Painting factory fender flares

Has anyone had any luck painting the factory black plastic fender flares on their trucks? Mine have faded and I am tired of putting different kinds of plastic "dressing" on them to keep them shining. It doesn't last long and when it rains it makes a mess. Is there a really good durable paint to use for this type of plastic? I wouldn't mind doing the front lower plastic facia either if the flares come out good. The sun just beats that plastic up and turns it gray looking.

 

I did exactly what you are describing on a Jeep TJ that I had before. At a paint specialty store, I found what was called 'bumper paint', it was black and had a bit of a texture to it. After cleaning off the flares, I used a plastic primer, which seems to make the plastic a little more soft at first, but it's supposed to make the paint adhere better. It worked very well to keep the fenders black for quite a while, much longer than the 'back to black' type of product which don't work well for very long at all.

I have to say, though, the bumper paint idea, although it lasts a long time, years, in fact, it does eventually turn gray in spots from the sun also. I saw the TJ the other day and the flares have grayed again...if you're interested in what I used, I may still have the paint at home, I can get a brand and maybe product number.

 

A brand name would be great, thanks. I would be very satisfied if it lasted a couple of years.

 

you can clean and prep the flares really well, then use an adhesion promoter spray for plastics on them before you paint. it helps the plastic "hold" the paint really well. when it gets warmer.............im gonna prep mine and use some herculiner bedliner on them.

 

I found the paint. The brand is SEM.

The part numbers are 38363, Sand Free, which says 'promotes adhesion on plastics', and 39103, 'flexible bumper coater', 'renews bumper appearance'.

I did my TJ flares about 4 years ago, and just noticed the graying coming back...not too bad...if the flares on my Tacoma ever start to fade, I would probably do the same to them.

 

Perfect! Thanks for the info. I feel a project coming on within the next couple of weeks.

 

Some people have used bed liner material, like the herculiner stuff to do the fenders and bumpers.
Check out Taconinja's gallery, he has pics of his and it looks good.

 

I am looking at this Krylon paint:

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic_textured_shimmer/