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lupinsea
10-25-2008, 02:26 AM
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Restoring Faded Flares


CONTENTS

1) Vehicle Setup
2) Overview and Review
3) Write-up


1) VEHICLE SETUP

This can be performed on a stock or modified vehicle with stock, non-painted flares.


2) OVERVIEW AND REVIEW

Overview:
It doesn't take long for stock plastic Jeep flares to fade in the elements. Before you know it the black flares have turned a light shade of gray and look out of place on the Jeep (Fig 1) with its black bumpers, black mirrors, black tires, black top, black door handles, etc. This "mod" restores the flares to their original black finish without painting by using a blow torch or heat gun to lightly melt the surface of the faded plastic.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare01.jpg
Fig 1 - Stock flares suffer bad fading in the sun


Review:
The hardest part was removing the fender flares. Especially when the nut-serts spun in the fender sheet metal. However, once the fenders are off this was an easy way to restore their faded color.

The benefit of this method is that it doesn't use any paint. If the flares get scratched up it's the same material through the whole scratch which means it's less visible. Compare this to a painted flare that will show the light faded gray under the paint if it gets scratched

This is not expected to be an ultra durable solution to poor UV stability of the OEM flares. Over time it's expected that the plastic will fade to light gray again. However, all one needs to do is remove the flares again and fire up the torch.


3) WRITE-UP

Remove Flares:
First step is to remove the flare. You'll need an 8mm wrench for the flare screws. For the front flare unhook the turn signal light by twisting the socket on the back of the lens (Fig 2). Remove the front lens by unscrewing the 10mm speed nut on the back.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare02.jpg
Fig 2 - Remove the front signal lens, then unbolt
the flare from the fender


If any nut-serts "spin" on you, you'll have to access the back and grip the nut-sert body with some pliers while undoing the screw.

With the flare off there will likely be a lot of gunk behind the flare (Fig 3). Clean this off before reinstalling the flare. Also, clean the back mating surface of the flare itself.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare03.jpg
Fig 3 - The flare detached from the Jeep fender. Note the
gunk behind where the flare was. Clean this off
before reinstallation.


Note: You "can" torch the flares while they're still on the Jeep, but do so at your own risk. It's still advisable to remove the flare near the gas cap. That's the last place you want open flame or heat.

Torching the Flares:
Set the fender flare on a non-flamable support, a pair of jack stands work nicely. Then fire up the torch and run the flame back and forth over the surface of the plastic (Fig 4 & 5). The idea is to let the plastic melt "SLIGHTLY" so it turns back to black again.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare04.jpg
Fig 4 - Using a blow torch or a heat gun, lighly
melt the surface of the plastic flare.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare05.jpg
Fig 5 - Almost finished. Be sure to support the flare on
something non-flamable. Jack stand work well for this.


If you run the flame over at the right speed then only the surface will melt and the back side of the flare will barely get warm. You should see a "wetting" of the plastic surface (Fig 6) indicating the surface melt and the plastic will darken drastically. However, the surface will cool and harden up in a matter of seconds once you remove the flame (Fig 7).

As a test, the surface was scratched several times with utility knife, sure enough, the newly restored color goes all the way through the flare material so the scratches blend in (Fig 8 ).

Once the flares are done with the torching, bolt them back up in the reverse order you took them off.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare06.jpg
Fig 6 - The torch should melt just the surface of the
plastic, the backside will barely be warm to the touch.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare07.jpg
Fig 7 - It takes mere seconds for the plastic to cool
and solidify to a near OEM factory finish. However,
there's only so much to be done. My flares have taken
a beating over the years.


http://homepage.mac.com/jgreening/.Pictures/Jeepmods/flares/flare08.jpg
Fig 8 - Scratch test: the utility knife cut scratches through
the surface yet there is no other color showing, the beauty
of dealing with an integral material color instead of paint.





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rautox
10-25-2008, 10:41 AM
I wouldn't have thought of that *golf claps*

lupinsea
10-25-2008, 11:59 AM
I'd read a few references on Jeepforum.com about using a heat gun. Well, I didn't have a heat gun but I did have a blow torch. . . they're pretty similar. :D

John V
10-27-2008, 02:35 PM
I bet that smelled GREAT.

lupinsea
10-27-2008, 03:51 PM
Actually, no weird smell at all. It heated up enough to melt the surface but not burn it. No smoke or anything. . . at least, nothing I could tell from doing this out side or with the garage door open.

Rob
10-27-2008, 04:43 PM
You can get a heat gun at Harbor Freight for like $10. But then you wouldn't get to play with your blow torch.

lupinsea
10-27-2008, 05:28 PM
Well, I'd also have to drive down to the local HF store, too . . .and drive back. So $10 + gas money. And gas is still up enough to factor into certain costs, especially on a run to HF where it's out of my way.

Next time I'm down that way I'll have to think about it.

Actually, I think I may still need to use some Back to Black or Armorall stuff. This technique gets be back to square one in terms of plastic color and restoration . . . and square one means that it'll fade again. Hopefully it'll be easier staying on top of the fade if I start with "fresh" black fenders again, though.