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Painting Fender Flares

48K views 36 replies 31 participants last post by  ChasUGC 
#1 ·
I was tired of having faded flares so I decided to paint them. This is how I went about doing it. Hope this helps the next guy.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
This is my Jeep. It's a 2003 TJ.
I used Kyrlon Fusion Satin, 2 cans.
I decided to take off my fender flares so I wouldn't have to worry about overspray. I used a 1/4 drive 5/16 socket to remove them. I would suggest getting a ratcheting box wrench if it's in the budget. That would make it a lot easier. There are quite a few nuts and bolts that hold them on. There are some "christmas trees" (push pins). You can try and reuse them but I went ahead about bought about 12 of them.

So I took off the front fenders.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
Then I removed the rears. You will also have to remove the wheel well covers. These are held in by the christmas trees. I went ahead and cleaned all the dirt behind them.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
Once I removed all the flares I washed them with some soap and water. I also washed and waxed behind the flares. waxing is up to you. I also preped the front plastic piece that covers the sway bar.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
This is after the first coat. I put on a total of 3 light coats.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
This is the finished product. It took me about 3 hours with everything. But I also enjoyed a nice cold adult beverage in between coats of paint.

By jhardyjr, shot with EX-Z75 at 2007-08-03
 
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#4 ·
When I was attempting to remove my front fender flares, I had some difficulty removing the screws that are closest to the doors. I think there is a piece of plastic that is like a bolt to keep the screws from falling out. Are you familiar with what I'm talking about? If so, could I use some vice grip pliers to get that off? Thanks in advance for your help!
 
#5 ·
The fender flares sound like they can be a nailbiter to remove, the push pins as we all know will end up breaking. Where can they be purchased did you buy them at the jeep dealership, and did you have to sand them after washing them before applying the paint? Thanks.:)
 
#6 ·
what push pins do you speak of?

The lower bolts close to the door have inserts and usually the bolt will keep spinning. I reach in there with pliers and it held it enough to get the bolt free. I only put maybe 5 bolts back in when I put the new flares on.
 
#7 ·
I was refering to hardy's first post mentioning push pins, so I was wondering where he bought them. It kind of reminds me when you remove a door panel and those pins that pop in the holes, they always seem to break when you try to remove the panel.
 
#8 ·
sorry it has takin me so long to reply. I bought the christmas trees at Auto Zone, I believe. They are in the "help" section. They are fairly cheap, about $2-3 for 6 or so. They were holding in my inner fender wells. I hope this helps and is not too late.
 
#9 ·
I did mine a few days ago with Krylon Fusion and they look great. I just left mine on and taped them.

Does anybody know if hitting them with bedliner would work?
I'd like to do just that but am concerned with how well it works on plastic, ya know bending and all.
 
#10 ·
I may be doing this too here pretty soon as the paint/coating that my Rubi came with is starting to wear thin in places. I noticed that the Krylon fusion is supposed to be for plastic and am wondering if it would be best to remove the paint/coating from the factory prior to painting them.

For those of you that have used the Krylon Fusion on your flares and had it on a while, how has it held up?
 
#12 ·
I didn't use the Krylon on my fender flairs but I did use it on all 4 of my bumper caps. I put about 4 light coats on them and they looked way better than factory (I later compaired them when I smacked into my mom's car). Anyways, those things took a beating the paint held up really well. Hope I was helpful.
 
#14 ·
Looks Great

Hey I just did this today and it looks awesome. Just masking around them with tape worked fine instead of fussing with all the plastic bits. Does this paint also work on the bumper itself? With the end caps painted the rear looks odd. The can says metal is ok but the bumper is painted steel so I can't tell.
And next time the "satin" finish would be a little more appropriate. The shine looks amazing but a little over the top for an off-roader.
 
#15 ·
Hardy, I noticed your front bumper is kinda faded. I'd recommend getting some bedliner from advance auto parts (not the rubberized stuff) and repainting that. I just did it and it looks much better.
 
#16 ·
Funny you speak of the front bumper. The wife didn't like the look of it so she bought me a Warn front bumper and M8000 Winch. Thanks though.

Gabriel, I did use Satin. The picture looks a little shiney but its not that bad in person.

I did this almost 3 years ago and with regular use/washing, and the occasional offroad trip, they have held up. No need for touch up or anything.
 
#17 ·
It looks great, but you went through all that work and you could have done that frint bumper too. I did mine then noticed the bumper looked like c**p so I did it too. Still you did a fine job.
 
#23 ·
How does the bedliner come out? Is it rough? I always thought bedliner was really rough, and I'm not sure I would want do have that on my fender flares.
 
#20 ·
In addition to the above previous post, I wanted to inlcude a materials list for those looking to do the same project:

3 Cans - Rustoleum Truck Bed Liner Spray (allow 1-2 mins drytime between coats and at least 1 hour total dry time)
1 Roll - 2"w Blue Painters Tape
1 Roll - 2'w x ????L Masking Paper its a dense brownish colored roll in the painting department at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

I did not remove the fenders or the running boards. I first applied tape on the frame around the fender flares, then went back over with paper. Make sure you tape shut all of the seams where the paper meets so that any fine mist of paint doesnt get on your paint job. I did 4 light coats. This paint will puddle up VERY quicky so do somewhat fast but even passes.
 
#26 ·
i did my fenders last year. for some reason mine are peeling already. i used the krylon plastic paint and washed the fenders real good. did anyone use a primer coat? im thinking of putting a coat on this go around.

thanks guys.. just barely found this forum. pretty cool
 
#27 ·
I did my fender flares at least 7 years ago, I didn't remove them, I worked newspaper between them and the fenders, taped it in place, sprayed even, light passes. started on one front , worked my way around, repeated thrice. They still look better than the factory paint did after 6 years! I used Krylon flat, I dunno any more than that about the paint.
 
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