Fender flare painting

Some of you guys were interested in how I did the flares on a black 110 I built a while back. I finally painted another set for a customers truck today, so here's a quick little write up.

The aftermarket flares that are available are ridiculously glossy, and don't look proper on a Defender.
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/3510/img0015oe.jpg

For starters, hit the fender with 180-grit to give the paint a good surface to adhere to. When sanding, make sure to wrap the corners of the flare to keep the paint from chipping at the edges.
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2425/img0010tj.jpg

This is the paint I use. You can find it at Advance Auto Parts for about $10 per can. Two cans should do four flares.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1717/img0012uf.jpg

After cleaning the flare with solvent to remove any dirt/sanding dust, spray the fender, keeping the can 12-16" away. This will give it a nice textured finish.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9125/img0011eg.jpg

Once the paint dries it will flatten out quite a bit. I then follow up with this stuff, also available at Advance for about $6 a can. Just a coat or two will do the trick and seal everything up nicely.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5342/img0013hg.jpg

Once its all done, the fender will look like this.
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3593/img0014gh.jpg

Compared to a worn out NAS fender
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6361/img0016mn.jpg

And of course on the truck.
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5721/img0017jx.jpg

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures. Enjoy.

crown14 said:

Have you got a pile of old NAS flares laying around??

Click to expand...

I counted six when I put the original fenders off the 90 on the shelf, but I may have missed some so possibly two complete sets.

Alright so there is two complete sets. The ones that came off the Tdi 90 are pretty mud stained, but are in good shape otherwise. The other set is in good shape with no stains or tears. PM me if either of you guys are interested.