, and especially not brake cleaner, it's even more corrosive. It was an overcast day where I'm at so I'll be waiting for better weather before I continue.

zero13

How does one get the fabric out of the roller..if the end caps dont come off?..I bought a 2nd one to fix..I need to iron it,and dye it back to black..It rolls ok,but according to this thread,the fabric can be removed..Has anyone else confirmed this?
__________________

zero13

Since I wasnt to sure how to get fabric out of roll, I decided to open it fully,lock it into open position, then spray it with water,cover with 100% cotton bath towel and proceeded to iron it to remove some wrinkles and straighten the edges. Yes, it worked..I then ordered some carpet dye thru amazon that had good ratings. I will apply some coats and report back here.....This is a backup unit,as I have a vinyl roll up now that is heavier and nicer than the fabrics.

irock87camaro

Once you unroll it all the way, there is a channel that the fabric slides into, that holds it in place. Without disassembling the ends you should be able to just slide the entire piece out of the channel. You may also be able to just pull it out but I wouldn't do that for risk of ripping it due to age.

zero13

i see how it is in the channel, and it does slide back and forth, but with the plastic bar ends on the end it seems as if its not enough room to slide it out without bending/crimping/ruining fabric...so I am reluctant to do so...I opened fully, sprayed with water,am letting it drip dry overnight,and will take steam cleaner to it tomorrow..Then I will spray with dye and post results..I have already taped off all plastic parts of the roller...

Dartht33bagger

Another question: My cargo shade has always rolled fine if I do it by hand (which I have to every time I open the hatch). However, the spring seems to be bad, because it has never rolled up on its own. Have you ran across this and how have you fixed it?

EDIT: Disregard. It sounds like steps 5 through 8 are what I need to try.

Dartht33bagger

I tried this method out this morning without success. With the ends compressed, the bar spins in both directions forever without clicking or building tension. Any ideas on what could be wrong?