Fender Flare triangle shaped paint protector? (1 Viewer)

[cahill]

Just curious what the purpose of the triangle/sail shaped thing is on the rear fender flares located down by the rear doors. It looks like a sticke that is applied and painted over. Looked for replacements an the only place I have seen mention of them or for sale was on cruiserparts.net. What are they for and anyone have specifics on what they are made of? Saw the buyerbeware section regarding cruiser parts and not sure I want to risk dealing with them.

Mine are showing their age and when I re-paint am thinking they will be damaged in the process of prepping for paint. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[fjbj40]

this is what I will be using, I work in the industry so I have access to as much as I need!

Search Results | Aircraft Spruce

Aircraft Spruce is a worldwide distributor of certified and homebuilt aircraft supplies.

www.aircraftspruce.com

 

[jpoole]

I believe it's a clear tape/sticker put in place to protect the paint from rocks/similar thrown up from the front tires. I don't think they were painted over from the factory but I may be wrong on that. They also seem a bit redundant with the running board setup but perhaps they were installed on all rear flares regardless of how the truck was later trimmed out.

 

[sxp]

You can just use clear vinyl to replace them. If you want something more permanent, you can use helicopter tape. Just be advised, cheap brands of heli tape can yellow over time.

 

[Dork]

Go to a body place and ask for some leftover bits of 3M paint protection. I get scrap cut off ends for free all the time for putting on my bikes. Should be enough to do that patch and it's the right stuff.

 

[thatcabledude]

Ditch them and don’t look back. I’ve always found them to be ridiculous. About the same as the car bras. They often look worse than what minimal amount of damage they prevent.

 

[cahill]

Thanks for the help. The 3M polyurethane tape is what I had in mind for replacing. I'll take a closer look but am pretty sure the OEM isn't clear but I could be wrong. I may end up ditching them but was curious about their purpose and what they were made of.

 

[thatcabledude]

OEM is clear.

 

[cahill]

OEM is clear.

That will make it easier to decide down the road as it can be added later without having to paint it.

 

[LINUS]

Ditch them and don’t look back. I’ve always found them to be ridiculous. About the same as the car bras. They often look worse than what minimal amount of damage they prevent.

If I read right, just pull ‘em and the running boards for the respray & don’t bother to re-install either.

It looks like you’re still about stock springs & tires, so not like it’s a leap to get in w/o the weak OE runners.

 

[cahill]

Yeah, still hanging at stock heigh for the moment and for the forseable future. Some day may upgrade springs/shocks but not in the budget right now. Taking care of the things that will preserve it for the long haul if possible.

 

[LINUS]

Gotcha.
In that case, smart on your part to keep it stock-ish.
Those will be the desirable ones over all our hopped up / modded junk someday