Please don't hurt me

[ryams27]

I'm in my late 30's and recently became not only a first-time Ram owner, but a first-time truck owner period. I love my new (to me) truck (Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Crew; Hemi 5.7; purchased 2 weeks ago) but my stupid ass has already managed to put about a 9 inch deep scratch in the front right fender flare (pictured). Perhaps needless to say, I have been absolutely sick over it since it happened.

My questions:

(1) If I wanted to just restore the truck to its original condition, what would be the best way to go about acquiring a replacement fender flare in the right color?

(2) If I wanted to just scrap the original fender flares and install something aftermarket to improve the looks of my truck, what would you guys recommend? (i.e., what do you think would look the best for the price? and where might you buy?)

Attached are photos of the damage, as well as a profile shot of my truck. Any and all thoughts/suggestions appreciated.

 

[Pull Ya]

I'd get some touch up paint and fix it yourself. Shouldn't be to much of a problem.
Jay

 

[Graygoose]

Id do what Jay mentioned or have a bodyshop fix, to me, the OEM flares look the best IMHO.

 

[BWL]

You can get colour match paint in spray cans from the dealer. Tape off the flare. Sand the damaged area lightly and maybe 6" either side. Repaint the damage and blend into the non damaged area. Then sand out and polish out the blend. Clean and scuff the whole flare and give a last minute wipe with a lint free cloth and clear the whole thing. Dealer sells the clear in a can and the duplicolour paint shop stuff works well to. I'd recomend the mopar paint though since it's a really good match. Do it out of the wind and dust so you don't get crap in your paint or clear. Not as big a job as it sounds. Most of the time spent will be taping off the flare and waiting for paint and clear to dry.

 

[MarshRam]

If you don't want to fix it as pull ya indicated, from a cost perspective getting it professionally repainted is going to be a lot cheaper than replacing all of them and possibly having all 4 new flares painted.

 

[clay282]

I would just get touch up paint and touch it up. Don't get me wrong, I like things to be on point, but I also know a truck will have some marks and battle scars. Kinda funny... things I couldn't live with on my car, I see as proud scars on my truck.

Says your in Alabama. Dude, we're in the south! If your truck is flawless in the south, your either a poser, or it's your wife's truck LMAO! Touch it up, take a deep breath and 2 years from now when you see it, laugh about the goof and remember how great it felt when you first got her.

 

[mohemipar]

Its hard to tell how deep it is in the pic. Is the black portion primer or color that rubbed off from whatever you hit? Sometimes if they are not very deep you can use compound to cut those kind of scratches right out without even having to repaint. If the black stuff is primer than it would not work there, but where it didn't go through the paint you can try compound first. Best results are with a dual action orbital polisher. They are a good investment.

 

[FCA Master]

Cummins swap, 8 inch lift, cut the fenders and weld in new flares, 40 inch tires... sorry that's my list.

 

[chrisbh17]

The truck being silver helps at least a little.

I see its down to the black plastic in the front of it and gradually comes to the surface towards the rear. Ideally you would want to fill the gouge to flush with or maybe a bit above the surface, then wet sand the filler down to flush, then paint.

Luckily, this is just plastic so you could just paint over it (at least for now) and not worry about it rusting. You could also try building up layers of touch up paint to try and fill in the gouge too...it might take a while but it would look better after each layer.

I did something similar to my old Accord coupe. I ended up just putting a few layers of touch up paint in the gouge and then wet sanded with 1000+ grit until it was "close enough".

 

[ryams27]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. I'm not sure how much I trust myself to try and fix it, but I might be able to swing some touch-up paint and sanding. I wouldn't mind taking it a body shop but just don't have any frame of reference for what that might cost.

 

[S0CAL]

Doesn't exactly solve your immediate issue, but I have silver Bushwhacker knockoffs (below) I would consider selling. PS2 paint code, near mint condition. Here's what it would look like on your truck (minus the lift).