Tips on restoring fender flares?

Airjunky said:
I also drive a Chevy Avalanche, that has a ton of plastic over the bed. The forum users who have tried the heat gun trick report that it fades again, usually worse. So use something like 303 on it afterwards.... sunscreen for your stuff!

That said, I've had great luck with two products.... Wipe New. Inexpensive and very easy to apply and lasts for months.
And Carworx Refinish Restorer. A bit more time consuming to apply, but also lasts for months.
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The TJ's fender flares are not plastic.

For those who have no personal experience with the heat gun method that has been used successfully by so many TJ owners on their flares over the years and advise against it, give it a rest. It works better than some are guessing. If the heat gun didn't work well for me to turn my previous TJ's flares black again I sure as hell wouldn't be telling people to try it.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
The TJ's fender flares are not plastic.

For those who have no personal experience with the heat gun method that has been used successfully by so many TJ owners on their flares over the years and advise against it, give it a rest. It works better than some are guessing. If the heat gun didn't work well for me to turn my previous TJ's flares black again I sure as hell wouldn't be telling people to try it.
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Sorry for overstepping my boundary. Hopefully I don't need run any contributions by you for approval the next time.
 
Airjunky said:
Sorry for overstepping my boundary. Hopefully I don't need run any contributions by you for approval the next time.
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It's not a matter of anyone needing anyone's approval. You mentioned the heat gun doesn't work on plastic. I simply said the TJ's flares are not plastic and in my experience, the heat gun worked well enough to recommend.

I'm also a big proponent of 303, I have recommended it countless times. It's nearly a miracle product for many uses. So much so that I tried it many years ago on my TJ's faded flares. While it would certainly help protect them from UV, a sunscreen so to speak, it did absolutely nothing to restore any of the flare's faded color. I didn't expect it to but it was worth a try.

All I'm trying to say is try the easy free things first. After the use of a heat gun was suggested to me, I tried it and was surprised just how well it worked. So well I abandoned any other approach. I think I did it again maybe a year later. Took maybe ten minutes. Certainly better and easier spending $$$ trying multiple products in search of the Holy Grail. :)
 
“Forever Black” works pretty good. I used the “soaking” method with Back to Black repeatedly, and they looked good for a couple of weeks, but it just doesn’t stay very long at all depending on exposure. It’s been two months now with Forever Black, and they still look good now. Who knows though, they may turn to chalk and fall off a week from now.

778FD951-2E4E-4507-9947-36E090F90FF1.jpeg
 
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I have used Mothers Back to Black many times, it works pretty good on flares that are not too far gone to begin with but only lasts a 30-60 days, and then reverts back to where you were previously. I saw one guy at a car show talking about how he plasti dip sprayed his & they looked great ! BUT.................ROB5589 wrote in this post $110 for new ones, WOW that sounds like the best, cheap, easy & CORRECT way to go. Problem solved !
 
Previous owner cut the flares and they really looked like hell. I bought a set of used flares on CL for around $75. Washed them with Dawn and a scrub brush. Sanded them with like 800 or 1K grit paper. Wiped them down with acetone and sprayed them with Krylon fusion. Look 100 times better. Bought Crown kit hardware kit and had to drill out and reinstall a few rivnuts. If you can avoid taking them off it will save you allot time and cussing.
 
I tried the heat gun on my Hurricane fender flares and the results didn't last more than a month in the SoCal sun. Also tried Penetrol with blotchy results so I wouldn't recommend that. Trim products work for a little while but collect dirt like crazy.

I'd say use the heat gun, then treat with a plastic trim sealant. Keep on it. Or...paint. I'm going to paint mine with bed liner here pretty soon.
 
Just paint them. Even if new. They are going to fade anyway.

Wash with dawn using a grey autobody scotchbrite pad.Or you can do this separately if need be.

Rinse and let dry thoroughly.

Spray with SEM Adhesion Promoter. FOLLOW THE CANS DIRECTIONS.

Spray several light coats of SEM Trim Black. Or SEM Landau Black. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN.

Let dry for a good day or two. Depending on temp outside or in your garage.

I cap'd "follow directions on the can". As each spray paint is different. And it makes a big difference if you follow the directions of that paints mix. I used to do a light coat and let sit overnight. Thinking it would work better. Not so with SEM. It's 15 minutes between coats IIRC. And will set up a whole lot better.

I've tried everything else. And they all suck. Meaning they look half baked or don't last. Forever Black will make a huge mess. I see the post above. And am glad to hear it worked for someone. But it made a mess of my paint job and flares. And I'd used it for years on other vehicles.
 
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moab said:
Just paint them. Even if new. They are going to fade anyway.

Wash with dawn using a grey autobody scotchbrite pad.Or you can do this separately if need be.

Rinse and let dry thoroughly.

Spray with SEM Adhesion Promoter. FOLLOW THE CANS DIRECTIONS.

Spray several light coats of SEM Trim Black. Or SEM Landau Black. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN.

Let dry for a good day or two. Depending on temp outside or in your garage.

I cap'd "follow directions on the can". As each spray paint is different. And it makes a big difference if you follow the directions of that paints mix. I used to do a light coat and let sit overnight. Thinking it would work better. Not so with SEM. It's 15 minutes between coats IIRC. And will set up a whole lot better.

I've tried everything else. And they all suck. Meaning they look half baked or don't last. Forever Black will make a huge mess. I see the post above. And am glad to hear it worked for someone. But it made a mess of my paint job and flares. And I'd used it for years on other vehicles.
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+1

Paint paint paint. Heat gun and fade restorers don't work well at all. Been there, done that...heat gun, creme brulee torch, mother's, 303, Wolfgang's...results are all similar, like a temporary tattoo.

I used some Krylon from Advanced Auto. Picked up two cans and did the four flares and license plate holder (Three coats after a sanding). This works, and the only issue I have is when filling the gas tank, if gas drips on the flare, it will cause the paint to come off...but you can easily respray it.

I also recommend a nut setter tool to redo all the nutserts. Also, this DeWalt impact driver right angle accessory will get those flares off super quickly.

https://www.astrotools.com/10-micro-hand-rivet-nut-setter-kit-metric-sae.html/
https://www.toolbarn.com/dewalt-dwara120.html/
 
How
Cornbread said:
I don’t have a heat gun so I used a little mini torch. I don’t have picture of doing flares but here is the trim around steering column. It’s not perfect but is no longer an eye sore. View attachment 78450
View attachment 78451
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Cornbread said:
I don’t have a heat gun so I used a little mini torch. I don’t have picture of doing flares but here is the trim around steering column. It’s not perfect but is no longer an eye sore. View attachment 78450
View attachment 78451
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How do you take that off?! I want to do the same thing but it seemed difficult to get off...
 
What I've done multiple time with FANTASTIC Results Every time is take a "Red" Scuff Pad to them. Back the tight flare bolts out about half way. Tape them off while on the TJ. Go get a can of Krylon RUST TOUGH Primer and a can of their RUST TOUGH Semi-Flat Black Paint. Hit them with 2 coats of the Primer and then 2 coats of the Semi-Flat and they look As-New! I did this a year+ ago and they still look like they did Day ! Who would have thunk that Rust Tough Paint would work on Plastic but it does. Good Luck!
 
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Sorry folks, but all this work and supplies to prep and paint is just not worth it when a brand new set is only $100
 
Actually it is to be honest because new ones will fade more quickly than painting old ones properly. At least in my case it was. Nice thing about painting them that I realized is afterwards I wasn't having to constantly apply protectant of some kind to keep them black. Can't speak for any other method than what I did with mine so not trying to make a blanket paint or nothing statement.
 
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JMT said:
Sorry folks, but all this work and supplies to prep and paint is just not worth it when a brand new set is only $100
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I couldn't disagree with you more. A new set of OEM flares is not $100, a new set of Crown flares may be that price but why spend a $100 on a new set of flares that will eventually fade. When for $15 and an hour of time (mostly waiting for paint to dry) you can paint them? It's been almost a year since I painted mine and no fade.

For $100, you can buy paint ($15), scotch brite pads ($5), a nut setter tool ($50) and a DeWalt right angle attachment ($30). You can then have an easier time getting those flares on and off, plus have a nutsetter tool and a handy right angle impact driver attachment.

Or buy a set of Crown flares that will leave you in the same predicament next year. Or splurge for a set of new OEM Rubicon flares, extra clearance and black.
 
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I actually started using 303 aerospace detailer Jerry Bransford gave credo to a while back, this man knows his stuff. Well, it works wonders, if you're already at that gray stage you may have to keep applying it until the plastic or whatever it's made of (sorry Jerry, have no idea) reaches it's maximum absorption, but it works and last great.
 
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