A few months ago I found a few spots on my Model 3 rocker panels that had worn down paint and beginning to rust. Not too surprising after 5 years and about 112,000 miles, especially because I did not have any mud flaps installed for the first 1.5 years of driving the car (about 30,000 miles). It also did not help that my all-season tires were put on aftermarket wheels that stick out a little bit more than the OEM wheels, though 5mm offset difference is not that much. I went to detail my car (I don't do that too often) for an event and noticed some roughness on the bottom of the rockers in a spot below the front doors. There is also a little bit of paint damage to the part behind the edge of the rear doors where gravel would fly and catch that edge. No rust there, and years ago I had applied a small piece of PPF on there to help protect from further damage (no zoomed-in pics of this).
After taking a closer look from the bottom, I saw the paint was gone and some starting rust.
I scraped off the rust with a wire brush and applied some primer to the rusty parts, which include the leading edge of the rocker panel right behind the front tires. This spot behind the front tires normally covered with the mud flaps, so the damage was from before. I didn't take any pictures of that before. These pictures are after I cleaned and primed the rust, and if you look closely you can see the outline where the paint is gone.
I considered the following 3 options to fix and protect the rockers for the rest of the life of the car:
1. Repaint the rockers at a body shop (and rely on mud flaps and PPF). I think this is probably more expensive, but I did not get any estimates. I decided not to go this route.
2. Get some side skirts to place over the rockers and cover the areas that I touched up with primer. I would still use mud flaps to protect the parts above the side skirt and the lower part of the wheel fenders from rock chips. I initially ended up trying, and not liking this option (see below for more info).
3. Get the rocker panels coated with Line-X or another professionally-applied coating that would both cover up and further protect the rocker panels from damage. I would still use mud flaps to protect the parts above the side skirt and the lower part of the wheel fenders from rock chips. This is ultimately what I will be doing, and will post pictures and info afterward.
Side Skirts
It was difficult for me to find side skirts that had the coverage that I wanted, since most are designed with small winglets that I do not like and did not want. Also, many are just a straight piece that screws on or adheres to the bottom part of the rocker and would not cover further up, as well as not covering behind the rear door edge like I want. Many are carbon fiber and expensive, as well as carbon fiber is not a look that I like. I found two options for the side skirts that covered what I wanted. One was carbon fiber by TSportline, and therefore more expensive not my style, so I ruled it out. The other was ABS by Yofer and looked to be exactly what I wanted as far as style, material, and color (I wanted Midnight Silver Metallic to match my spoiler of the same color).
They did not come with any instructions, and the only info I could find about how they install is this YouTube video that isn't exactly a step-by-step. You use double-sided adhesive on the top part to stick onto the paint, and use screw on the bottom that go into the plastic trim below the rockers. I like that they tuck into the door openings and that the rear sticks up to cover up the slight rock chips behind the rear door edges. I did not like that the double-sided adhesive on that rear part eventually starts separating a little from the surface and leaves a small gap where water and dust can get in. The side skirts make the car look a little wider and help protect the rockers from further damage, but do not make the car any lower than it is.
Line-X
I decided to remove get a quote for Line-X from my closest authorized installer and remove the side skirts. I was quoted about $700 for coverage similar to what the Yofer side skirts cover, including spraying into the door opening up to a natural crease that is inside. They would keep my car for 2 days for the prep and application. I asked about paint match, but that paint match is a layer that goes over the top of the black standard coating and can eventually wear through (and costs an additional $350). I decided to remove the side skirts and go for the black color, in gloss. Had the option of a satin or gloss appearance, same cost. Appointment is set for July 13th, so I should have pictures on the weekend of July 15th to post here. Other options for professionally-applied liner if I hadn't gone with Line-X would have been Rhino Liner or Bullet Liner because there are local places to me that apply those.
Has anybody done anything similar or seen or heard of anybody with a Tesla that got similar treatment done? I've been looking for examples online for years and haven't found any. I currently have over 118,000 miles on my Model 3 and driving about 35,000 per year, so even if it lasts 3 more years before peeling or rusting underneath again I think it would have been worth it.
After taking a closer look from the bottom, I saw the paint was gone and some starting rust.
I scraped off the rust with a wire brush and applied some primer to the rusty parts, which include the leading edge of the rocker panel right behind the front tires. This spot behind the front tires normally covered with the mud flaps, so the damage was from before. I didn't take any pictures of that before. These pictures are after I cleaned and primed the rust, and if you look closely you can see the outline where the paint is gone.
I considered the following 3 options to fix and protect the rockers for the rest of the life of the car:
1. Repaint the rockers at a body shop (and rely on mud flaps and PPF). I think this is probably more expensive, but I did not get any estimates. I decided not to go this route.
2. Get some side skirts to place over the rockers and cover the areas that I touched up with primer. I would still use mud flaps to protect the parts above the side skirt and the lower part of the wheel fenders from rock chips. I initially ended up trying, and not liking this option (see below for more info).
3. Get the rocker panels coated with Line-X or another professionally-applied coating that would both cover up and further protect the rocker panels from damage. I would still use mud flaps to protect the parts above the side skirt and the lower part of the wheel fenders from rock chips. This is ultimately what I will be doing, and will post pictures and info afterward.
Side Skirts
It was difficult for me to find side skirts that had the coverage that I wanted, since most are designed with small winglets that I do not like and did not want. Also, many are just a straight piece that screws on or adheres to the bottom part of the rocker and would not cover further up, as well as not covering behind the rear door edge like I want. Many are carbon fiber and expensive, as well as carbon fiber is not a look that I like. I found two options for the side skirts that covered what I wanted. One was carbon fiber by TSportline, and therefore more expensive not my style, so I ruled it out. The other was ABS by Yofer and looked to be exactly what I wanted as far as style, material, and color (I wanted Midnight Silver Metallic to match my spoiler of the same color).
They did not come with any instructions, and the only info I could find about how they install is this YouTube video that isn't exactly a step-by-step. You use double-sided adhesive on the top part to stick onto the paint, and use screw on the bottom that go into the plastic trim below the rockers. I like that they tuck into the door openings and that the rear sticks up to cover up the slight rock chips behind the rear door edges. I did not like that the double-sided adhesive on that rear part eventually starts separating a little from the surface and leaves a small gap where water and dust can get in. The side skirts make the car look a little wider and help protect the rockers from further damage, but do not make the car any lower than it is.
Line-X
I decided to remove get a quote for Line-X from my closest authorized installer and remove the side skirts. I was quoted about $700 for coverage similar to what the Yofer side skirts cover, including spraying into the door opening up to a natural crease that is inside. They would keep my car for 2 days for the prep and application. I asked about paint match, but that paint match is a layer that goes over the top of the black standard coating and can eventually wear through (and costs an additional $350). I decided to remove the side skirts and go for the black color, in gloss. Had the option of a satin or gloss appearance, same cost. Appointment is set for July 13th, so I should have pictures on the weekend of July 15th to post here. Other options for professionally-applied liner if I hadn't gone with Line-X would have been Rhino Liner or Bullet Liner because there are local places to me that apply those.
Has anybody done anything similar or seen or heard of anybody with a Tesla that got similar treatment done? I've been looking for examples online for years and haven't found any. I currently have over 118,000 miles on my Model 3 and driving about 35,000 per year, so even if it lasts 3 more years before peeling or rusting underneath again I think it would have been worth it.
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