Jeep Cherokee XJ - Restoring Fender, Moldings, and Bumper End-Caps

Over time, the factory fenders, side moldings, and bumper end-caps on a Jeep fade from black to gray. A Jeep can look much more polished if these parts are restored to their original color. There are several ways to do this. One way is to use a heat gun and bring the darker chemicals in the material back to the surface. Another way is to apply Line-X or bed-liner to the parts to make them more rugged. To give my XJ a newer and cleaner look, I decided to just spray paint all the parts a dark flat black color.

The Spray Paint

After a couple of days of online research, I decided on Krylon Fusion Spay Paint. Unlike ordinary paint, this bonds to the material, allowing more flex and abuse without flaking or cracking. This paint is perfect for the exterior parts of pretty much any vehicle. You can find this paint at pretty much any hardware or home improvement store, as well as many auto part stores.



To get the dark, flat color I wanted to accent my XJ, I went with Satin Black. It looked nice and smooth without appearing too glossy.

Removing the Front Bumper End-Caps

To remove the end-caps up front, there are two bolts and two screws to undo. The two bolts are on the front of the end-cap, attaching it to the bumper. While holding the nut in place, twist the bolt off with a socket wrench.



Once those are off, there are two screws located high up near where the cap meets the fender that need to be removed. Pull back the rubber material in the wheel-well and reach up to unscrew them.



Now, the end-cap should just slide right out!

Removing the Rear Bumper End-Caps

The rear end-caps are a little more tricky. There is a single bolt and nut attaching the cap to the bumper in a similar fashion to the front. The sizes should be the same, so the same method as the front can be used.



The next bolt is tiny and screwed into the body, close to where the rear fender meets the cap. It's a narrow hole, so make sure your drill or screwdriver is thin and long enough to reach up there.



Once the tiny bolt is unscrewed, simply slide the end-cap towards the back of the vehicle. There are three mounts holding the end-cap to the body. Sliding back and out towards the side of the vehicle will detach the end-cap from these mounts.

Prepping the Parts

Now that everything is off, give all the fenders, side moldings, and end-caps a good scrub. I used some car-wash soap on everything and rinsed it off. Then, after drying the everything off with a towel, I sprayed them down with Windex to clean them up a bit more. With everything clean and dry, I moved on to masking.

Masking the Jeep

Before spray painting any vehicle, any parts not being painted must be masked off. That is, everywhere on the surface not being painted needs to be covered! To do this, I used some 3M Masking Tape and applied a strip of it along the outline of all the parts I wanted to paint. After applying the tape, I used an Exacto-knife and sliced off any tape on the fender or moldings. This way, the mask was more precise.



With the outline done, I proceeded to attach a layer of newspaper around it, extending the mask. Make sure you have a good amount of old newspaper lying around! I ran out and upgraded to magazines about half way. This will provide more protection from unwanted spray getting on the surrounding body.



Call me paranoid, but I also wrapped the upper parts of my XJ with garbage bags. I probably would have been alright with the newspaper, but I didn't want to take any chances of getting spray paint on my windows! The wheels and tires were also wrapped in garbage bags, just in case the paint started dripping.



With the mask done, all the pieces were ready for painting!

Painting the Fenders and Side Moldings

The painting process is pretty standard. I sprayed a light layer on every ten minutes or so until I was comfortable with how everything looked. I gave it about four or five applications before I ran out of the first can of paint. Be very careful not to let the spray paint sneak onto the body of the vehicle!

Painting the End-Caps

Place the end-caps on top of a spray-friendly surface, like some newspaper or a tarp. Just like the other pieces, spray on a light layer every ten minutes. Make sure to get all the turns and crevices. I missed some spots on mine, but nothing I can't live with.



After spraying every piece, let everything dry for about an hour before handling them.

Conclusion

When everything has dried, proceed to remove the masking. The end-caps go in the same way they came out. Once everything is off, take a step back and enjoy the new polished look of the Jeep! The entire job took me about 5 hours. Most of the time was spent masking the vehicle and waiting for stuff to dry. I'm very happy with the result!



Let me know what you think! Leave a comment below.