Faded bumpers and flares.

Moab

Moab

JK Enthusiast
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Joined
Jul 30, 2023
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I'm picking up a 2012 JKU this weekend. Only issue with it is the bumpers and flares are a bit faded.

I went thru this with my TJ. Tried plastic dye. A product called Forever Black. Didn't work. I even contacted the owner. He said the TJ plastic was the first plastic he'd ever seen it not work on. I previously used it on my Yukon. And it was amazing. A once a year thing. At most. Completely turned the exterior olastic back to an original black color. But on the TJ it just flaked off.

Then I stripped them, sanded completely, primered and high end rattle can spray paint. Followed the can directions to a T. Didn't hold. Started flaking off in places after a month.

I eventually replaced them with new ones right before I sold it.

What is the consensus on dealing with faded exterior JK plastic?

I thought about buying a nos set from somewhere. And treating it with a UV protectant (although I don't know of a product that keeps black olastic from sun fading) or having them professionally painted. I want to stay with stock.

Anyone successfully used a plastic dye on them? I assume the JK plastic is a more standard plastic than the TJ. I think the TJs are some sort of nylon. It's horrible to deal with.
 
Sahara's have the color matched ones. Find new or used and re-paint? Could even paint them satin black, if you like the contrast. I've used Mothers Back to Black, Forever Black, Solution Finish, Aerospace 303, heat gun... None last really long in my experience. Mothers isn't bad or very expensive but has to be reapplied often. 303 is good, but has to really be worked in, and again, it seems I have to reapply sooner than I'd like (although it lasts longer than Mothers). Solution Finish looked great for about 2 months, then I noticed it started getting blotchy.

I dunno. I don't care for color matched fenders, but maybe the paintable fenders in a satin black would be the solution for me. Otherwise, what @Snowbird Tom said.
 
Mine have faded some, and my former Wrangler had the same issue. But, functionally, it doesn't change the way they work. And, really, where I like to drive it, I don't see anyone having opinions about the way the ride looks. The trouble is that most restoring treatments (all the ones I'm familiar with) are surface only. To really "correct" the fade, you would need a penetrating solvent to carry the color into the plastic. A better and more permanent solution would be to replace them with metal fenders.
 
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