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anyone painted the stock black "fading to grey" flares?

9

96CheroKeeClassik

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Carbondale, Illinois
Yeah, so I am just curious if anyone has ever painted their factory unpainted flares with any success. My jeep is a black sport and the HORRIBLY FADED grey flares look pretty bad IMO. I know that I could have them roughed up and painted, but I've had plently of bad experiences with paint not sticking/ chipping off easily surfaces not originally made for paint. I've read that the Krylon Fusion works well for this type of application...But I'd really like to stay away from painting them alltogether actually. I've read that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works, restora, and some other stuff. Could anyone give me some true knowledge from experience and how well it held up? Thanks!
 
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96CheroKeeClassik said:
Yeah, so I am just curious if anyone has ever painted their factory unpainted flares with any success. My jeep is a black sport and the HORRIBLY FADED grey flares look pretty bad IMO. I know that I could have them roughed up and painted, but I've had plently of bad experiences with paint not sticking/ chipping off easily surfaces not originally made for paint. OR, is there anything I can do to them to bring back the beautiful black luster they may of had fresh off the assembly line? Cause I've noticed that when there wet, they look black as my body...but dried out and grey as ever. Thanks!
Click to expand...


Someone can chime in with the specifics, but there is a product especially for this called "black again" or something equally obvious. You should be able to pick it up at your local parts store...
 
Yes, I've painted mine body colour with pretty good sucsess. I had tried every product to try to keep them looking black but they all wear off especially with rain. Here in BC we get a lot of that!

The most important step in the whole process is cleaning. If you've ever used anything like armour-all on them, which has silicone in it, then make sure they are super clean. I used a vinyl prep cleaner which I got from a body shop. It's called SEM 38343 Vinyl Prep. I cleaned the flares a few times with that then soap and water and then finally alcohol.I only ended up with one small "fish eye" out of 4 flares, so not bad.

I painted the flares with plastic-kote colour match paint an then clear coated them. Still look good after about a year. The paint has not peeled or anything.
Note: I removed the flares to paint them but be aware that you'll probably break most of the mounting studs that hold the flare retainers on! They are in the wheel well and get corroded. My truck is a 98 in good shape but I still busted a lot of them. Had a friend tack weld some screws on to make new studs which worked well. The dealer wanted way to much for new retainers.

Hope that helps you a bit. Any other questions I can try to answer. I'll try to post some pics of my truck later... if I can figure out how and if I'm allowed.I had to re-registar because I forgot my old password etc..
 
try the krylon fusion paints. They stick rather well to plastics of all sort. I can't attest to the flares, but I know that it sticks to fiberglass and ABS plastic wonderfully.
 
B.C.XJ said:
Yes, I've painted mine body colour with pretty good sucsess. I had tried every product to try to keep them looking black but they all wear off especially with rain. Here in BC we get a lot of that!

The most important step in the whole process is cleaning. If you've ever used anything like armour-all on them, which has silicone in it, then make sure they are super clean. I used a vinyl prep cleaner which I got from a body shop. It's called SEM 38343 Vinyl Prep. I cleaned the flares a few times with that then soap and water and then finally alcohol.I only ended up with one small "fish eye" out of 4 flares, so not bad.

I painted the flares with plastic-kote colour match paint an then clear coated them. Still look good after about a year. The paint has not peeled or anything.
Note: I removed the flares to paint them but be aware that you'll probably break most of the mounting studs that hold the flare retainers on! They are in the wheel well and get corroded. My truck is a 98 in good shape but I still busted a lot of them. Had a friend tack weld some screws on to make new studs which worked well. The dealer wanted way to much for new retainers.

Hope that helps you a bit. Any other questions I can try to answer. I'll try to post some pics of my truck later... if I can figure out how and if I'm allowed.I had to re-registar because I forgot my old password etc..
Click to expand...
 
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tried "forever black" crap, it sux don't bother, painted e'm, that sucked too don't bother, i used a bumper paint that looked really good but it satarted to flake in a month, i am running no flares and trimmed fenders now so in the end the sawzall fixed my problem
 
i don't really know to much about the flare, but i used plasti-cote ultra enamal from walmart on the inside of the fender, i only washed with soap and a rag for prep, then i painted them and let them dry, still looks great pretty cheap way to go about it and the coats go on thick, i also used the stuff on my 7/8ths clevis shackles. good stuff, give it a try if ya like otherwise aks on.
 
Two words.... Heat Gun.

I heard that you could get rid of that white residue with a small torch if you burn it off. Tried it on my TJ flares. It worked but was hard to make it all look the same. Then I tried the heat gun. It worked great.

Why? Here's my guess. That white residue is wax and buildup from various things. Mainly car washes with "wax" spray. You can burn it right off with the heat gun.

I tried it on my XJ with TJ flares. It's like night and day. So far it's been 4 months and they still look great. It's worth a try in an inconspicuous place.
 
heat gun usualy doesnt last very long, we ahve done it a couple of times since we got the xj in july and it fades pretty quickly, gonna pain em soon.
 
I used the Krylon Fusion on my XJ, it's worked well, hasn't peeled. That's been about 2 years. It is starting to show through, but just in a few small scratch spots where the paint has been scratched off.

The PO of my TJ had those flares LineX'd. It looks pretty good, but it is peeling in a few places. I'm not sure how long it's been on.
 
Wow, what an old thread back from the dead...


Well if anyone still cares, I actually found the perfect solution to the "faded" fender problem. The fact is, they aren't faded at all. (in most cases of the super grey flares) Like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, it is the wax and soap residue that turns them white. Get a couple Mr Clean magic erasers and 10 minutes and you'll have the flares black as new. hope this helps
 
sweet. i'll get me one of them magic erasers next time i go to walmart!
i think i'll rub it on the paint a little in the door or someplace unseen and make sure it doesnt hurt it.
if that doesnt work, krylon fusion will!:scottm:
 
i used wd-40 on mine on the advice of a friend with a tj. granted mine weren't terrible, but were definitely no longer black; it's been a year and they still look perfect.
 
Mothers Back to Black did NOTHING for me, nor did Armor All. Side strips the same as the fender flares (97 XJ Sport 4X4). Well, to be honest...the side strips go black at first, but the fender flares: no. After the first rain; back to grey. I'll try Mr. Clean...otherwise, I guess painting is next.
 
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