I’ve been asking questions and shopping fender flares. I can’t believe the prices on these things. I decided to save a little money and Paint them myself. I search to find detailed info on how to and it was scarce. I had a basic idea and I have a high school buddy who is a long timer so I took advantage and got the low down. Here’s my scoop on painting plastic fender flares, which would also apply to most other plastics, window visors, etc. This is the first time I’ve ever sprayed anything that I didn’t buy at WalMart and also my first write up so ya’ll may have to cut me some slack if I goof up LOL. I’ll mention some things that I learned the hard way` and hopefully it’ll save someone else trouble.
On a difficulty scale of 1-10 I rate this a 6. Probably the hardest thing about it is patience and preparation. It was fun to me and I had a ball doing it.
I purchased my flares from Ebay for $154.99 total, to my door. Then I went local for paint and stuff.



Total $156.25, I couldn’t believe it was that much.

Other stuff
More sandpaper, odds & ends $25.00
I didn’t have a gravity gun so I got one for 35.00
Complete total over $370.00, and that’s Ebay specials, I never would’ve thunk it.
Anyway,
First thing, you’ll need your paint code which you can find on the drivers door panel.



My code is PDR, the 2nd tone wasn’t on mine so I had to work to get that one. Here’s a link with Chryslers color charts.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.asp...ysler-pg03.jpg

This is what I did, remember, some of this may not be how a pro would do it,
but hey, well...
1. Using 800 grit sand paper, some use a scuff pad, lightly sand the piece to rough it up so the paint has something to grab. Mine had a scratch that I worked out with 400 then 800 grit, any imperfections are supposed to be magnified under Clearcoat.



2. Wash with soap and water then blow it off with air tip. I used acetone as a solvent to remove grease and oils. When wipeing with final cleaner, use rubber gloves like doctors wear, not the dishwashing kind, ha ha. From here on when you handle your work, you may want to wear them so you don’t get body oils on it. Move to painting area.

3. You want to keep dust to a minimum so wherever you chose you can hang some sheet up to fabricate yourself a Paint booth and make sure you have good lighting of you’ll end up with a spraygun in one hand and a flashlight in the other. I used plastic, you’ll see in the next pics. Set up you stuff so your able to reach all the angles with spray.

4. First 2 coats are Adhesion promoter, I used Bulldog brand. This is how to tell if your ready for the Bulldog.



5. If your ready to apply the Bulldog Adhesion Promoter, carry on. Make sure your gun is clean and filter in 8oz or so. I used a tack rag and made sure the dust was off. Apply 2 coat of the Bulldog allowing 10-15 minutes or so between coats. They call this Flash, so the thinners can evaporate. This will leave you with a sort of orange peel texture. If you develop a run, don’t worry, we’ll take care of it later. Clean your gun with the lacquer thinner, blowing it through the nozzle.

6. Mixing it up. My paint was Dupont brand and I mixed it in the cup they gave me. Shake it up real good then put 8oz of basecoat paint and 8oz of Basecoat maker, 1:1 is the ratio. Filter it into the gun hopper and spray 2-3 even coats, again allowing 10-15 minutes. It will look pretty crappy right now but the clear will fix that. Make sure you cover all the black. If you have any runs at all, wait 25-30 minutes and use the 800grit and GENTLY polish it back to a flat surface. I’m not sure how to clean the dust but I know this, don’t use any solvents, un huh. Passing the tack rag over it seems to help, then spray area, blending it in. First tone BC applied.

7. Since my truck is 2 tone, I waited, 30 or so minutes, while waiting I cleaned the color out of the gun with the lacquer thinner then held the flares to the truck and eyeballed the masking tape into place. I wiped down the area on the first to reduce contaminates and be careful not to scrape it on anything. The paint is surprisingly tough at this point but a scrape will mark it. I used plastic to cover the rest of the flare but newspaper would probably be better. I cant read so I didn’t have any. Be sure the mask line is seated good so you have a good crisp line. Mix 2nd tone, filter into gun hopper, back to booth, tack rag clean, and spray 2nd tone
.


8. As soon as your done slowly peel away the mask. Then clean your gun. Now mix your clear and activator. This one mixed 4:1 so I put 12oz clear and 3oz of activator. Filter it into the gun hopper and spray 2-3 even coats but it only need 5-10 minutes to flash. Now you should start seeing how you did. Remember, thin, even coats, but not too thin or it’ll have that orange peel finish, take your time .

9. You can handle it in an hour or so but leave it over night to cure before installing.



Some of the problems I had.
A. The second coat of Bulldog ran in one spot.
Solution: After first coat of basecoat, let dry for 30 minutes and sand smooth
B. Gun malfunctions, spitting, splattering.
Solution: Read the gun instructions well and keep them handy. The fluid volume and air volume have adjustments. Clean last paint color out good or it’ll spit out sooner or later, like during your clear, yea it will.
C: Be sure your work it stable, these flares are long a flexy and clumsy. After my clear I went to get a drink and one of them fell, landed on my halogen lamp and now I have a repair to do.



After all was done, I found out I learned a lot so I re-sanded them down really flat and shot them again. This time they came out a lot better.





I had so much fun I did my mirrors to match the truck.


.

Tips
You can wait till the next day to spray clear but try to do the Bulldog and basecoat the same day.
I found that sanding in circles didn’t clog up the paper as much as side to side.

Places I found useful
http://www.tcpglobal.com/solverindex.html

http://www.wmbarr.com/bulldog/bulldog_proj_2.aspx

http://www.performancecoatings.dupon...Module=SiteMap

http://www.learnautopainting.com/nov07.htm

http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_...56.html?page=1

I have plenty more pics, I could only post 10. I'll post the install soon as I do it. Hope this helps someone…

 

Nice Nice...I wanna do my bumpers and mirrors, but havent found the time...Looks good though

 

looks good- fwiw the $370 is exactly what i paid for my ats flares that come painted- not trying to be a wise a**, just a cost reference thing.

 

wetsand with 600 b4 basecoat. if not 800, much better surface to spray over and no paper clogging. on plastic i wouldnt go any more aggressive than 800, if the parts are good a grey scotch brite is the best method. bull dogs a great adheasion promotor but you should use a primer sealer after it, (it keeps the sanding scratches from comming through your basecoat. especially on metallics) , then basecoat clearcoat. this is a good write up, alot of guys on here are curious of how to do these things themselves

 

Yea, I thought about a sealer but most said I didn't really need it. When and why do you wet sand, what is the difference between the 2 (besides one usuing water)?

That would be a real good price. I thought I would save more than I did and that's why I posted. I still learned a lot though and for me, it was worth it. I have some touchups on my truck body, I have the confidence now to do them myself .
thanks guys

 

it's never a bad thing to pick up a new skill.

 

Nice write-up! Thanks for sharing!

 

Looks awesome....

 

That looks awesome..thanks for all the info!

 

That is a nice write-up, thanks.

I just was quoted $200 by a local body shop to paint my truck's fender flares, so it seems to be close to your prices.....

I paid only $130 for my truck's ATS flares.

 

Good job that orange peel is all gone after you sanded and did a final coat. Wet sanding keeps you from loading up the paper so fast. It just lasts a lot longer wet.

 

Looks great! Nice work.

Are you doing the door handles too?
Im debating whether to color match my door handles/mirrors on my silver truck...

 

2 questions how do you get the mirors off and lets say you just wanted to spary paint your mirors door handles and flares i take it thats not a great idea?

 

Nice write-up, thanks. How has the paint held up over the last couple years?