Painting Fender Flares?
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2011
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From: Houma, LA
Painting Fender Flares?
Just ordered some fender flares and was wondering if anyone knows what type of paint should be used? My truck is the Sterling Grey Metallic. Is this a hard task to DIY or should I get this professionally done?
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,526
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From: Calgary, Alberta
Flares are not a DIY project if you want good results. Especially a metallic paint. My first suggestion would be to bring it to a shop that does dominantly ford products. They will have the best ideas of choosing the right paint variant for your truck. Call your dealer and see who does all their paint work.
The install is a straight forward project, well, maybe. Depends if you are trying to put factory flares on a XLT. Then it's not so easy, and quite frankly, I wouldn't recommend it at all. The hole placement is so critical for the retainers on factory flares...... so instead of me laying out the bazillion of maybe's, why not tell me about what model you have, and what brand, model flares you want to install.
The install is a straight forward project, well, maybe. Depends if you are trying to put factory flares on a XLT. Then it's not so easy, and quite frankly, I wouldn't recommend it at all. The hole placement is so critical for the retainers on factory flares...... so instead of me laying out the bazillion of maybe's, why not tell me about what model you have, and what brand, model flares you want to install.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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if your an xlt, check ebay for some flares. they have some that use adhesive to stick on the outside and then you drill 3 or 4 holes IIRC for the inner fender lip. i used them on my 07 xlt and quality was pretty good. adhesive started to wear off in 1 or 2 spots about 2-3 inches but i think it was from offroading and getting dirt in there.
if you are wanting your stock flares painting on an fx4 i'd go to a dealer like canadian elbow said or look for someone selling a set of painted flares to swap out.
if you are wanting your stock flares painting on an fx4 i'd go to a dealer like canadian elbow said or look for someone selling a set of painted flares to swap out.
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Houma, LA
Flares are not a DIY project if you want good results. Especially a metallic paint. My first suggestion would be to bring it to a shop that does dominantly ford products. They will have the best ideas of choosing the right paint variant for your truck. Call your dealer and see who does all their paint work.
The install is a straight forward project, well, maybe. Depends if you are trying to put factory flares on a XLT. Then it's not so easy, and quite frankly, I wouldn't recommend it at all. The hole placement is so critical for the retainers on factory flares...... so instead of me laying out the bazillion of maybe's, why not tell me about what model you have, and what brand, model flares you want to install.
The install is a straight forward project, well, maybe. Depends if you are trying to put factory flares on a XLT. Then it's not so easy, and quite frankly, I wouldn't recommend it at all. The hole placement is so critical for the retainers on factory flares...... so instead of me laying out the bazillion of maybe's, why not tell me about what model you have, and what brand, model flares you want to install.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,526
Likes: 1
From: Calgary, Alberta
Get them painted at your dealership body shop. The install is pretty straight forward. If you have any sort of mechanical aptitude at all, slapping them on is easy. Getting your factory ones off can be a little difficult without knowing what you are up against. Especially if you want to do it without damaging either the factory flares or the truck. That could take a little care, and skill. Maybe try and see if you can find a pic of the back side of a factory flare before you try it, or perhaps your dealer might have a set in stock you can look at so you know what you are up against.
I tend to cut the head of the "xmas tree" retainers off from the wheel well lip, pull the two nuts from near the bottom of the flare, and bump the flare off the clips, leaving the clips in the fender for removal after I get the flare off. You can pick the retainers off one by one, but to do it without damaging the flare at all is not easy, and very time consuming.
I too though about putting pocket bushwackers on my FX4, but after studying a few at the dealer they had on display, I decided they just didn't sit right with the flow of the truck. Not to mention, the front bumper looks retarded from the head on view with the flares sticking out so far. The raptor front end flows nicely with the wider fenders, and bumper in comparasin. Add to it the potential for rub damage Bushwacker flares can cause. Your ride, your choice.
I tend to cut the head of the "xmas tree" retainers off from the wheel well lip, pull the two nuts from near the bottom of the flare, and bump the flare off the clips, leaving the clips in the fender for removal after I get the flare off. You can pick the retainers off one by one, but to do it without damaging the flare at all is not easy, and very time consuming.
I too though about putting pocket bushwackers on my FX4, but after studying a few at the dealer they had on display, I decided they just didn't sit right with the flow of the truck. Not to mention, the front bumper looks retarded from the head on view with the flares sticking out so far. The raptor front end flows nicely with the wider fenders, and bumper in comparasin. Add to it the potential for rub damage Bushwacker flares can cause. Your ride, your choice.