Fender / checker plate question

Zimm said:

The 5 bar plate acts as a gusset evenly distributing the load preventing the horizontal surface of the fender from bending.

Think of it this way. I have put raised floor on the 2nd floor of office buildings, and even with that added weight, the point load ability of the floor increased permitting heavy EMC drives. Same effect here. I have them as an order. I just wish they were in the white. Painted, especially black, is gonna show wear and scuffs. I may have them just give them to me so I can strip them and install myself. If I can remove the wheel liner for access I'll chamfer the holes and use stainless hex head screws. It'll look so much nicer than a rivet.

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Stainless screws into an aluminum plate and aluminum fender?

Might I suggest an aluminum rivnut?

Someone has probably mentioned this already, but I haven't read all 11 pages of this thread. Apologies if this post is repetitive.

Anyone concerned about either drilling holes through their fender, or about violating pedestrian safety regulations could consider an application such as:

1 - Cerakote - a very tough ceramic coating - often used to coat firearms - but it also has automotive application, or

2 - Something like Line-X. Line-X is best known as a spray-on lining for the beds of pickup trucks, but it can be used elsewhere on a vehicle. It is sound-dampening and impact-absorbing. The photo below is a Jeep that has Line-X on its whole exterior. Line-X also has military applications. I've worked in places lined with Line-X in order to increase blast resistance.

stickshifter said:

Someone has probably mentioned this already, but I haven't read all 11 pages of this thread. Apologies if this post is repetitive.

Anyone concerned about either drilling holes through their fender, or about violating pedestrian safety regulations could consider an application such as:

1 - Cerakote - a very tough ceramic coating - often used to coat firearms - but it also has automotive application, or

2 - Something like Line-X. Line-X is best known as a spray-on lining for the beds of pickup trucks, but it can be used elsewhere on a vehicle. It is sound-dampening and impact-absorbing. The photo below is a Jeep that has Line-X on its whole exterior. Line-X also has military applications. I've worked in places lined with Line-X in order to increase blast resistance.

View attachment 7842420

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I’ve thought about line x type material to do to the cargo area plastics. The plastics back there seems like it’ll get scratched to hell.

Krabby said:

I’ve thought about line x type material to do to the cargo area plastics. The plastics back there seems like it’ll get scratched to hell.

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Line X is supposed to be non-toxic, and it is not supposed to off-gas, so it should be fine for the interior cargo area. It will definitely provide protection and even dampen some road noise. I don't know if other competing brands are also non-toxic.

stickshifter said:

Line X is supposed to be non-toxic, and it is not supposed to off-gas, so it should be fine for the interior cargo area. It will definitely provide protection and even dampen some road noise. I don't know if other competing brands are also non-toxi

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Krabby said:

I’ve thought about line x type material to do to the cargo area plastics. The plastics back there seems like it’ll get scratched to hell.

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Hi Krabby, I had a friend who used Line X on his plastics. He used Line X Pro, which has a finer texture and it looked really nice. DaBull

LineX is good stuff. I even LineX’ed my wheel wells on my previous truck. It’s super durable, easily touch-able, and now a days, you can request different levels of media for a smoother or rougher finish. They can can even paint match, although in my experience it may not match 100% unless it’s a common color. For example, they can do blue, but IG Shale blue might not come out as a 100% match…YMMV

Downside to LineX is that you have to have a pro apply it. That means either you or the shop has to take the parts off. Obviously if they do it, that would be an added cost. When I did my fenders, I took them off myself and brought just the pieces.

IMO, unless you’re going to do large areas, like the bed of a truck, the DIY version called Raptor Liner is the way to go. You can get a kit with a spray gun, tint, hardener, etc… or for smaller jobs a rattle can (Like the checker plates)

Just a warning that prepping the surface includes roughing it up a bit, so you’re more/less committed to that look

Hello @Jiman01, were you able to dismantle the fenders simply and easily? I am very interested in installing my European version of the Grenadier checker plates. The goal is to improve stability from below in my opinion. What surprises do you encounter during dismantling? thanks Barney

Maybe this is an alternative to LineX: https://naviton.eu/
But I don't know if it is available worldwide.
I would like to use it to work on my door sills and possibly parts of the cargo space.
Franz

Barney said:

Hello @Jiman01, were you able to dismantle the fenders simply and easily? I am very interested in installing my European version of the Grenadier checker plates. The goal is to improve stability from below in my opinion. What surprises do you encounter during dismantling? thanks Barney

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Hi Barney, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I had taken my fender apart. I’m in the US, but even if I wasn’t, I don‘t think I’d be brave enough to do that...If there were a few YouTube vids, maybe I could

Jiman01 said:

Hi Barney, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I had taken my fender apart. I’m in the US, but even if I wasn’t, I don‘t think I’d be brave enough to do that...If there were a few YouTube vids, maybe I could

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WWJD?

[ Adam ] said:

Stainless screws into an aluminum plate and aluminum fender?

Might I suggest an aluminum rivnut?

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Stainless is the preferred metal when fastening aluminum. a 6-10 screw uses a 7mm hole for the rivnut. I dont see that as a better solution than a clean 6/32 hole and a machine screw with a nylock and washer. I'd rather rivet than rivnut.

Not concerned with galvanic corrosion?

To each their own...

Zimm from DS?

[ Adam ] said:

Not concerned with galvanic corrosion?

To each their own...

Zimm from DS?

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No. The contact area with the screw head is small and use a washer with an anti oxidant compound (Noalox) underneath, in the unlikely case of some affect at the fender, it'll still be smaller than the 7mm hole you'll need for the rivnut. Not only that, but you wont have that 1/16' flange that's going to take all the stress and isolate it at the hole when you put your 300 pounds on it. I'm trying to spread the load, not focus it at the fastener point.

Keep in mind, once you mount these, that fender piece is ruined. Eliminating them means bodywork. Don't overthink it.

Zimm said:

No. The contact area with the screw head is small and use a washer with an anti oxidant compound (Noalox) underneath, in the unlikely case of some affect at the fender, it'll still be smaller than the 7mm hole you'll need for the rivnut. Not only that, but you wont have that 1/16' flange that's going to take all the stress and isolate it at the hole when you put your 300 pounds on it. I'm trying to spread the load, not focus it at the fastener point.

Keep in mind, once you mount these, that fender piece is ruined. Eliminating them means bodywork. Don't overthink it.

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Disagree.

Galvanic corrosion doesn't stop at a measured hole, and the electrolysis will come from the threads.

What is Electrolysis and How Can You Eliminate It when Using Stainless Steel Fasteners​

March 9th, 2022

Also known as galvanic corrosion, electrolysis happens when two dissimilar metals are directly connected causing the lesser of the two metals to corrode. For the process to occur, the two metals have to also come into contact with a conductive electrolyte. In other words, for galvanic corrosion to start, three things have to meet: an anode (one of the metals), a cathode (the second metal) and an electrolyte. Unfortunately, the meeting of those three things occurs far more frequently than you might expect since water, including groundwater and rainwater, acts as an electrolyte.

That’s why when aluminum and steel come together in seawater, the aluminum begins to corrode and weaken. The good news is that we not only know which metals react, there are easy ways to prevent electrolysis to save yourself costly repairs.

The Galvanic Series
The simplest way to determine whether two metals play well together or have the potential to experience galvanic corrosion is by looking at the Galvanic Series of Metals. If two metals on the list touch in the presence of an electrolytic, the metal with the lower number in the series will be eaten away. And the further apart on the list the two metals are, the more galvanic action occurs.
Metals that make up the Galvanic Series are:

1. Aluminum
2. Zinc
3. Steel
4. Iron
5. Nickel
6. Stainless Steel (400 Series)
7. Tin
8. Lead
9. Brass
10. Copper
11. Bronze
12. Stainless Steel (300 Series)

So for example, you wouldn’t want to use a rivet made of 300 series stainless steel in a copper plate or attach aluminum gutters to a copper roof.

Preventing galvanic corrosion
Once you understand electrolysis, the most important thing to know is how to prevent it:
1. Choosing the right fasteners
Choosing the wrong material for fasteners can not only result in costly repairs, it can be dangerous. That’s why it’s important to always choose fasteners with a higher number on the Galvanic Series than the metal they’ll be used to fasten. This makes going with 300 series stainless steel an obvious choice, since it won’t be corroded by any of the other metals on the list.
2. Insulating and isolating the metals
In addition to choosing the metals for your materials wisely, it’s also possible to insulate one metal from the other to prevent corrosion of the weaker metal. This can be done by using non-conductive materials like paints, coatings, greases or oils or by physically separating reactive metals from each other. For example if your wood roof deck is fastened with steel nails, putting a copper roof directly on top would result in corrosion of the copper. However, if you use an asphaltic felt to separate the roof deck from the nails, your corrosion worries are over.
3. Adding inhibitors
The final option for prevent electrolysis is the use of inhibitors to make the metal passive. Inhibitors work by removing oxygen from the electrolytic that kickstarts the process, thereby stopping galvanic corrosion before it starts.

Source: https://www.brikksen.com/home/page/...inate-it-when-using-stainless-steel-fasteners

There's a reason the manufacturer ships with aluminum rivets. I'd use those long before I'd put a stainless steel screw through two layers of aluminum.

If and when I install checker plate, I'm using 3M VHB tape only.

Jeffrey said:

If and when I install checker plate, I'm using 3M VHB tape only.

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If you get the OEM plate, the pictures I've seen show that it already comes with 3m tape already applied.

Check this out. I bought some aluminum black pop rivets from Amazon for my checker plate install, because I did not like the look of the silver rivets. Well, it's been a couple weeks since I had them installed, and I've parked my Grenadier outside the whole time. It's parked in a spot that gets lots of sun. I'm guessing the sun has caused the rivets to change colors into an antique brass/bronze color - and I'm not complaining. I think it looks great! Do you think my sun bake theory is correct or do you think there was some other cause? It has rained a few times, for what it's worth. Also, the rivets were indeed black when installed.

It’s certainly interesting how they have all worn so evenly.

I would have thought the colour had just worn off but it appears to be really uniform which is bizarre and would certainly support your theory.

I was recently quoted £191 for the OEM checkerplates in South Africa. That was supply only inc rivets and they would supply me with fitting instructions.

Unfortunately I couldn’t fit the damn things in my suitcase, and it now sou ds like the wings on mine have a slightly different construction. Mine is a UK version

Is that right