BW Fender Flare Disaster!

Hello all. Well... after having my bush whacker fender flares on for over two years, I decided to take them off to get line xd. What was underneath made me sick. These flares completely rubbed my clear coat off every wheel well, and on two of them some paint was missing down to the bear metal!

I love these flares, and without them my state will not allow me to inspect my vehicle. I fixed all the paint I could by sanding and touching it up.

So now I am putting the flares back on. I read some threads on diesel forums of adding 3m tape behind the flares prior to installation to minimize any kind of rubbing. Any other suggestions? I will be putting them on tommorow.

From a cummins forum (tundra owner) -
"I had a 2002 Toyota Tundra. I took the flares off, when new, placed a layer of the 3M around the wheel well and placed the flares back on. My brother now owns the truck and recently had to repair one. The 3M tape was still in good condition and absolutely no wear through. I just did the same when I put on my Power Wagon flares. I don’t expect to have any problems.

Jacob"

 

Where did it rub, along the edges, or?? Got any pics of the damage? I'm kind of concerned since I just installed a set of their flares on my truck.

 

It rubbed all around the wheel well. primarily at the top. The paint came off the front fender well (right above where the stock plastic bumper sits).

This is a common problem with these flares apparently, and sadly I did not know this. What happens is they are loose, and tend to move with resistance. Dirt, salt, sand and water add to the rubbing and cause the clearcoat to start rubbing off. Next time you go down the road, watch the flare in your mirror, you will see the top lightly move due to wind resistance.

With the stock flares this happened very lightly. I have now line xd the BW flares, and am using 3m tape in certain areas. I will take pictures tonight before I put the flares on, as I am in Clinical all day. The line x is pretty thick so these flares aint gonna budge or move whether im going 10 mph or 100.

If I were you, I Would make sure the flares are as snug as possible. Use something like 3m tape, or anything that has minor padding and choose for spots near the top of the flare and mount it there. I am going to put 3m sticky pads every quarter of the flare (adding up to four pads) I think this should really stop the rubbing (if any of this makes sense)..

I wouldn't worry too much, but If I were you, tonight take off your right or left rear fender flares and see if it has left any marks on your clearcoat. If so, immediately go to the hardware store and by 3m tape. When applying this tape, make sure surfaces are clean and the tape is higher near the top, where the salt and sand don't accumulate as much. Will post pics later.



Still any suggestions other than 3m tape would be greately appreciated. Thanks!

 

Double sided 3M is the only way to stop the flexing and rub.

 

Thank you cc350. Where would you reccomend placing double sided 3m tape on the flares?

 

Even the stock flares have rubber between them and body. I would think anything soft would be good. Foam tape, foam, rubber, etc.

The tape would be easiest, but you could even get foam rubber cabinet/shelf liner and cut it to match the BW'ers and put that in between. You just don't want anything that is absorbent.

Any pics of the damage?

 

I will upload pics later tonight prior to installing the new flares. I like that foam Idea I am going to go to the hardware store after my rotation and pick up some of these products, and try them out.

 

Just make sure it won't hold in any moisture, I would hate to see the fenders after two years of that.

 

Any place the flares touch the paint. I'd say around the tops of the flares and allow any water to drain out the bottoms.

 

silicon or neoprene edge trims might help...

I.E. http://www.lulusoso.com/products/Neoprene-Rubber-Edge-Trim-C-Strip-Molding.html

 

^ I will look into this more. I just remounted the flares with 3m tape near the tops of the flairs. That website seems like it carries a rubber striping that would work.


Here is a pic, sorry the truck is dirty but you can see where the clear coat has rubbed.

 

interesting...

 

Maybe find a local clear bra installer and get them to do your fenders around the area of the bushwackers to extend out past the edge. Shouldn't be too expensive and will protect the area well.

 

Did you install the rubber edge trim that came with the bushwacker flares? I can't take mine off tonight, but maybe tomorrow or this weekend I will take a look.

 

Yep. Same exact rubber trim. If you take them off, and they are showing signs of this, do the 3m double sided tape trick (p.s. it is a pain in the ass to do it by yourself).

I am also ordering some better "softer" trim from the website a member suggested above.

 

interested in seeing your results - mine are bolted on through the fender holes...

 

Yeah that's the way to prevent this 100% haha. Many trucks require drilling. If my results come back with no improvement within the months, and more metal is showing, I'm gonna bolt the damn things through the fender holes.

Is there a write up on how to do that?

 

Might even take a look at the weather strip tape selection at home depot... comes single or double sided and in different thicknesses.

 

Sucks to hear there are possible long term issues, I was thinking about getting a set.

So in this installation video it shows them using the rubber double back seal.

Are you saying that the fender is to lose, since you cant sinch it up tighter? Or the rubber seal that comes with the BW fenders is poor causing dirt and sand to get in the seal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnx_-fm5udU

 

Both really. The flares don't mount 100%. They are loose (like they are on many other trucks iv'e seen) but there are ways to get a more snug fit.

I line'xd my rocker panels, which are 1/8th of an inch thick. This allows my flare too 100% sit tight on the bottoms up half way on the fender. But when I hit 65mph or over on the high way, I can see the flare lightly lifting on the tops. This has caused a rubbing effect that has taken off my clear coat pretty well.

The only way to 100% gaurantee a snug fit is to drill the flares into the truck. Other than that, it's trial and error. The line x has made the flare sit tight for the most part, and takes away any previous rubbing I had before towards the middle or lower fender. As far as the top of the fender, it is still loose. I could actually lift the flare up and pull it back a little.

The weather striping they provide is harder, but seems to keep the elements out for the most part.

Iv'e put the 3m tape on the tops of the flare, and it isn't moving anymore. Did a nice 90+ mph test and they are snug. Hopefully with winter coming, the tape holds. But in the meantime, I am going to buy new weather striping from the hardware store (home depot) as suggested above, and I will order a few meters online to test it out.

Look on google " bush whacker rubbing paint" you will find a few threads and complaints about the product, but there are solutions.