Different black plastic fender flare questions

I have a 2004 double cab with silver fender flares. I have a set of old black plastic ones I might switch to but I have a couple questions.

Is there a way to remove the current fender flares without breaking the plastic tabs that help hold them on?

The black ones are old and a bit faded. Does anyone have any tricks to restore them? I have Zaino and Mothers for cleaning but they fad after a couple days.

Has anyone painted the plastics ones? I'm also going to blackout my badges. With the same process work?

Thanks

 

"Carefully" is the answer I suspect you'd get the most.

Your best bet is the "heat gun" method or painting them. Those are the most permanent solutions. I did the Magic Erasers and it looked great for awhile, but for the amount of elbow grease I put into it, they faded sooner than I'd have liked.

I've seen people who have painted the plastic fenders and they turned out nicely. As with any paint job, it's all in the prep. If you prep well, the better chance of success you will have.

As for painting the badges here is a helpful thread: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/detailing/97682-diy-badge-removal-painting-installation.html

 

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just get some "forever black". i put it on every couple of years, looks great. mine sits out year round at altitude.

 

I took my fender flares off to get them painted and more than half the tabs broke. I just ordered new ones, they are almost $1 each at the dealed, but I got them online for about $.20 a piece. (EDIT: I could not find the webpage, but seems they were more than $0.20, maybe about $1.00ea. after S&H) There are about 6 or 8 per flare.
I think painting the flares are the best way - all the other methods to try get them back to black is just temporary.

 

Thanks for the info. Are they a universal part? I have a double cab but the flairs came off a regular cab. They look like a match but I want to make sure.

 

If you don't want to paint them or use mothers you can get some black shoe polish i did that on the plastic valence on my bumper and it has lasted

 

This is TRUE. I have tried every single method, magic erasers, heat guns, mothers, everything and I tired of the maintenance on these damn flares. Sometimes I just want to wash my truck and get going about the day and not have to spend an extra 30 mins lubing up these crappy flares. So I am taking these things off and having them painted. It will be worth my sanity.

 

Do you need to mask off the painted areas when you use this?

 

How much did it cost to get them painted?

 

Do it yourself for a couple cans of primer, whatever color paint you want to use and clear coat.

Obviously store bought black (flat, semi-gloss or gloss) would be cheapest.

If I get a bug up my butt I'm going to color match them using the paint from automotivetouchup.com

$20 a spray paint can though...

 

Doc - to get your flares black again, use Forever Black...it's a dye, applies like shoe polish, and lasts for years. I have a hard time finding it local, last time I ordered was thru beverly hills motorsport. That squirt on stuff from mother's, amourall, etal, washes off with rain. Forever Black sticks with you

 

Mine was $700, but it included the bumpers, bottom two-tone part of the body, flares, bull bar and step bars. I guess just the flares can be done for maybe $100 or so. It all depends where you go, if you know someone who can help you out you might be able to get it done for just the cost of the paint. My flares was already painted (color keyed when new), but it yours are black you will have to do an adhesion promoter/plastic primer first.
I did not want to use rattle can because I did not know if it would look good and last long - in my opinion a rattle can job at it's best is still a rattle can job. It's fine for off-road trucks to touch up sliders etc, but mine is a mall crawler , so I want it to look good.

 

Understandable.

The first time I go wheeling after spending quality money on a professional paint job...

If I ever have to repaint the body, I'll go pro. But bumpers, valences, fender flares, etc... all get my amateur rattle can job

 

Yes, the tabs are universal. I think they are even the same for 1st and 2nd gen trucks. There are red and blue ones. Each flare has 2 of the red ones and the rest blue (or the other way around, I am not sure) The bigger/longer ones are to help to line them up, and then the rest just pops in place.

 

Agreed.

 

those turned out super nice. what color is that?

 

Sorry, I meant are the flairs themselves universal?

 

That is really sweet looking, a kind of metallic black. I see stuff like this and want to immediately run out and get it done on mine, but I think at some point my wife is going to rebel about the $$$ I'm spending. I just bought my Tacoma last week and it's been new tires, bed liner, rail caps, molded carpet mats, bike racks, AND the mechanical work that needed to be done.

I keep thinking "one more thing" and it will be done.

 

The color is the 2nd gen Magnetic Gray Metallic (aka MGM). I like the color on the 2nd gens and Camrys, but in retrospect it actually turned out a little darker than I wanted. I think a dark gray about halfway between the silver and the MGM would have been better, just because it almost look black and that is not what I wanted. Anyway, it did turn out good, so I am happy with it.