Bushwacker fenders scratching my paint

@vipersmack
Good lookin Tacoma!

I think you will be very happy you took the extra effort to protect the paint.

When you do get a sec I would love to see a closeup.

Thanks for all your input!

 

@toyomaniac71
I'll get you some closeups today. I'm happy with it and a lot less stressed out now that is is done lol.

 

A few closeups of the clear paint protective film. For anyone interested.

 

Looks good vipersmack. What did you cover them with BEDLINER?

 

@SR5 BRI
Thanks! Yes, I had a local shop spray them with Bullet liner, supposedly from the same factory as LineX, but idk. I paid $120 for all four to be sprayed, LineX and Rhino Liner wanted roughly $400.

 

Yes That's good shit. I had my brushgaurd covered with BEDLINER also.

 

I'd love to get my step rails done in it and maybe even the rocker panels, but I'm done for a good while. These recent upgrades have put me in the poor house lol.

 

Looks great!

Considering my experience with double sided tape ( twice) I think I’ll try this method. Worst case scenario, easy to remove fenders and replace clear bra down the road. Though I don’t think you’ll need to for a very long time.

Mildly annoying perhaps with polish or wax buildup on edge but usually easy to remove with detail brush.

@vipersmack is that one whole piece of clear bra for each wheel well?

 

Yes it is one piece per fender well. The stuff he used is nearly invisible it took me a minute just to get a picture, hard to focus on it lol. I use ice wax when I wax my truck so it won't be an issue for me thankfully. The rubber seal has been more of a pain than anything. It has a hard time sitting over the bedliner spray, plus doesn't want to stick I had to super glue it to the flare in a few places. Thankfully it's on now and I hope I won't have to worry with it anymore. Good luck! Let us know how it goes for you.

 

@vipersmack how did you get your mudflaps on. Drill more holes?

 

No I just bolted them on with what holes I had left. I may drill through the flares to the original holes they were attached to eventually but for now they hold just fine. The back are great the front I had to do minimal trimming to get them to fit again. I also stuck some have duty 3m double sided tape between the flaps and the flare on the two front ones. At the top only (they were bent away from the flare and didn't look good), so far they seem to be fine. I have Rokblokz mudflaps though, the OEM ones would not works without a major makeover.

 

So after seeing how vipersmack’s project went, think I’m gonna go same route.

I already buffed our most of the scratches and prepping for clear bra.

Not sure if this is helpful, but thought I may save some labor cost by premarking 1/4” perimeter around mounted BW fenders using 1/8” 3m vinyl tape ( pinstripe). I don’t think I can find $60 otd cost like vipersmack.

I did not realize they make 3m clear bra in 1” rolls so material cost should be minimal.

 

Good luck man! That line looks clean so far, you have done better than I could've done. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you.

 

So here’s how I created outline for clear bra. I did not like the way earlier version I did looked when I was trying to free hand it.

First, I put fenders back on and then used 1/4” tape ( I wanted 1/4” buffer) and used edging of BW fenders as a guide.

I then took 1/8” pinstripe tape and marked around the red tape. Removed red tape and gave me a nice guide for the clear bra.

I did all the prep work to minimize labor cost and then took to install clear bra. I considered doing it myself but opted to have it done. Labor should be no more than an hour. My installer said he only had access to 3m product that was NOT the pro series in a 2” roll. Pro has 10 year warranty and ability to take heat gun and the scratches will “ disappear “. Unfortunately,I had to settle for another line that has 5 year warranty and can appear to have slight texture - not that visible in my opinion but would opt for Pro series if available in 1” or 2” roll. Since it was a 2” roll he cut down middle to make it 1”. This allows it to make turns a little easier. 3/4” may even be easier, but simple to cut 2” roll in half. Interestingly, he said to use the “cut/razored” side on the visible side because line will be cleaner.

In hindsight, if Pro series not available in 1 or 2” roll, could easily just use regular size of Pro ( 12” avail?). Cut to longest piece which are rear fenders ( 5-6 ft?). Since my installer said cut edge better, just cut into strips and keep scrap for later if needed...

 

@toyomaniac71
Awesome job man! Looks as good if not better than mine. If I ever have to reapply mine I'll be doing the same.