Any suggestions on the best look alikes or close to oem rubicon flares as possible. Ty. Only other thing I can think of is redoing my existing ones. Any tips, I’ve got some scratches on mine and little fading.
Best aftermarket fender flares that match oem
- Thread starter Joeyd
- Start date
DirtDawg
TJ Enthusiast
Seems the former owner of mine rattled-canned its flares at some point. Still quite pliable with no cracks or voids, so I applied a coat of Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Graphene Acrylic Trim Restorer to one of them after first cleaning with iso alcohol on an old nylon dish scrubby. SPOILER ALERT - that stuff worked well on some of my Can-Am SxS's highly textured plastic panels but looked streaked and blotchy on the flare's smooth plastic surface. So, I used super fine wet/dry sandpaper with iso alcohol to remove that stuff along with the surface paint beneath. I'm now thinking prepping similarly and masking all (4) flares in place, then spraying them with SEM 39143 Trim Black a good option. Mine is a dedicated trail rig, thus no need for show cosmetics. Subscribed to see what others have done to achieve good results with reasonable cost and effort...
The rubicon flares are painted a satin/matte black. The majority of other TJs are not. Rocky Mountain Edition and Sahara got gloss paint.
Eastwood has a 2k epoxy paint Rat Rod Black that I plan to repaint mine with this winter. I'll sand out any imperfections.
I refinished the bumpers and rocker guards on my Dad's LJ Rubicon with this paint a couple months ago and my frame after wire brushing off some light rust earlier this year. Happy all around with the product.
Eastwood has a 2k epoxy paint Rat Rod Black that I plan to repaint mine with this winter. I'll sand out any imperfections.
I refinished the bumpers and rocker guards on my Dad's LJ Rubicon with this paint a couple months ago and my frame after wire brushing off some light rust earlier this year. Happy all around with the product.
On the standard flares, plastic mirror housings and bumper "milkjugs", Adam's polishes have a nice product called VRT which you apply with foam blocks. I've found it to work really well without streaking and last a good amount of time if you keep it dry for a couple days while it "cures"
I did the sand, prime and paint once, it lasted a few years. I wound up putting these on amazon they fit pretty well and look great. I cant tell if the fitment issues were more from mire tire contacting my fender to meany times, or from the flares being a little out. Either way there was mild forced alignment and everything went together fine.
Not any great aftermarket options. Rough Country makes some that are textured like the standard flares, but in Sahara/Rubicon width. They look great from 10 feet but up close you can tell they are formed from sheet like kydex instead of injection molded like the factory. It leaves a radius where they meet the fender, instead of a sharp squared edge, and therefore exposes paint that has been rubbed by the original flares and leaves a small gap to trap sand, etc.
Knowing what I know I would have held out for OEM rubi flares but the RCs are what I have and it doesn't quite bother me enough to start over.
Knowing what I know I would have held out for OEM rubi flares but the RCs are what I have and it doesn't quite bother me enough to start over.
I was going to mention the RC flares but I figured someone looking for OEM might have those issues with them. In addition, they have a RC stamp in front of the marker light hole on the fronts. Also, I think they are a little wider than even Rubi/Sahara flares.
Having said all that, the RC flares look and function way better than the bed liner covered OEM flares mine came with and there is nothing cosmetic about my Jeep that would withstand a 10’ inspection anyway. They have also stood up to some unreasonable rock abuse and are pretty inexpensive so I have a second set on the shelf for when the 1st ones start looking too bad.
We bought these OMIX on March 12, 2021 and they still look good. Rig sits outside.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FQ7CQO?tag=wranglerorg-20
you should just sand your Rubi flairs with a red scotchbrite pad and some comet ,rinse really good and use this paint,mine look great.its all in one.
I have no issues with my RC flares. I don't even pay attention to the logo anymore.
I remembered I have some photos of that Eastwood 2k Rat Rod Black paint and VRT.
Before paint and VRT.
After paint and VRT.
Before paint and VRT.
After paint and VRT.
I lied. When people ask about the RC logo, I tell them I'm @John Cooper's brother Rick and he made me personalized flares. I threw away the monogram towels he sent for my 6th wedding (gift).
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I lied. When people ask about the RC logo, I tell them I'm @John Cooper's brother Rick and he made me personalized flares. I threw away the monogram towels he sent for my 6th wedding (gift).
You threw away the towels........ what the heck those suckers cost me like a buck at the Dollar General store...... I feel so cheated on.....
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