If painting fender flares on truck take time in taping off the outter rim of fender flare. You will regret it if you don't.

2: make sure can is 6" away from flare and make one continous med paced pass over whole fender flare. When you reach the end stop spray.

3: Do the same thing back to the other side making sure the can is no closer than 6" away from fender flare.

4: let dry for 10-15 min and repeat step 2. Make sure you use thin coats of paint. If you hold can closer than 6" or go to slow the paint will run and it will look like CRAP!!! Trust me. I had to sand down 2 of my fender flares and start over. Make sure you take your time and apply as many coats as needed making sure they are THIN coats. If you do this they will turn out great and look like a MILLION bucks. If you have any questions just shoot me a message.

 

Good info...don't forget to clear your flares or you will notice them chipping/peeling in a couple months; especially if you live in a summertime state with sun all year round.

I painted 2 on and took 2 off. Found it much easier to remove them, lay flat, sand and paint with the same steps you used and then clearcoat. Let dry and re-install. I will most likely do mine again this upcoming summer as I have a couple parts that are starting to fade because of sun/washing and has removed paint.

Still look 100x better than stock though

Now go do your wiper cowl and bed rails

 

I painted mine with a color matching rattle can about 16 months ago and I used two clear coats. They lasted about 12 months in Texas before one of them started chipping real bad. It was not one of my successful mods and I will not try painting the "rough" plastic again.

The others had minor chips, so I had to repaint them all this weekend because it was starting to bug me. I sanded them down with 150, 220 and 320 grit. Then, I applied clear adhesion promotor before painting them again. I hope they last at least until I sell my truck...

KR-Texas

 

05BlackFX4 I did paint my cowle and it looks awesome. How in the hell did you get your flares off? For the life of me I couldn't even get the back ones off. I looked and looked for a forum to tell me how do to it, or something with pics but came up empty. Any advice?

KR-Texas it's a whole lot cheaper than buying new fender flares and looks a ton better than the old faded ones I had. It's about time for winter here so I will see how long they last with all the sand and salt on the roads.

 

There are a bunch of plastic push pins that hold the flares to the side of the truck...a screwdriver and a rag to protect the paint is what worked for me. Start at one end and work your way around the flare, you have to use a little pressure but THEY DO come off with a little force. Depending on how old the truck is you may break some of the pins (about 15 per flare) which if you do you can get replacements from Ford for about $15 total. They also have 2-3 screws that hold them in place. Remove the screws, then the pins and they snap right back into place when you are done.

Check my gallery as I think I have a picture of them off the truck being painted. Not sure if I have one of the plastic tabs though

Edit: Didn't find any in my online gallery. When I get home I will see if I have any on my computer that I can post up for you Livin.