Stainless Steel Chrome Rocker Panel Molding

Here’s what you will need:

*Several Clean Non-Abrasive Cloths like a terry towel or some cotton t-shirts.

*Acetone (or wax & grease remover) – to remove dirt, wax, grease, grime or anything that might interfere with the adhesion of the rocker panel.

*Rubbing Alcohol – To remove residue left by the Acetone or cleaner.

*Gloves

FIRST: Clean and Prep the Vehicle

1.) Wash and dry vehicle – as usual (do not wax) 

2.)  Clean the application area with acetone and a clean soft cloth (turning the cloth often).  This will remove any dirt, wax, grease or grime and ensure proper adhesion of the rocker panel

 3.)  Apply rubbing alcohol to a clean cloth and wipe down the application site to remove any residue left over from the acetone cleaner.

NEXT –  Dry Fit:

Lay out the rocker panel pieces to verify correct placement on the vehicle and completeness of your order. Do not install any pieces if you think that there are problems on any parts or missing any pieces.

Make sure there is a 1/8 gap at both ends of the panel to ensure that the doors will open properly and that they won’t catch when opening or closing the doors.

Also check the contour of the rocker panels.

It may be necessary to remove some of the contour (or roll) from the panels so that it lays flat on the vehicle.

NEXT – Installation:

1.)  Remove the adhesive liner to expose the adhesive side of your chrome rocker panels (one section at a time).

Make sure you have lined the panel correctly because you only get one chance to apply the panel correctly.

2.)  With a hard rubber roller (available at most hardware stores) or the palm of your hand and a soft towel, start in the center of the panel and press or roll side to side across the panel to ensure proper adhesion.

3.)  Remove all the protective liners in all the sections one at a time and repeat the same steps.

4.)  Remove chrome surface protective liners and wipe with a soft clean cloth.

Case and point, in the Ohio Valley and the northeastern states like Pennsylvania, New York or New Jersey, one of the most popular truck accessories on the market would be the truck tonneau cover. This is truck accessory purchase is totally weather related because people in the northeast have to put up with a lot of cold, wet and snowy weather in the winter and want to try to keep their truck beds dry if they can, and keep the snow out as well. Yes, a tonneau cover looks nice, and yes it might help you save a few gallons of gas on a nice long trip, but the main reason that customers ask for the tonneau cover would be to keep out the weather.

In the southern states like Florida, Texas or Arizona they have different problems to deal with. The sun! Can you imagine having too much sun? I know its hard to do, but when thinking about what auto accessories you want to add to your car or truck it has a lot to do with it. The sun can really beat / burn things up if left outside every day.

In the southern states the most popular accessories that people add to their trucks are the stainless steel accessories including nerf bars, rocker panel moldings, billet grilles and truck bed rails. Why? Stainless steel wont burn, deteriorate, shrink, crack, fade or anything else like that. Thats one of the reasons that the southern folks like to dress up their trucks with chrome accessories.

Most of the time the influence starts at the dealer level, being maybe your local Chevy, Dodge or Ford dealerships in your area. They seem to be the guys that would initially test aftermarket accessories like these on your truck, and after they dress up and sell a lot of them in town, the potential new customers see these vehicles driving down the road and actually start calling the dealers asking for the parts they see.

Sometimes customers dont know what to ask for, for example a stainless steel nerf bar is sometimes referred to as a chrome nerf bar, a chrome tube rail, side bars or side steps, but many suppliers of aftermarket truck accessories such as those at Custom Auto Trim are well versed in synonyms in the business. They will know what you are looking for.

About the Author

Mike Briglia is the owner of Custom Auto Trim, a car accessories company based out of San Diego CA. Find more information on nerf bars at http://www.customautotrim.com/