Fading Fenders

[MuddyJeep]

What is the best thing to do if the fenders as well as the plastic behind the mirros are becoming this grayish color? I have herd that the best thing is Mothers Back to Black polish, I have also herd something about a heat gun... Please share your tips. Thank you!

[NAILER341]

i have heard PENETROL works the best on these things.
it is available at home depot or other stores like it in the paint section.
it is an addative to oil paints to make it spread smoother, and dry slower.
i'll bet it is less expensive than some of the other items as well.
give it a try

[seapahn]

By fenders you mean the plastic flares? I sprayed mine with a black "flexible bumper coating" spray. Seemed to do the trick and took about 30 minutes (mostly spent in masking things).

[avnative]

I use aerospace 303, its the not the cheapest, but it will help then from fading.
303products.com, You can see where the nearest distributor to you it is on there site, The stuff works great on the tires and also the top..

[nagal]

I used Pentrol. It works and its fast but they will fade again. Next I will try painting them. A bit of a pain but I am trying for some sort of lasting result.

Dont bother with Armor All or Black Magic. I have heard Mothers works okay but fades almost with the first wash.

[Old Fart]

I used Pentrol. It works and its fast but they will fade again. Next I will try painting them. A bit of a pain but I am trying for some sort of lasting result.

Dont bother with Armor All or Black Magic. I have heard Mothers works okay but fades almost with the first wash.

Wash???????

What is this strange tongue you speak?

[avnative]

Wash???????

What is this strange tongue you speak?

You obviously havent seen black and tan TJ's Jeep, See it and you will find out what the word means...

[Old Fart]

Gotta be one of those coil spring phenomona - last time my rig got washed was the last time it rained.

Next you'll tell me I need doors...........

[sarah]

We bought black plastic paint, but have yet to try it out. I'll have to do that soon. On a side note, fabric paint works wonders for any padding, including the roll bar. It's held up well too.

[nagal]

Gotta be one of those coil spring phenomona - last time my rig got washed was the last time it rained.

Next you'll tell me I need doors...........

You don't just need doors, you secretly covet doors and coil springs!

[GreenMachine]

I picked up some black plastic paint yesterday and painted the fenders. talk about a huge difference. then again my fenders were literally grey. regardless the pain works pretty well, its a pain when it runs though.

[cjdirtbiker]

Bulldog paint flex agent; detailing offroad equip

The optimum solution is to paint plastic flares, which seems to be what you've chosen. I'm getting reved up to do mine as well. My last jeep I used Dupont Chroma-Base with Bulldog. The latter is a flex agent and adhesion promotor for plastic bumpers. Any good automotive enamel or commercial bumper paint will work well. None of this stuff is in a rattle can, you need an air gun and compressor. An automotive paint store does carry plastic bumper pain in a rattlecan, so if you have to go that route that's a good solution.

Masking them off is easier than removing them, and then you don't have to smudge the paint when you reinstall. I prepped them with lacquer thinner to get any remaining plastic treatment off. The Bulldog is shot on as an adhesion promotor, as well as mixed in the paint at a 10% ratio as a flex agent. The paint is sprayed on the the base coat while it's still tacky.

Makes them look just like new, and it's quite durable. When it gets scratched you just touch them up.

My rig gets detailed after every run to keep it looking like new. With the amount of $$ invested I certainly would't just leave it trashed. Much of the dirt left on an offroad vehicle is quite corrosive. It will ruin your finishes and corrode any exposed metal, like fasteners. Here's an easy detail routine developed for off road race bikes that works great on a jeep, and it can be done in your own driveway:

Garden hose is fine, no you don't need a high-presure washer. In fact, high pressure washers will get water and dirt into places you don't want it to. Hose off the excess mud and dirt from the body, tires and wheels, chassis, and engine compartment. If you've kept your underhood clean then a simple hose-off will knock the dust off. More on that later. Car suds the topsides, a long handle soft bristle car wash brush is the easiest to use. Simple green the tires, under fenders, frame, axles, and steering rods and hit them with your brush. Hose everything off.

If your engine bay is really dirty, and you've left your motor oily and greasy, then a foaming engine cleaner is good. Simple green and for really caked on grease, Castrol SuperClean. Watch out for the latter though, it's REALLY strong and will take paint off and etch aluminum alloy. Target caked grease, leave for a few minutes, brush if possible to loosen caked-on dirt, and hose off. If you have a distributor or carburetor, cover them with foil or plastic. The newer rigs don't need anything. Just don't hose dirctly at wiring connectors or intake.

The synthetic chamois that come from Germany are the best drying towels on the planet. They're the yellow-orange ones you get from home shows and fairs. Fire up the motor to dry out the engine bay while you dry off the topsides. I squeegee the windows while I'm wiping down and all water spotting is eliminated.

Now everything that's plastic or rubber, and the inner fenders, get hit with STP Son-of-a-gun (it's cheaper than Armorall and works fine for an offroader) and everything metal gets WD-40 including the engine bay. Wipe off overspray from body and wheels. Don't spray your engine drive belt!

Vacuum out the interior and wipe all surfaces down with cleaner and treatment. An orange cleaner and armorall is fine, my favorite is the briteside products from Amsoil. They work better and protect better than the other brands. UV protection is what you're after here.

There's no reason an offroader HAS to look like it just came off the trail unless that's what you really want. Whether it's a jeep or a dirtbike, they can stay looking like new with little effort. It takes about 2 hours to do a really good job, an hour for a quickie once-over. And while the Armorall and WD-40 coatings attract dust, it protects the surface and makes cleanup super easy for next time.

[MuddyJeep]

Thank you for all of your replys, you have been extremely helpful

[TrAvELAr]

Quadratec sells some polish that is supposed to return it to it's natural color. I have not yet tried this, but I am also looking for some ideas.

[jmycknshk]

meguiar's

i just found something that may be kind of helpful. i too suffered from the fading fenders on a 2002 wrangler. for kicks(and i was out of armor all) i tried some of the wife's Meguiar's gold class rich leather wipes on my fenders. usually with armor all, they would fade and get streaky within hours. it has now been 24 hours and the fenders are still black, not greasy, with a nice sheen. as a warning, the wipes are kinda greasy, but if you're careful, go on easily(i'd leave about 5-7 minutes dry time) i find that 1 wipe does front and back, 1 side.

http://www.meguiars.com/?automotive-...-Leather-Wipes

i don't know how long they'll last, but seeing as i wash my car once a week in the summer, this won't be a problem as long as it lasts at least 3 days.

i'll try to update with the findings.

Edit: after 2 days, you can see the wipe marks and are just as grey as ever.