I was watching a car show on the DIY network yesterday and they were mounting fender flares on a pickup truck.They used a double sided tape to stick the flares to the metal.Does anyone know what this tape is called and would I get it at an autobody supply house?Do you think it would be good product to use to mount new customer fit mud flaps on my truck?
thanks
Tony

i know 3M makes some called VHB (i think). i don't know where it can be readily found though, i just take it from my buddy's garage, his dad brings it home from work :D

You want the white tape, it is stronger than the gray and black. The tape comes in many different widths from 1/4" to 7/8" is common. The 3M part number for 1/2" is 06380 and 7/8" is 06381. You can get them at most all real auto parts stores and of course at autobody stores. It is not cheap, but think about getting the big 20 yard roll instead of the little retail packs. It is MUCH cheaper by the foot that way and believe me, once you start using it, you WILL use it for many more things around the house. graemlins/waving.gif

Tony as strong as that tape is I wouldnt use for mud flaps, just for the simple fact that nothing would beat a screw. If your truck is any thing like mine its muddy all the time. I just think the mud hitting the flap and its weight hanging on it plus the wind pounding agaisnt it might break loose the tape. If you do, go with the white like Martin mentioned...Eric

Eric brought up a good point that I didn't notice, you said "mud flaps". If you mean the regular old flat flap of rubber that would mount to the wheel well lip and hang down, screw it on like Eric said. The tape will not hold very long. When I said it was strong, it is, but not for every application. The swinging back and forth of that style mud flap will start pulling the tape away from the fender. If you were to get that same tape and attach a rubber "side protect" moulding to the door it would stay there till we are all dead and gone, but that is too different applications. graemlins/waving.gif

Thanks very much for the repies.What I am going to install are a fairly hard plastic contoured mud flap made by "Husky" that I bought from Summit Racing.They are more than a flat flap, they wrap around the metal somewhat.I was considering using the tape and a couple screws.I figured the tape would help hold it in place and also form a gasket of sorts to stop debris from getting between the plastic and the painted metal.How about dipping the screw is some POR15 patch(thick por15) or silicone or something else?Maybe also use stainless screw?
Tony

Hi Tony. I've got the Mopar hard plastic mud flaps on my Ram. Sounds like they are very similar to yours in the way that they wrap around onto the sheetmetal. I thought about tape to seal the contact surface to protect the paint from wear. But, I figure if there was movement it would wear through the tape anyway and if moisture ever got in there it would take longer to dry out. So, I just mounted them with screws. Drilled the holes and put a dab of marine sealant into the hole prior to setting the screw. Have done this on several vehicles and so far so good.

Tony I would still use screws to hold the flap to the lip. I know the type of flap you are talking. Dodge stratus use a similiar type of flap, screwed in three places on the lip, but then where it wraps around the fender its taped. The tape holds it tight agaist the side of the fender, but the screws actually hold the flap to the fender

Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it

Tony