Fender Flares will mess your paint up

[Stock411]

Warning: Fender Flares will mess up your paint and scratch it up.
Rocks also accumulated in the pocket of the fender flare causing chipping and scuffing.

Fender Flares scratching paint aren't a uncommon thing, in fact it is common.

I was fortunate enough to catch it in time and minimal damage occurred.
These were on the truck for a year and no off road usage or anything.

They looked great, but I think it its not worth it.

There's products like fender flare tape from sites, however that doesn't stop the dust and pebble/rock build up inside the pockets of the flares.

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[Big Kahuna]

Same thing as the ford mud flaps that didn't have enough of a gap and rubbed the paint. Glad you caught it before it got too bad.

 

[OTACORB]

Those are the bigger fender flairs. Did you use the sealant or did it not come with it. The smaller flairs come with some sort of sealant. Not sure if that will prevent what you are referring to.

 

[Stock411]

Those are the bigger fender flairs. Did you use the sealant or did it not come with it. The smaller flairs come with some sort of sealant. Not sure if that will prevent what you are referring to.

No sealant came with it but it did have a thick rubber gasket in between the hard plastic and paint surface.

 

[OTACORB]

No sealant came with it but it did have a thick rubber gasket in between the hard plastic and paint surface.

Well I am glad you caught it? What made you remove it?

 

[ZachSD]

That's painful to look at. Appreciate the warning. I feel like these trucks will all need new paint within 5 years.

 

[Maverickman74]

Yeah thats fender flares for ya. Even the ones with factory flares or black plastic cladding. Take the plastic off any of em and you will see roughed up paint, dirt, rocks, salt, you name it. Plastic body cladding protects your paint and sheetmetal from damaging it by slowly rotting it underneath.

 

[UberGadgetFreak]

I have the AirDesign ones on my FE. They did come with polyurethane sealant, but the Bushwackers did not (have those for my pending Tremor). Today, the best method to prevent this sort of thing is to use some paint protection film underneath them, or go old-school and use some sealant around all the edges like caulking a window (I did this with mine with clear silicone). The only thing is to leave a small air hole somewhere so temperature changes don't work it loose over time.

 

[mav_kev]

Fender flares also mess up the look of the Maverick, but that's just me.

 

[Stock411]

Well I am glad you caught it? What made you remove it?

Had a gut feeling it was messing my paint up.

 

[Bsoute00]

The only way around any of this is to either apply or have applied ppf prior to installing anything that could contact the paint. This even goes for bug/hood protectors.

With the paint on our truck, the truck should come with a roll of Paint Protective Film from the factory.

 

[2003VETT]

I used black caulk around the edges of mine on my GMC. looked great and removed them 3 years later when the lease was up and gave them to a friend. Not a scratch underneath. Took an hour or so to remove the caulk, but was worth it.

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