How To: Cutting the OEM Fender Flares on Jeep Wrangler (RockTrooper) 

Was out on a Jeep run with the San Diego Jeep Club and one guy recommended your video. Great "How To" video, this is a project I'll be tackling soon. Thanks!

Was going to spend $600+ on flares but couldn't find any that I liked then I saw your video and now I have an awesome solution! Thanks John!!

I've seen a lot of these fender cutting videos but yours is probably one of the best. The end result looks great. I love doing DIY projects on my Jeep, and I think this will be one of them.

This came out REALLY nice! For someone who said he couldn't cut a straight line very good, it looked flawless "from here"! I especially liked using the plate, to mark the curve! That is SO something I would do. I've got a few nice compasses and even sets of curve templates, but more often than not, I'll just use a coffee can or a roll of tape!! Once the rubber edge trim was on, this job looked PERFECT! I don't think ANYONE would know that those flares were cut! They look like a factory product now!

I've been watching vids and reading threads on this for years. Yours is the best to date. I like the lines, methods used, explanations and shots. Especially exactly where and how you kept the front inner fenders. I'd like to keep the rears too though since I live in snowy/salty NY. Thanks again. May the force be with you. Adam

The club membership is going to dig this video, thanks John.

I was skeptical until I saw the finished product. NICE JOB! Looks awesome!

Great video! I just got my stubby bumper, I used your video to originally cut my flares. However, I skipped the trimming of the front until I got the bumper I wanted, so now to take your plate trick and make it so my Jeep no longer looks like it has wings! haha Thank you!

Awesome, going to do this soon. 35's, 2" spacer lift w/ shocks, stubby Bumper LCOG build done (well never done). Thanks man!

I just trimmed my flares following your video. It looks great. Thank you.

Great video and job well done! Anyone with basic skills and tools can do this, This looks so much better than the factory fenders, Whether its $300 or $600, you save money, customize your on fenders, practice a skill, and possible save time because some of the custom installs require more steps.

Followed this today and it worked out perfect. If you decide not to go with the trim you can use a piece of 600grit wet/dry paper folded over to go over the edges and smooth them out. If you do it with a big of speed the friction will heat the plastic and smooth it out and give it a shiny finish.

Hey mate just wanted to thank you for putting this vid up, its by far best jk fender cut vid on youtube, I used to it do my jk today took me about 7 hours but I did mine angle grinder/gigsaw come out really good, total job cost me $80 Aus dollars most of which was for edge trim. Thanks again.

I'm new to the Jeep world and loving your short cuts. Going to do mines this weekend.

You have the cleanest garage I've ever seen! Good Job!

Nice tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to put this together & post. Oh! And nice garage too. Subscribed.

Man awesome video! Just what I was looking for. Great detail & great editing!

John, great video. After watching yours and some others actually got the nerve to cut my fenders last weekend and they turned out great. Buys me a lot of time before having to shell out over $1000 for ll new fenders. The only issue I ran into was with the edge trim on the sharp corner on the front edges of the front fenders. The trim doesn't like to make that sharp bend and wanted to pop off so I sliced it at the bend and now no more problems. I actually drilled a hole at the lower end of the inner liner and into the body mount behind it and used one of the plastic plugs to hold the liner in place.

Excellent video. I watched it about 3 times and then jumped right in there and did it myself. Turned out really good. I ended up using 4-1" black sheet metal screws that have a little washer on therm on each fender to hold it down to the fender supports to avoid any flapping. If you don't mind having a few screw heads showing on your fenders it's a good solution. Heck, it's a jeep so I didn't mind it. I did have a little problem with the trim. To me it is too small and I had some issues with it wanting to come off so I'm decided to pull the fenders and paint the wheel wells and fenders with truck bed liner paint and I'm going to be putting some black rubber tubing (split down the middle with my dremmel) on to replace the trim. It's a little beefier looking...kinda looks like metal tubing.

Hi there thank you for the tip am good big to cut my fender on my Jeep and save the money for my winch thank you again for a great tip 👍🏻 keep Jeeping 😊

Great video! Best one That I seen thank you can’t wait to do my Jeep.

Great tutorial on how to customize the Jeep Wrangler front and back fenders. Probably the best one out there, thanks for sharing. I do question removing the inner wheel well liner all together on both front and back. I would have figured a way to cut away any excess yet save some of the barrier to keep mud and small stones from getting caught up in there. I think I also would have scuffed and sprayed any of the white body parts showing after the cuts. I think a flat black would not draw your eyes to the wheel wells and the parts that remain.....Just Say'n.

AWESOME idea with the trim!! Def. gonna do that!!

this was helpful buddy thanks i own a jeep jl and jeep has went back to putting the blinkers in the finders smh! people who dont like the way it looks dont understand "built not bought" lol.

Excellent video! I am about to tackle this same project on my jeep. I'm wondering if some black spray in bedliner would work under the fenders for the white parts underneath now exposed by the mod? I may give that a try.

9 people accidentally cut the entire flares off while watching this video. :3

Nice work...Good clean job. I will use some of your ideas.

Hey bro that looks good man

That looks great!!

Hey John Golden, I saw a chopped fender Rubi this afternoon and it looked awesome. Couldn't tell if they were aftermarket or if they were DIY'd, but what I did love was that it was RED underneath. Thought this would look great on your MOD. Just use some FELXI-DIP, and you cant go wrong.

Great video maybe one day I'll get the courage to try this haha

Great job came together real nice

Great job looks great thx for the vid

Nice job!Looks awesome.

Looks damn good!! Great job

Looks good

AdamlsAdam, for some reason I was unable to respond to your comment. Hope you get this response: Thanks Adam, I appreciate the feedback. You may want to consider removing the rear inner fenders as well and coating the inside with a rhino liner or equivalent to help prevent dirt/mud buildup and rust. It is easier to clean out what you can see vs. what you cannot. Good Luck with your mod!

Thanks for this video. I just learned a lot. What is the name of the kinds of saws you used? I was just wondering I am not really familiar with power tools.

It looks clean and want to do it only thing I'd do is a lil paint or plastic dip for the rear under the fender not the wheel well thoe Great video thanks

Awesome video

Great video!

looks great, thanks for the info

Excellent.

Wanting to trim mine this weekend. Thanks for video!

This looks stupid good 🔥

What wheels are you running?

So I've noticed its been a couple of years since you did the cut. Have you had any issues with the adhesive on the rubber trim you put on the finished cut coming off?

Excellent "How-To" video Rocktrooper, thanks for sharing with us all.

I really want to do a similar job, but I have body color fender flares so I'm hesitant. When I upgrade o 37s though I'll have to do it or else I'll have a lot of rubbing. Most of the other videos out there say you have to take your fenders off to do it. Good to know you don't.

what about cutting it on the other side of tape line or more so its not as wide? can that be done & how far? Also How about rhino spray line the rear well?

great job on the fenders John they look awesome and like they were professionally done. Can you tell me what kind of rock rails/rock sliders are on this bad girl? My 2014 came with nothing and i love these. Thanks man!

Great Video, I was considering doing this and your video was definitely more clear on some of the finer aspects (what to do with the inner liner) and makes chopping up my jeep less intimidating. Going to give this a shot next week! Do you think cutting through sahara fenders that are body coloured would yield a similar result?

Sweet mods man

Do You have small jeepers going to wheel w u ? I'm in Californian as well would like to join

Hello there nice video! Question I see that you keep the light side in there is it connected?

Hey John. I'm a huge fan of your DIY videos. They are of a huge help! I just wanted to ask you 2 questions: 1- Why did you go back to the factory front bumper? 2- What kind of tires/tire size you got now and how do they compare to your previous BFGs? Cheers!

Thanks for the great video. Did you ever replace the side lights with LEDs? If so, is there a way to see a pic?

Great vid thanks!!

You may have done it already, but you can trim the inner fender in the rear also. I keeps the dirt from accumulating in the many nooks and crannies under there.

nice job 👌

Nice work I watched a few videos but like yours best, What bumper and wheels are those if I may ask

So without reading through the countless comments, how does this hold up at high speeds? Do you hear them flexing in the wind?

Great video. At the time of this soot what size tires were trying to clear? Did you have a lift already? I'm thinking about trimming the flares and sticking 35's on it in stock form.

Thank you

John, would it be possible to post a quick video showing how you secured the inner lining on the front. I know you talked about it in the video, but I didn't see how you did it. This looks great man and a heck of a lot of dough saved. Thanks and nice jeep!!!

Good job, and it looks great. Where do you get that plastic edge trim you added for the final touch?

Is it okay if i leave my rear inner fender off?

I'm trying this next weekend! whats the name of the front bumper?

cool, but I have question about your rims, I see you have the Level 8 Strike. How do you like them?

Woah that's cool

I feel like the inner lining on the rear fender keeps your paint protected from gravel etc.. also a bit louder without them?

Excellent video. How did you end up securing the fender flare to the body? Did you get that clip you mentioned?

can you just delete the side turn signals?

Where did you get the aurebesh decals for the hood?

Someone asked me what trim I used for the flares after cutting them. Here is the link to the actual product: cowlesproducts.com/cowles-custom/cc_door-edge-guard/ You can find this at just about any auto parts store and you will need 2 to do all 4 flares. Hope that helps!

Excellent video, how much of the edge trim did you end up using though, more than 18'?

nice job bro....

great video. Where did you get your StarWars RUBICON hood decals?

Do these completed fenders flap in the wind while driving on the highway or any driving at all for that matter ?

Nice job buddy. How is that factory bumper working for you? I watched another guy installing some after market fenders & I must admit that your job looks just as nice...

did you ever paint the inside of your finder liners black? where the the was showing?

Hey John, thanks for the video! I'll probably be using this as a guide for myself this weekend. I did have a quick question though. You show your fender lights ziptied up inside the fender towards the end of the video. Did you ever determine a more permanent solution? I'm not sure if there are legal issues with not having that light (I believe there is not in most states since the rear lights wrap around to the side of the Wrangler) but even if there is no legal issue, I would like to keep a light there just for the purpose of being more visible to other drivers. Let me know if you can, thanks!

Thee best DIY for cutting the OEM flares hands down👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. I live overseas will not buy a jigsaw and dremler( they are very expensive here) ,i dont trust myself of doing i clean job like you did. I dont want metal flares since i use my Jk in the dunes (almost never rock crawling). Is there any good plastic fenders other than the bushwacker?

I just purchased a jeep similar to yours what lifted did you end up going with on that jeep and are you happy with it

that turned out really nice. I'm probably gonna copy the edge trim. Have you done anything with the light yet?

I love this mod. I hope one day I have the guts to do it! I have a Sahara, so I'm slightly afraid of cutting the painted fender flairs, but I did find some white door edging, so If the paint doesn't get messed up with the cut I can finish it off and make it look complete. We shall see. Also, I really like your brush guard, what is it? I am in the process of chopping my stock bumper into a stubby with a winch, so I am not afraid to drill holes to install a brush guard. I HAVE A 2014JK/ 2 door Sahara (it looks like u have a Rubi 2015 stock bumper), but it should fit either way. Props on your diy fender mod. I am doing as many mods myself so I can spend big $$ on a good lift and bigger tires(my wife has the final say on all $$ spent on the Jeep). It is also my daily driver/only reliable vehicle between us, so I need to keep the extra pounds down as best I can. After looking into purchasing new bumpers or flairs I also found it can add extra weight to the jeep costing me gas mileage.

I like it

I don't want to sound totally lame but what does that say on your hood say Rubicon and a different style or language I just got a rubicon look to in Hanson slowly your jeep look good my still stock if I can ask what would you enhance on a stock Jeep first thanks

did you have any fender flapping once you cut them?

I think you just saved me $650. i was looking into ordering Bushwacker flat fenders for my JK. But this is a great DIY project and a great step by step video! Very nice touch adding the edge trim as well. What did you end up using to tie in the bottom of the front plastic piece to the frame? 19:40

Hey john, I was wondering what type and size of lift you have on your JK? Thanks!

What size tires are you running?

ETA on the Maximus 3 Stinger and Winch Plate install? Great vids. Thanks!

That looks pretty sweet!! I was somewhat skeptical how it would look when you first started cutting. I have painted (white sahara) flares so I am more hesitant to start cutting. If I had regular fenders, hell ya. What lift do you have? Your rig looks even better with modified fenders. Great video, I enjoy all of them. Thanks!!

Were did you get your Aurebesh Rubicon hood decal!

thanks for that video! will do the same on my JK

nice watching here

What the hell does it say on the side of your Jeep hood 🤔 looks pretty badass👍 kind of like something you see from the movie Predator😎

where did you get your Rubicon sticker. im inlove with it!!!

Looks good leave it as is saves lbs... Remember power to lbs ratio is important too!!! Try to use Hd .aluminum and plastic also where you can...Again looks good and stay safe....