Bushwacker fenders scratching my paint

I have a black '16 Tacoma. Was thrilled with the look of matching color BW fenders.
I went with the Pocket Style over the Cut Out style so I would not have to drill any holes. Their site states that Pocket Fenders " whether on-road or off, our hardware holds the flares securely in place." Good enough for me!

Well, a couple months later and I notice this...

You can see where the top of the trim was originally positioned and where it has settled over time. (And yes so had checked the screws underneath several times to confirm nothing was loose. ) If you look at that 1/8" gap, you can see scratches that the trim has created when shifting up and down. I called BW and here was their reply....

Basically, "sorry your out of luck. You should have read warning on last page of installation instructions!" This is obviously not a first time occurrence. I can't understand why they do not design a better system where a double sided tape could at least be part of design to prevent/minimize movement.

So I'm left with this mess to figure out on my own.

The problem is that there is zero contact point except for screws in wheel well and the rubber trim at top.
My current plan is to first buff out the scratches - hopefully. I have bought a couple different 3m double sided 1/4"tape and hoping to apply just below the lip of the rubber trim. Can't be too thick or too thin of tape.

A more challenging approach would be to use the holes on body from OEM flares.

I could access the holes after removing wheel well liner to tighten head of screw or bolt. The challenge is to find a product that I can bond to the inner cavity of fender to screw into.

Bottom line - beware of the Pocket style fender if you care about your paint.

 

.. it does state clearly this is a possible issue.

Sorry anyway, but not their fault. Any time something touches paint and is bolted into place, you'll have the same problem. Nothing to do with Bushwhacker, everything to do with how things work.

 

What about installing protective film like 3m or laminex on your fenders. Then install the bushwackers on top.

 

I totally get that. But in all honesty, how much of product warnings do you ever really believe to be a significant likelihood of happening. For a well known company like BW, I would expect a better quality than this.

 

I like your thought process. I have clear bra on part of the front fenders and noticed that it has been protected.

I talked to one guy about 3m clearbra but it would have to be a large piece and then would need to be cut out to the shape of the original line on the body. Cost could be high and wonder how well it would hold up over time. Is this how you were thinking of applying?

Wish I could just use a small strip but would not be able to make the turns right?

 

Why don't you just use clear vinyl under the contact points and then cut it to fit the contour?

 

Put a thin strip of 3M clear where the flare and fender meet.

Or sell the truck and buy a Prius.

Either way, problem solved.

 

CLEAR VINYL. Never thought of that. Cheaper than 3m clear bra?

 

Better quality in what? Defying laws of materials and friction?

 

I have no idea on the price difference. Clear vinyl came with my rokblokz mudflaps to keep them from rubbing on the paint. Looked great after a year.

 

Thanks for your input

 

Laminx is flexible like vinyl but thicker. Another idea, black uhmw tape.

I think the vinyl like the other guys said would be fine. Got to a sign shop and you could get some scrap black vinly cheap.

 

Bushwackers are junk. There gaskets are crap and almost every set I've seen or installed has issues. I've seen a bunch of them dig into paint like that, because the molding/gaskets fail or people don't put them on because it's such a pain in the ass

 

Even the stock mud flaps do that. Put them back in place with some double sided tape and get over it.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. Decided to go simple first with double sided tape. First got her cleaned up nice with Chemical Guys products


Saw these on Amazon when I was looking for tape. Figured why not. I only applied to rubber trim.

You can see a flat area of the rubber trim. This is where I applied the DS tape. I cut into 3 strips ( 1 horizontal and 2 vertical ) and created a pull tab so that I could pull off backing of tape after I secured the flares with the screws

Overall worked out really well. Few notes/tricks. For some reason the top horizontal piece was easier to pull the backing off than the sides/vertical strips. I think it may be due to the sides being closer to the wheel well and therefore a snugger fit than up top.

To remedy this, I secured flare with all the screws tight and top DS backing pulled so that was nice and tight. I then used Blue tape to mark the sides, removed the screws on the sides ( usually 2), gently pulled on the flare to create more space to easily pull the backing off the DS tape and used the blue tape as guides to where the rubber trim should meet.
I'm reasonably confident that this will minimize the movement and prevent some of the scratching.

Thanks again for inputs. If this does not work, will have to consider other suggestions.
***UPDATE 11/16/17*** AFTER RECEIVING FURTHER INPUT AND TRYING THE DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE ON 2 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS ( AND STILL GETTING SCRATCHES), I OPTED TO TRY THE CLEAR BRA UNDER THE FENDER. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USING THE DS TAPE. I WILL UPDATE WITH MY PICS/PROCESS AFTER I GET THE BW FENDERS REINSTALLED SHORTLY.

 

Hey I'm looking to replace one of my Sport color matched white Flare with a. Ew one due to a gouge in it. My question is how difficult is it to take off existing flares and are they held on by some kind of adhesive tape from the factory?
I saw you put 3M tape on the BW fenders but did you notice anything when removing your OEM ones? Thanks!

 

I have an OR. I just replaced one of my OEM "flares" - Wheel Opening Moulding is the part name.
You will need the Wheel Opening Moulding itself, orange and blue retainer clips (

$9 75395-35070 75396-35020

75395-35070, 75396-35020) in case you break when pulling the moulding off, then there is a slim trim tape that adheres the moulding to the metal (53851-04100) very sticky, and a rubber one too (53853-04070). You will see when you pull off.

 

Thanks...that is very helpful! How much did the parts end up costing?

 

Sorry @lumberjack7 for some reason I just got your original question.

Glad you got it answered.

One advice when peeling off double sided tape. Comes off easily if you pull away in opposite direction of how it comes off. I know it sounds weird. If you are starting at left side and working toward the right, keep tension toward the left and gently work the tape off with other hand. Basically trying to keep the tape in the same plane rather then pulling up in perpendicular motion the way we would to most tape. Can't explain it but peels off in one piece