Replacing Vinyl on Fender

Anyone been brave enough to replace a damaged piece of vinyl on you fender? My kit came with vinyl guards and I had an object hit it last week. It looks as though it torn the vinyl but I think ( and hope) it didn't get to the paint. Anyone taken the vinyl off and more importantly, tried to replace it. I know it is easier on some models, but I have a newer Hannigan kit and it looks like it may take some stretching and pulling to shape it correctly. That is what gives me a bit of hesitation.

Repairing fender vinyl. BE CAREFUL!

FRR said:

Anyone been brave enough to replace a damaged piece of vinyl on you fender? My kit came with vinyl guards and I had an object hit it last week. It looks as though it torn the vinyl but I think ( and hope) it didn't get to the paint. Anyone taken the vinyl off and more importantly, tried to replace it. I know it is easier on some models, but I have a newer Hannigan kit and it looks like it may take some stretching and pulling to shape it correctly. That is what gives me a bit of hesitation.

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I had the same problem about 18 months ago also on a Hannigan kit. My bike is dark burgundy so it shows EVERYTHING. I was able to remove the old vinyl by using a heat gun (LOW setting) and just my fingernail to get it started from the outer top corner. TAKE YOUR TIME. Heat a small area at a time (only a couple of square inches), while GENTLY peeling the old vinyl away from the fender. KEEP THE HEATGUN MOVING AT ALL TIMES. TOO MUCH HEAT WILL BLISTER THE PAINT. Work diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner. It worked great. It took me about 35/40 minutes with no damage to the fender or paint.

Consider an option. I had the fronts of my fenders shot with Line-X. It's almost indistructable, looks great and has a lifetime guarantee.

The Hannigan fender bras look good on the kits also. I had a body shop install mine but if you take your time it shouldn't be too hard and I found an excellent video on UTube that showed how to do it.

Winger68 said:

I had the same problem about 18 months ago also on a Hannigan kit. My bike is dark burgundy so it shows EVERYTHING. I was able to remove the old vinyl by using a heat gun (LOW setting) and just my fingernail to get it started from the outer top corner. TAKE YOUR TIME. Heat a small area at a time (only a couple of square inches), while GENTLY peeling the old vinyl away from the fender. KEEP THE HEATGUN MOVING AT ALL TIMES. TOO MUCH HEAT WILL BLISTER THE PAINT. Work diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner. It worked great. It took me about 35/40 minutes with no damage to the fender or paint.

Consider an option. I had the fronts of my fenders shot with Line-X. It's almost indistructable, looks great and has a lifetime guarantee.

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I'm going to either put on Expel or have the Expel guy do it. Great advice on the removal. I appreciate it.