DIY mudflap debadge

Like my week old 2015 Tacoma just fine, except it looks like it got smacked on the butt with the chrome letter paddle trying to get out the factory door.

I know many of you shorten or even remove your mudflaps, no quarrel from me. My taco is going to be street driven probably 95% of the time. I just hate it when rocks and water and whatever else get on my windshield from the vehicle in front of me, and what goes around comes around. If I need to trim someday, I will.

In the meantime that the tacky bright white "4x4" on my factory flaps has to go.

I started with some blue tape and 60 grit.



Once I had all the white paint off I cleaned up the 60 with 120 and then polished with 330 grit.

I am almost there, but I may not be finished yet. With no flash, the flap looks great to me.



With flash, the plastic polished to 330grit is still more reflective than I would like. I'll look at it in the sunshine tomorrow, maybe go up to 1000grit, or rough it back up to 220-300grit and spray it with some flat black rattle can.



Not looking for a show truck here, but I do want observers to have to get down on there knees to see modified flaps instead of a factory option they forgot to ask for.

 

I just plastidip the bottom half of my mud flap and over the white lettering all black now. ..Quick and easy.

 

The paint will come off with lacquer thinner, a rag and a little elbow grease. Finnish with a little "back to black" or similar

 

Dang it, wish I had thought to try that. Good to know.

 

Exactly what I was thinking or some brake cleaner. Lot less work.

 

I used Zep orange industrial grease cleaner, and it wiped off with ease

 

I had isopropyl alcohol out last night to wash my wiper blades and while i was at it thought I'd wash the 4x4 emblems on the mud flaps. And in about 3 seconds I'd "washed" right down to black on one of the 4's. So I stopped right there- until I figure out what to do next. I think I'm just going to go to all black now. If you're going this route, just be aware that you don't want to smear the wet white residue onto the rest of the black flap. It just makes for more to clean.

I can hardly call that stuff paint. It's more like the temporary lettering they use to "paint" on advertisements on the grocery store windows.

 

Gu Gone.

It will take it right off. I made the mistake of using it to clean my radio controls and now I have no Volume label

 

Um. I would just take the mud flaps off. No reason to have them if you plan on getting a lift and tires that are wider than them, your just gonna spit dirt everywhere anyway. + who doesn't want a dirty taco.