rolling the fender lip
 

so i guess i need to roll the rear fender lip with my 17 x 9.5 plus 38 rim with 275s on them. i am not happy. but the question is how hard is it to perform this? i will have a shop do it. am i guaranteed to not ruin the paint? does this come out perfectly clean? the shop i am thinking of has a machine that does it. will this create any dents on the fender and/or ruin the paint in anyway?

cant i just use a dremel and sand away the lip alittle? wouldnt this be a safer route>?

No. The paint could chip on the edges no matter how good the shop is...

It will look fine.

No dents, but the paint could crack on the edges.

I understand that rolling works best in warm or hot weather. I also understand that some people use a heat gun (possibly depending on ambient temps) to heat the area while rolling. The heat helps make the paint a little more flexible. I understand its pretty safe if done correctly.

I always use a heat gun when I roll fenders. All your concerns usually only apply to pulling fenders. Ive never seen any dents from rolling. If you do get any minor paint cracking it will be inside the wheel well where you cant see it and you can just apply some touch up paint to protect it from rust. If you know you never plan on running anything wider than 275's or a lower offset wheel then you can tell the shop to roll just enough to give you clearance for that setup and you may not need to roll completely flat and have less chance of cracking or chipping any paint at all.

no you cant, if you sand away that lip you lose all the support for the panel. that lip keeps the panel sturdy

Use a hammer and the back palm of your hand.

Go slow around the fender, bending the lip up (not trying to make it flat all the way on your first pass).

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PALM ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FENDER WHILE YOU BANG AWAY AT THE INSIDE.

Keep making passes until it's flat. Rears are a bit tougher to do but you do it the same way.

I didn't use a heat gun. You really dont have to. You could just feather the chips and spray touch up paint. Nobody is really going to notice after you do that.

tks for replies....all i need is like 5mm....seriously.....probably less

Umm, I would not recommend using a hammer directly on the sheet metal.

When I rolled my front fenders I rented a tool but could not make it work on the 7's wheel wells, I could not get the right arm length/angle to properly roll the fender lip. I took the tool back and the guy was mice enough to refund my money since I couldn't use it.

I took a foot-long piece of landscape timber, the kind that has two rounded faces and two flat faces, and put the curved side against the lip. Then I slowly/lightly hit the wood with the hammer, working my way around the fender lip. This spreads out the impact load to give you a smoother curve and prevents you from denting the fender if you were using the hammer directly and missed the lip.

The greatest chance of chipping the paint happens when you completely roll the inner lip of the fender up. Since you only need a small bit of clearance, you don't have to roll it completely flat.

Rolled mine yesterday
 

Using the tool on Eastwood's website and a hair dryer. Got impatient with the hair dryer since it's a race car and I didn't care any more about the paint. Took about half hour on each side and it really came out well, but the paint did crack a bit right on the bend. Freed up about one 'finger' in width and I believe I'll be able to stay at my current ride height of 25 inches with 275s on the back.

It took more time to learn how the tool worked and get the arm configured correctly, after that it was a straightforward procedure.

Beast

so i got a slight fender roll today. there are a couple dimples where the spot welds where done on the fender lip. did this happen to anyone else. they are hardily noticable but it still bothers me. i am going to try to tap them out.

Is this on the inside of the fender or the outside??

Please don't touch them if they are on the inside!!!!! You will most likely make it worse. Just leave it the way it is.