fender roooooooooooolling-people with personal experience?

[twastheglow]

I'm looking to order some new wheels for my e36 this week. The sizes I'm looking to purchase will require some fender rolling in the rear. I'm vaguely familiar with finder rollers...meaning I know they bolt to the hub and you simply roll the arm back and forth to roll the fender lip. With that being said, can anyone be more specific with the process (if there is anymore to it)? How should I go about heating up the fender? What are people's success rate with NOT chipping or cracking paint?

I called and got a price quote on what it would cost to do my rear, but after reading a little it seems like I might be able to do it myself with similar results.

Lastly, does anyone have one I could rent. Eastwood?

Thanks in advance guys.

[420sx]

Heat it up with a heat gun. Ideally youll have an infared thermometer that you can point at the fender to tell how hot it is. You want the fender around 120-140 degrees. If no thermo is available, it should be very hot to the touch, without scalding your skin. Heres a pretty good writeup:

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/fender-rollingpulling-how-to.html

[turboman808]

I did such a back job I was rather ashamed of myself. HAHA

[twastheglow]

Heat it up with a heat gun. Ideally youll have an infared thermometer that you can point at the fender to tell how hot it is. You want the fender around 120-140 degrees. If no thermo is available, it should be very hot to the touch, without scalding your skin. Heres a pretty good writeup:

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/fender-rollingpulling-how-to.html

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

I did such a back job I was rather ashamed of myself. HAHA

Oh man. I don't want to hear that.

[jeffroevoix]

Take you time and make sure to keep the heat up while rolling. 100deg weather will help. Work in small increments and take your time.
Depending on where body panels meet you may need a rubber mallet to coach things along a bit
If your paint is in good shape you should have no problems

Just take your time

[Legacyofdan]

and infrared heat sensor guns are not that expensive, save your paint and buy one..

[twastheglow]

Take you time and make sure to keep the heat up while rolling. 100deg weather will help. Work in small increments and take your time.
Depending on where body panels meet you may need a rubber mallet to coach things along a bit
If your paint is in good shape you should have no problems

Just take your time

Point taken. :) Thanks for the advice.

and infrared heat sensor guns are not that expensive, save your paint and buy one..

I'll have to look into prices.

[jgartland]

http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-laser-thermometer-96451.html

[420sx]

So... does harbor freight no longer sell the $79 fender roller?

Ive been trying to borrow one for frigging ever, but have had no luck. My tires dont rub THAT much, but it'd be nice to throw a spacer on my +22 offset wheels. If someone can find a roller for under $100, ill buy it and let people use it whenever.

[jpalamar]

You do know you can have one of the venders here roll your fenders for under $100. I was soo shocked how cheap it was I don't plan on doing it myself.

[420sx]

Well I was going to have it done, but apparently S14's are pretty time consuming, and as a result a bit more expensive. I only have 1 tire that BARELY rubs, and my car is going to need a paint job at some point anyway. I could spend $100+ to have it done, or i could just buy the tool, do it myself, and probably be able to make that money back loaning it out.

[MattBear]

i've rolled fenders on all 3 of my mk3's, and i've just used a heat gun and a baseball bat. i found that if you wrap a wooden bat in a old tshirt or rag, and pinch it lightly between tire and fender, and roll it slow with the fender heated so the paint has some flex the results have been good. granted i've done fenders with a lug wrench without heating anything and it didnt wreck the paint completely, but did chip it some.

people make it out to be a bigger deal than it is, truth be told if you are careful, even with the most primitive methods you can get it done in a couple hours, with great results

[russiankid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LdDAa6TNWE