Anybody have any good experience with the application of fender flares to cover up rusty fenders? I'm starting to get some serious rust on the rear fenders of my '94 F-150. There is enough metal to adhere to or otherwise attach with bolt or adhesive - would after market flares make sense? I wanted to send a picture but I'm new and am not allowed that function.

Thanks, Bob

 

ok well u can use flares... but i would strongly advise cutting the rust off if its all the way threw and sanding back a little and put some primer on it.... if its just surface rust sand it then prime it....

the rust to primer works good for surface rust after u sand it..... then put the flares on...

but pics of the flares u want and the rust will be really helpfull

 

I agree w Hickori if you plan on keeping the truck for any length of time. If not the rust will spread beyond the flair in a short time. I have covered rust w flairs on 3 different truck. You just need the wheel well lip that the chrome trim attaches to to screw the flairs to. the other part just rests against the body w a rubber gasket. I would recomend the BUSHWACKER Stree Flair. They only stick out past the body about 1/2"-1". so you can still run stock tires without looking stupid
The first being a 89 ranger.(in 98) i had 3 pencil sized holes. I used thoes holes as a centering point for a 1 1/2" hole saw and drilled out the rust, teated the left over metal then put the flairs on
The second being a 94 bronco(in 2000). I cut out the rust (almost all the metal the flair would cover) then i had 2 dented up front fenders i cut the wheel well arch out of as a patch. I kept my work small so the flair would cover everything. The quarters were then fix (and strong) then covered w the flair.
The 3rd being a 97 F350 (in 04)that i bought to just resell. The flairs barely covered up the blisters so i cut as little as possible, so the flair still had something to sit against.
Now. All 3 of these trucks i have seen on a regular basis since the flairs were installed. Not one of then has rust com out beyond the flair. A little bit of prep work goes along way

 

If it hasn't rusted through.....wire brush all the rust you can with a POWER tool such as an angle grinder with a brush on it. Then paint the remaining area with naval jelly OR muratic acid OUTSIDE. (fumes) Let this sit for 10-15 minutes and wash it off with hot soap and water. The acid will eat the remaining rust off and leave a clean surface for primer and paint. I did this with the rims on a '51 Farmall Cub tractor and they turned out great! Granted, the metal was a bit thicker but it did not eat into the good metal, just the rust.

 

Unless I am way off--if you see rust now it is not surface rust--these trucks rust from the inside out--cutting the rusted parts out and doing a good repair is the only way to save it--I wouldn't mess with covering it with flares until I patched all the rot correctly. After the repairs, I suggest spraying a little oil up inside the fenders at each oil change--makes a little mess till it all runs out, but in the long your truck will last a lot longer.
You can buy aftermarket patch panels which fit very well--makes a tough job much easier.

Just my 2 cents !!

Gary

 

Correct. They rot from the inside out. You see a blister today and 6 months later you have a hole the size if a quarter. have to cut out the rust to stop it