Fender flares

[PDXRam]

Fleek?


Sent from nunya beeswax!

Simply means they look good so what year is your ram?

 

[gafool]

2015


Sent from nunya beeswax!

 

[Clancaster23]

I am close to ordering some fender flares and I want the pocket ones that come with the rivets. I am wondering if anyone has actually painted the rivets? Being that my truck is black, I'd rather not see the chrome circles around the wheel wells so I was thinking as long as they are metal that I could scuff up the front of the rivets and spray some black on them, that way they wouldn't be noticeable. Anyone done this?

Also noticed that a couple of the sets require that you remove or relocate the Hemi emblem above the fender because it'd be in the way of the flare. If I do get a type that requires this, I may just take all the emblems off or something. I usually like to either leave things like that stock or do away with them all.

 

[RAMblin1217]

I am close to ordering some fender flares and I want the pocket ones that come with the rivets. I am wondering if anyone has actually painted the rivets? Being that my truck is black, I'd rather not see the chrome circles around the wheel wells so I was thinking as long as they are metal that I could scuff up the front of the rivets and spray some black on them, that way they wouldn't be noticeable. Anyone done this?

Also noticed that a couple of the sets require that you remove or relocate the Hemi emblem above the fender because it'd be in the way of the flare. If I do get a type that requires this, I may just take all the emblems off or something. I usually like to either leave things like that stock or do away with them all.

If you get Bushwacker Pocket style flares you will have to remove the hemi logo, I had to do it for mine. I have a black truck and actually like having the rivets silver to give the truck a lil pop of color. If you debadge all the logos including ram and 1500 and whatever else, I'd leave the front and rear RAM logo badge on and keep the rivers unpainted...otherwise the truck will look weird in my opinion. I do have "rivets and bolts" that are "chrome" on my rims so that also helps with my reason for not painting them.

 

[Clancaster23]

Yeah, I would leave the front and back ram emblems on, I didn't mean to say I'd remove those, just everything else. If anything, I'd make them black if I thought it'd look good afterwards. My wheels have milled accents around them and I can see what you mean by it could look good with a few more above the wheels.

 

[CaptainPowTown]

Do all "bushwacker style" fenders flares require the hemi logo to come off? or just the bushwacker brand?

 

[joshua.jensen.100]

Here's some close ups of the ebay flares I posted further up.. They fit the body lines exactly, no gasket.

I'd like to see a comparison to the $600 bushwackers.


IMO

What brand are those, and how far do they stick out?

 

[AustinB]

What brand are those, and how far do they stick out?

Post #4 I took a screen shot off ebay.

Dont remember how far they stuck out.. But the deminsions should be on the page.

IMO

 

[zstampe]

I read somewhere that the rubber gaskets end up eventually wearing through the paint. What is everyone using instead?

 

[smoothee]

I read somewhere that the rubber gaskets end up eventually wearing through the paint. What is everyone using instead?

That is unfortunately true. I think some people use clear 3M film behind the flares and/or replace the gaskets with double sided tape like the factory flares have.

 

[zstampe]

That is unfortunately true. I think some people use clear 3M film behind the flares and/or replace the gaskets with double sided tape like the factory flares have.

Yeah i'll try double sided tape first I guess. Wish you didn't have to mess with it.

 

[Ronan]

I had the non riveted bushwhacker flares, I did remove the hemi badge, but I removed all the badges anyway. As for the rubber gaskets, I had em on 3 years. They didn't wear through the paint , but they did leave there mark. I took a bunch of compound and claybar to get the residue off. However they did exactly match the body lines, and they were only 300$. I would still probably save my money and go with the eBay flares that Austin has pointed out. For the simple fact that they use the 3m tape. Seems like a better fit to me. Just my .02

 

[zstampe]

I had the non riveted bushwhacker flares, I did remove the hemi badge, but I removed all the badges anyway. As for the rubber gaskets, I had em on 3 years. They didn't wear through the paint , but they did leave there mark. I took a bunch of compound and claybar to get the residue off. However they did exactly match the body lines, and they were only 300$. I would still probably save my money and go with the eBay flares that Austin has pointed out. For the simple fact that they use the 3m tape. Seems like a better fit to me. Just my .02

I just ordered Lund elite riveted flares for 94 bucks open box from amazon. They are normally $256 there. So I can spring for some tape if need be, it's just sort of a pain in the ass to use sometimes.

 

[MANual_puller]

Here's some pics of mine. They are "stampede" brand oem style. I got them through my local Carquest. I liked the cleaner look of no rivets. They fit great with my aftermarket bumper and matched the body lines spot on. These have the rubber seal as well instead of tape. I haven't noticed any issues yet. What causes the damage people report isn't the seals themselves it's dirt and grit that gets trapped in there. Pressure washer blows that gunk right out. I'm sure eventually they'll show wear but by then the rest of the paint will have enough rock chips and such that I can just have the whole works redone again.

 

[Ronan]

Here's some pics of mine. They are "stampede" brand oem style. I got them through my local Carquest. I liked the cleaner look of no rivets. They fit great with my aftermarket bumper and matched the body lines spot on. These have the rubber seal as well instead of tape. I haven't noticed any issues yet. What causes the damage people report isn't the seals themselves it's dirt and grit that gets trapped in there. Pressure washer blows that gunk right out. I'm sure eventually they'll show wear but by then the rest of the paint will have enough rock chips and such that I can just have the whole works redone again.

Definitely residue and wear , where it hit my bumper there was wear through the paint, just a little , but a little too much. The rest was , as you stated , mostly residue from wax, dirt, etc. but a powerwasher wasn't doing it. Compound and clay worked , but it wasn't quick ...... If I did it again I would stay away from the rubber, or at least use a 3m clear underneath.

 

[smoothee]

I had the Bushwacker pocket style on for less than a year, took them off to go with factory flares but of course they had rubbed through the clearcoat. So ended up Line-Xing my rockers and underneath the flares and putting the damn things back on.

 

[MANual_puller]

Definitely residue and wear , where it hit my bumper there was wear through the paint, just a little , but a little too much. The rest was , as you stated , mostly residue from wax, dirt, etc. but a powerwasher wasn't doing it. Compound and clay worked , but it wasn't quick ...... If I did it again I would stay away from the rubber, or at least use a 3m clear underneath.

Trick is to use the pressure washer to keep it clean so it doesn't happen. Once it happens yeah, pressure washer isn't going to fix it. The truck can look clean as a whistle but that rubber seal will catch grit and trap it against the paint. That's where the marks come from. Keep it cleaned out, no problems

It is rather obnoxious to spend that much coin for flares to protect the paint only to have the flares ruin the paint.

 

[zstampe]

Definitely residue and wear , where it hit my bumper there was wear through the paint, just a little , but a little too much. The rest was , as you stated , mostly residue from wax, dirt, etc. but a powerwasher wasn't doing it. Compound and clay worked , but it wasn't quick ...... If I did it again I would stay away from the rubber, or at least use a 3m clear underneath.

If the flares are wearing through the paint won't they wear through the 3m clear?

 

[MANual_puller]

If the flares are wearing through the paint won't they wear through the 3m clear?

I personally wouldn't think it would be sticky enough to create a "permanent" seal either. I would think eventually it would break the seal and work on it as if it were never there. If it were to stick it would effectively seal out the dirt. The dirt/dust/grime is what is the abrasive. Rubber door seals don't rub through the paint so it's not the seal.

 

[Ronan]

I personally wouldn't think it would be sticky enough to create a "permanent" seal either. I would think eventually it would break the seal and work on it as if it were never there. If it were to stick it would effectively seal out the dirt. The dirt/dust/grime is what is the abrasive. Rubber door seals don't rub through the paint so it's not the seal.

Probably right about the clear, possibly double sided tape , or take them off every so often and clean em up underneath. As for the powerwasher, i did , about once a month, and that residue persisted to remain. I have to also say , it didn't wear through the paint where it was on metal, only on the plastic sport bumber. That being said it is possible the clear would work. Without taking them off , you really can't clean behind them. At least from my experience with them. I'll take a pic in a bit to show.

It is faint, but it's there. The clear 3m may help avoid this. So long as it is kept up on. I personally would rather replace the tape than have to fix the paint...
Sorry so dirty!!!!