Fading Wheel Well Trim..

[Destructo1]

Has anyone else's Pathfinder painted trim inbetween the tire flare- fender part and the body of the car faded? its like less than a 1/4" wide.. it looks like plastic, painted rope almost. I want to try to rip it off and repaint it, but i dont want to start pulling stuff off to find your cant stick it back in there... anyone do anything about this? i know its common...

[KyooX4]

I used OEM touch up paint to paint them. I did it without removing them. It has worked well so far.

[buckeye3d]

I was actually just going to make a post about this stuff. What is this stuff actually called? I looked through the service manual and couldn't find any mention of it. It's hard to tell if it's colored rubber/plastic or if it's painted. I've been thinking about removing a strip of it to see if it's possible to clean it. I'm also a little worried if I remove it I won't be able to reinstall it.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

The rubber trim you guys are talking about is glued to the flares. It's easy to peel off of the flares, however there is no guarantee that it will stick to the flare once you put it back on the vehicle. For this reason I would not recommend removing the trim from the flares. It looks like the trim is dyed (or tinted), not painted. The issue with the trim is that it is a soft rubber and it can crack and age; if you apply paint to the rubber it will likely start chipping off due to the aging rubber under the paint. I'm sure if you look closely at the trim you will see small cracks in the rubber. The soft rubber seems as though it absorbs stains, resulting in a discoloration which is difficult to remove. Some NICO users claim that they can remove all staining using Goo Gone or a similar product. You may be able to clean the stains with a similar product but you don't want to use anything too abrasive or you risk ruining the rubber further. The only way to maintain the rubber trim and prevent further staining is to wash the vehicle often and prevent any colored substances from sitting on the trim and causing a stain.
Modified by Pwnin O'Brien at 3:31 PM 3/22/2010

[miamiheat3332]

so we cant buy them without new flares? that is fu*$$** gay

is there any other option to get them made or something for cheap?

[Pwnin O'Brien]

so we cant buy them without new flares? that is fu*$$** gay

is there any other option to get them made or something for cheap?

I apologize, I lied. It looks as though you can purchase the rubber trim for all four flares. They are roughly $30-$40 per corner and you can purchase the color for your specific paint code.

You can get part numbers at Nissan4U.com, they have the part numbers for each paint code.
Modified by Pwnin O'Brien at 3:41 PM 3/22/2010

[GRNMACHINE]

Great infoPwnin as always. I just this 2 weeks ago, 1 out of the 4 flares has staining. It is on the drivers side rear, thought maybe gas had run down part of it but I always check for that when filling up. Will look into replacement if I cant remove the stain or fading or whatever it is.

[buckeye3d]

I must be missing something...Nissan4U.com appears to be Nissan parts only. What is the part name or one of the part numbers I should be searching for?

[Pwnin O'Brien]

I must be missing something...Nissan4U.com appears to be Nissan parts only. What is the part name or one of the part numbers I should be searching for?

Are you looking for the rubber trim for a QX4? I don't know of any Infiniti parts sites with parts diagrams. When looking for the trim, you want to look in the body section under fenders or quarter panels; fender flares and fender flare fittings are generally in those sections. You can see in the following picture that the rubber trims are numbered 14 (Driver side) and 2 (Passenger side).

[Destructo1]

I think painting them with touch up is a bad idea because it will most likely be everywhere and the brush is not a good enough applicator. There has to be some liquid that will take the fading away.. I tried Mothers (brand) back-to-black thinking it would have the same affect as it does on black surfaces, but didnt work. I think i might try to take them off and use spray paint.. (that matches, obviously).. Its really annoying when your whole car is so shiny and clean, then there is the lighter piece of trim!!!!! haha

[KyooX4]

I used a paint brush from a crafts store and it went on nicely and precise.

[GRNMACHINE]

I used a paint brush from a crafts store and it went on nicely and precise.

Kyoo,

That will be my first choice due to the ease/cost etc. If that doesnt do the trick I will b looking into replacement. The brush is the key to not getting the paint everywhere. And patience. Looks like I need to take a ride to the dealer to get some touch up paint also.