Project Jeep CJ-7

Prepping the New Jeep CJ Fenders

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The goal here was to seal all the seams on the new replacement Jeep CJ fenders, purchased from Quadratec.  Why?
  

One of the biggest problems with the stock CJ fenders here in the eastern U.S. is rust.  Rust in the seams, rust behind and/or coming though the side panel, rust everywhere.   Plus they are usually beat up a little or a lot.  For that reason I didn't bother looking for used fenders.  Quadratec sells fenders for about $130 a piece which are of decent quality and everything is pre-drilled and pre-tapped requiring only a paint job (unless black is your color) and then bolt it up.

I took fender preparation one step further.  Here's a tip that I'm hoping will extend the life of these new fenders.  I had purchased some Surethane from Eastwood Company which is a seam sealer for automotive restoration.   I had used it on the seams of the  tub and noticed how extremely durable it was.  It literally took weeks for it to wear off my hands and finger nails where I had gotten it on myself when applying it.

For the Fenders I figured that if I seal up the seams with this Surethane, water won't be able to get into the seams to rot them away.  Best of all it's paintible and sandible. On the surface of the fenders I was careful not to glob it on too thick so I wouldn't have to sand it down.  In the area of the side panel, I left a small hole to access behind the panel so that I can later, after the Surethane dries thoroughly, spray some Rustoleum into the hole to better coat the hard to get to rust prone area.  To spray in such a tight spot I pull out the white spray tip of the spray paint can's red spray thinger and press in the red tub of a can of carb cleaner.  This gives me a jet-like nozzle to pin-point spray anything and get it into the hole I left in the sealer. Later then, I'll seal up the hole after it has had a good long chance to dry.