Question about factory mudguards

[Bhavesh]

Are they smooth for painting?


The factory mudguards on the 96' corolla I had contained smooth-parts that were painted to match the car. I know it's no big deal, it helped accentuate the curves of the wheel well (almost like a body kit accentuates the bottom of the car) to give it a sportier look.

I want to achieve the same for the 97LE (to fix that high-rise tail and lack of curves on the front wheel-well) I drive, but from all the camry's I've seen, the factory mudguards are rough plastic, and never painted to match.

[87Camry5Speed]

I've seen gen4 flaps painted bodycolor and smooth plastic. I'd try contacting Toyota (if you have a dealer nearby) and hitting up Ebay...

Steve

[MCTOY]

^Yep^..........E-Bay, Camry, mudguards. (Usually for about $60)
MCTOY

[Bhavesh]

I already checked ebay and the sites from the FAQ sticky, and all the mudguards looked the same:

like these

They're shorter and more stocky looking than those that I had on the corolla.

However, I was at Stop and Shop today and parked next to TWO gen4 camry's with (what looked like) factory mudguards on them.

Neither of them were painted! I mustered up the motivation yet inconspicuousness to touch one, and found out they're rather smooth to begin with.

So I might just buy the non-painted factory ones (as above) and just sand down, paint, clear coat, and buff them to a shine to get it as close to factory paint as possible.

[jhbhatia]

bhavesh: i too was plagued by those black mudguards on my gen4 camry. For mere, 40-60 dollars, you can have a bodyshop paint them to match your color code. It can be a whole lot cheaper than teh price i indicated..but the catch is that the painting process SHOULD ential the addition of FLEXI PAINT ADDITIVE to the paint. Basically, what this does is allow the mudguard to bend back&forth, without the paint on it cracking. Painging w/o the flexi paint = cracked paint on the mudguards within months. I rolled on my camry like such for 2 years (ie. with painted mudguards) and i didn't see any cracking at all...but i've had my kit since 2000...so those mudguards are just catching dust!

Edit: if you want mine, i'll sell them to you for $45+S&H.

[Pineapple]

I like simple straight mug guard from Canadian Tire:
.

[slyguy_32]

When I bought my Gen4 Camry, I inquired about OEM mudflaps. They said that there is a company that Toyota works with out of Canada that ships painted mudflaps. They came in a week later, and are a perfect match for the color code. You can see them a little bit in this pic.

Sly

[Bhavesh]

JHbhatia, I sent you a PM.

Pineapple, thanks for the suggestion (your celica looks great, btw) but I'm looking for the shaped mudguards that contour with the curves of the car.

Slyguy: your pic didn't show up. Was the link cut off? And do you know where I can contact the company that makes those painted mudguards?

[jhbhatia]

Originally posted by Bhavesh
JHbhatia, I sent you a PM.

Replied!

[ripley's99]

weird

color-key matched mudflaps were a standard option when i bought my gen 4 new and every other gen 4 that was on the lot had the same body color matching mudflaps already installed...maybe it was a dealer specific kind of thing

Keri

[jhbhatia]

Originally posted by ripley's99
weird

color-key matched mudflaps were a standard option when i bought my gen 4 new and every other gen 4 that was on the lot had the same body color matching mudflaps already installed...maybe it was a dealer specific kind of thing

Keri

I know for 97, there was an option for color matched and black! Don't knwo about other gen 4s.

[Bigshoguns]

my gen4 stock mudguards are smooth. and yes ask a body shop to paint them. they'll do it for like 60 bucks..

i was gonna get them done, but my dad gets on my case everytime i do anything to this car.

Indian parents are no fun.

[slyguy_32]

Sorry about the link...
When I bought the car, I insisted they throw in the mud guards. I also insisted that they be color keyed, and when I picked them up at the parts counter, they were painted super white, just like my car. A little overspray on the inside of the guards, and you can see that they used to be black. I'm not sure of the company, but the 'guards came from Canada.


Sly

[jhbhatia]

Originally posted by Bigshoguns

Indian parents are no fun.

I beg to differ, most desi parents I know buy their children cars and ensure that when the kid gets off their undergrads, they don't have student loans, c.cards debt, etc. indian parents ROCK.
IMO, they lay a good foundation for the kid to start off from, surely they are strict, but today i respect and appreciate what my folks did for me.