I own a 05 F150 screw. Its a Fx4 model with the factory fender flares. How hard would it be do get the body color matched and paint the factory fender flares. I have been thinking of maybe getting an aftermarket one like the pocket flares by bushwacker. I am currently running stock rim and tire combo and probably will be for awhile. IS the material for the aftermarket flares better for painting. I have done this project before under the hood of my older truck and I realize that alot of the work is prep but I did find that depending on the plastic the paint took better. The battery box even sanded and preped with the stuff for plastic painting was harder to do then the radiator shroud which was ruffer.

 

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if it would be hard to
1. Paint the factory flares to match the truck.
2. Would an aftermarket flare be better suited for paint, such as the Bushwacker.

Matching the paint to your truck is not hard, it is more of a function of your wallet. I can guarantee a color match to a customer, but here is how it is done, and this method is recommended by almost if not all manufacturers.

You will need to paint the fender as well as the flare, at the same time. This is done so that you can blend the paint from the flare onto the fender, so that any minor color variences that exist will not be seen. Then, you would clearcoat the entire fender and flare so that there is not a blend area that could show up later on. If the end of the flare sits right next to a door, or other panel, it may be necessary to blend into that panel as well. The human eye can pick up slight color variences when parts sit right next to each other, especially along an edge or a seam of adjacent panels. Blend that color back over the adjacent panel for 6-9 inches, and most people can never tell that a blend has been done. A good painter may be able to, but that is usually because the repair area has a better gloss and is smoother than the oem finish, not because of the color.

As far as to what is suited better for paint, I am not positive of what your fender flares are made of. If i could see a close up picture, I could tell you better. If it is the slightly textured plastic that Ford uses for trim, then I would pick from personal preference the Bushwacker. Chances are, that if the material is prepped well, adhesion promoter is used, then either product should be able to be painted and hold up. I know for sure that I can paint the Bushwacker flares and have them last, as I have done many sets of them for customers. Hope this helps.

 

Your response is right on. I was looking at the texture of the factory fender flares and those of an unpainted bushwacker flare that a buddy of mine had on his truck. The textures were diffrent. I have done under the hood of my 98 f150 which included radiator shroud, battery box, starter relay cover, intake cover and tube. I sanded, then cleaned and primed with a special plastic primer and then spray painted w/ one coat paint two coats clear coat in a spray gun. I cannot remember what tip on the gun i used. I felt that i did equal prep and painting on all surfaces however i found that two years later the two rouger surfaces the paint looked new while the other had started to crack. However this could just have been to heat exposure under the hood. But I think that I will go with the Bushwacker flares and paint those. Obviously now I will do it on the vehicle I was considering doing them off but i guess it will match better. Also i will have to wait till I have the money for a professional to do it rather than myself. I am willing to screw up something that can be removed and returned to original but I am NOT going to start painting my own truck. Thanks for the input