curious... i thought you wanted a rough surface to paint over, not a smooth one so the paint "skin" has grip for support so it doesnt flake and peel later?

 

With this type of sanding, you're not fully eliminating the texture, you're just removing extreme roughness that you'll find after years of sun damage. The need textured surfaces generally applies to heavy latex paints, not a simple coat of spray-can paint. Make sure if you do this project to do multiple light layers, that adds longevity and reduces risk of peeling (which would happen with any type of paint when applied too thick).

 

Dude! that looks amazing! wow. I was contemplating doing it but wasn't sure if I just wanted to pay a friend to do it but after seeing that, I'm gonna try it myself.

 

Zonk872 I did no see anything else on the Kiwi solution. Could you elaborate a bit more on what type of polish you use. Liquid? Paste?
Also you mention you had to "prepare" it, what type of preparations did you do?
How are the results after several months?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for the awesome write up. I did this to my disco II over the weekend and it looks awesome. So awesome in fact that I noticed my door handles looking a bit faded against the sweet new fenders. I did the same process but with a little less sanding and the door handles looks perfect. Then I noticed the back door latch cover It wasn't looking new like the rest. I busted out the can of spray paint and went to town. I know feel satisfied for the moment with all the trim pieces looking good as ever. So I say this thread needs to have a WARNING. You may be compelled to paint the rest of your truck lol.
Here's what I went with...
Rust-Oleum Black Trim and Bumper Paint.

Thanks,
Joey
Disco II 2003 HSE7 125,000 miles

 

Yeah... Don't rush this guys and remove absolutely all pitting..

I spent 3 hours with two helpers today doing mine... Only for them to look like ***.

 

Thanks for the write up! And I second spencerfitch - take your time and be thorough sanding otherwise it will look like ***! Here's to doing things twice

 

Having 15 years in the auto refinishing world, I thought Id share a few tips.

First, use pre kleeno to prep. This will remove any armor all or other topical treatment

There is no need to sand the bejeesus out of them. Hit them with 220, then apply several coats of SEM high build primer. (gray) Do not use any other brand. Spray 2 coats of primer, then lightly fog them with some flat black. Sand again with 220. If you see black paint after sanding, there are still pits or other imperfections. Repeat until all flaws are gone. Then sand with 320, 400, and finally 600.

At this point you can paint your flares. Or you can apply a light texture. Sure Tex makes a great flexable aerosol texturing used for various interior bits. Experiment with it on some scrap to get the feel for it. Increasing the distance between the can and the piece being painted decreases the amount of texture.

Once dry, you can paint. I have had excellent results with Rustoleum satin black. If you have access to a compressor and a paint gun, SEM makes sprayable satin black that really matches most OEM black finishes.

 

Just pulled mine off yesterday. I don't think it looks any better or worse--just different. I might put them back on in the future, but we'll see. No need for a heat gun or hair dryer for me. The adhesive was pretty aged and didn't put up much of a fight.

If I do end up putting them back on, it will be easy to repaint them this way. And if I never make it that far, the truck looks fine without the flares. However, I do need to give those areas of paint some TLC with wax.

 

Good write up Camdisco24 and some good tips from Ranger Magnum.

I'm into my second set of flares fitted by the main LR dealers (under warranty years ago) and they look pretty awful on a couple of them. Waste of cash buying yet another set so I'll paint mine later on.

My trucks Vienna Green https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=la...15%3B630%3B473 do you think they would color code OK in that colour?