Faded factory fender flares - anyone have a good remedy?

I've thought about painting mine, but I think they paint would get chipped off pretty fast near the bottom as I don't run mudflaps.

 

magic erasers are the shit!

used and new shown. if your flares are as bad as mine were i definitely recommend getting more than the 2 pack. i used them until the literally disintegrated in my hand.


If your flares look "faded" as i thought mine were, and appear white in color, they are more than likely in the same spot mine were- not faded but with hard white build up on them.


I plan on going over the flares again with another eraser and then using some back to black on them next time i wash, but I am impressed at the change.

 

That is a huge difference. Good job!!

 

X2

 

I'm swaping mine out with Bushwacker flared fenders next week. Issue resolved!

 

I use tire shine, it works well on all the BLACK trim too.

 

On my lunar mist metallic, mine were so bad that I remember I did a double-take when I was considering buying the truck to figure out whether they were color matched...

I am going with the Magic Eraser followed by 303 UV protectant route.

Did one side of the truck today:

Before:



After. This is about 15 minutes with one pad, and without applying any 303 yet. It looked even better after the 303, but it was getting dark and I was wet and tired and cold....


We'll see how the 303 holds up. I can't wait to do the other side, then hit the bumper valance. So far, I am a big fan.

And NO, I DO NOT Armor All my tires. They are just wet. So don't even start.

 

Nice!! good to see others use the magic eraser idea

 

Can't wait to try this fix!

 

So yeah, little update. The Magic Eraser and 303, like most other non-paint remedies (Mother's, etc.), are short-term and require upkeep, which I just don't have the time or patience for. At some point, i'll paint them with the Duplicolor trim paint.

 

The heat gun worked well on mine. They still look pretty good.

Any plastic is going to fade without a UV protectant.

 

303 is uv protectant.

Heat gun treatment is holding up? After how long? It didn't melt the rubber filler strips? Or did you take them off to do it? Beuller?

 

The 303 is UV protectant, but it washes off with water (and rain). The heat gun has help up pretty good, I did it at the end of this past winter. Took me about an hour to do the whole truck. you don't get it hot enough to melt the rubber strips.

Paint would be best, but I know as soon as I paint them, I will run a tree or some shit.

 

Yeah, John, that was kinda my point earlier. I don't clean or detail my truck often (yay lunar mist), so I can't keep enough 303 on them . Plus shit ain't cheap.

I'm definitely willing to use a gun before all the clip/prep/paint work. In fact, seems like heat would be some good prep for paint.
Do you have any before/after pix?

 

I have gotten lazy in my old age and did not take any pictures. The change is quite striking though. As you move along, you can watch it turn from the ugly, washed out grey to a nice charcoal.

 

O, I guess I should have read your entire post about the 303, huh?

seems to me that their should be some type of UV protectant coating that can be applied like a paint to plastic. We got robots on Mars, but my fender flares still look like crap. NASA aint doing shit for me.

 

Yeah, I saw some videos of this a few years ago when I got the truck.
I was all proud because I got my Redline hood struts on a mere 2 years after I bought them in a group buy...

 

just use any good leather wipes every time you wash or every two weeks or so and on all of the trim and your good to go.

 

Yeah, not going to happen...