Danny Hsu
Well-Known Member
- 83
- 19
Are our fenders hard to roll?
I heard our fenders tend to crack the paint easily..
I heard our fenders tend to crack the paint easily..
Fender Rolling
- Thread starter Danny Hsu
- Start date
Jonathong
Well-Known Member
I know, I'm still trying to find a good fender roller in my area that won't mess my fenders up. Willing to even drive if they had experience in rolling our cars.
I bought a fender roller from Eastwood. Its spendy but for the $50/day rental fee and it might take you more than a day to get to it and get it done, the cost is almost the same. Plus you can rent it or sell it when you're done if you want.
I've done a couple fenders so far. The fronts on the civic are pretty easy to do. Just get a heat gun and make sure you keep it moving. Take your time, go slowly and only roll a little at a time. I spent a couple hours on each one and had no paint issues. Don't overheat the paint. Just get it hot enough that its uncomfortable to the touch if you were to hold your hand on it for a few seconds. I like to hold the heatgun against the roller so it is pointed directly at the section Im working. Slow back and forth movements while gently increasing the pressure should get you a nice roll. Don't roll one section completely flat and then move on either. Try and get the whole thing done evenly.
Im not sure how the rear fenders are on the 9th gen but on the 8th gen it was a double panel. If you tried to roll them, you would end up with a weird wave in the panel itself. It ended up being better to shave them with a grinder. It's actually a lot easier to do than rolling but is a heck of a lot scarier. You are taking a grinder to a perfectly good fender. The potential to mess it up is high. That said, I found it pretty easy to not try and grind but to put on a cutting wheel and just cut the inner lip off. The using flap discs, sandpaper discs basically, "grind" the cut section until its smooth. Coat it with clear RTV sealant and you're good to go. I did it on my wifes car. rolled the fronts, shaved the rears. Had I messed it up, I would still be hearing about it.
Most places will probably have you sign a waver stating you understand the risks of waviness and cracked paint. For the money when I looked into having it done and still no guarantee of non-cracked paint or shoddy work, I just decided to spend the same $$ and learn to do it myself.
I've done a couple fenders so far. The fronts on the civic are pretty easy to do. Just get a heat gun and make sure you keep it moving. Take your time, go slowly and only roll a little at a time. I spent a couple hours on each one and had no paint issues. Don't overheat the paint. Just get it hot enough that its uncomfortable to the touch if you were to hold your hand on it for a few seconds. I like to hold the heatgun against the roller so it is pointed directly at the section Im working. Slow back and forth movements while gently increasing the pressure should get you a nice roll. Don't roll one section completely flat and then move on either. Try and get the whole thing done evenly.
Im not sure how the rear fenders are on the 9th gen but on the 8th gen it was a double panel. If you tried to roll them, you would end up with a weird wave in the panel itself. It ended up being better to shave them with a grinder. It's actually a lot easier to do than rolling but is a heck of a lot scarier. You are taking a grinder to a perfectly good fender. The potential to mess it up is high. That said, I found it pretty easy to not try and grind but to put on a cutting wheel and just cut the inner lip off. The using flap discs, sandpaper discs basically, "grind" the cut section until its smooth. Coat it with clear RTV sealant and you're good to go. I did it on my wifes car. rolled the fronts, shaved the rears. Had I messed it up, I would still be hearing about it.
Most places will probably have you sign a waver stating you understand the risks of waviness and cracked paint. For the money when I looked into having it done and still no guarantee of non-cracked paint or shoddy work, I just decided to spend the same $$ and learn to do it myself.
Metzger
Well-Known Member
- 67
- 94
I heard our fenders are easy to roll. But I dont know first hand. I want mine rolled...
There isn't much to roll on the fronts. Mostly there are tabs that attach the fender liner that are what you rub on. You can either cut them off or roll them flat. There is a very slight lip on the fronts that you can roll completely flat. Bending the tabs up against the fender also gives you a sort if useable spot to tuck the fender liner itself.
Metzger
Well-Known Member
- 67
- 94
Truth, I rub the tabs but raised the car half an inch. Much less of a headache.