Fender roller, Which one should I get?

[JSanders]

Are any fender rollers better than the other? I need one ASAP, but don't want to be stuck with a bucket of crap. Who has the best deal? No one here sells them that I can find.

[frink84]

they sell them at harbor freight for under $100 i do believe. talks on the mustang forums seem to indicate it's the same/super similar to the expensive eastwood model.

[SeanDub]

stance offers one as well, for like $300


I dont imagine any of them being very different, my guess is the expensive ones last longer though

[M.Burroughs]

I've got one in the trunk. It's an eastwood. Its nice.

[Stephen]

Hmm harbor freight.. Ive got a 25$ gift card there, and eventually could use a roll.

[JSanders]

Thanks everyone! I found an eastwood on ebay for around 265 shipped. I'm going to check around for a few days before I buy.

[Stephen]

sweet. Im always afraid of cracking paint, im not sure i can do it myself

[M.Burroughs]

If your car is rusty you can do anything you want to it. :D

[JSanders]

This is going to be my first attempt too, I'm just going to take it slow and cross my fingers.

[frink84]

take it slow and if available, use a heat gun, or grind/rust, your choice

[JSanders]

I've read over a few DIY's and will probably read a few more before I practice. I don't think it will be too hard.

[kev.skyline]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDTK9IjKIYU&feature=PlayList&p=1F15E98440A40384&index=0&playnext=1

:)

not in english but you get the idea

[Zombie247]

I got my tool truck locating one for me so i can just pay my tech credit instead of dishing it all out at once. i used a body hammer and big ass mallet to roll my hatch and i ended up getting the rear to pull out 1/2 inch

[JSanders]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDTK9IjKIYU&feature=PlayList&p=1F15E98440A40384&index=0&playnext=1

:)

not in english but you get the idea

LOl that guys pretty funny


I might go with the harbor freight one just because its so much cheaper. Does any body have any first hand experience with it? Hows the quality compared to the Eastwood?

[JSanders]

It looks like the HF rollers are discontinued. Thats what I read on a VW forum anyway and I cant find it on their site. Eastwood, here I come!

[frink84]

discussion of HF fender rollers:

http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=40316

seems a few people have received their HF fender rollers so they may not be discontinued, just on massive backorder

[JSanders]

If anybody has an Eastwood roller for sale let me know! :eyebrows

[BreakMyWallet]

hammer is your friend

[JSanders]

I thought about it... I dont want to fck up my paint using a hammer though. I know its still possible with the roller, but I feel less likely to do so with one.

Hmm... I just remembered I do have some touch up paint sitting around...

[JSanders]

I found a good deal from Eurospec, they are going to send me one of the ones they are about to release at a discount because they opened it to check it out and take pictures of it. It looks pretty solid, they claim it's their rival to the Eastwood. We will see!

[BreakMyWallet]

i used a hammer on my e46. lol. just heat up the paint and dont miss your target.

[JSanders]

Did the paint chip any?

[BreakMyWallet]

no. not at all

[wkohler]

The Harbor Freight roller is a waste. It looks strong enough, but the arm with the wheel on it bends, making it impossible to do the job.

I had a shop do mine. Used a heat gun and everything went pretty smoothly, except for their bitching about how BMW has thicker fenders than Nissan. They used the Eastwood. There are some pretty funny videos on YouTube about using the Eastwood roller. They're supposed to be serious.

[SofaKingCG2]

I used a heat gun, Hammer and 2x4. The fenders looked fine afterwards you just have to have a feel for what you're doing.

[BreakMyWallet]

or you can try a slide hammer. i wish i would have. that will pull the fenders out too

[gnarlycreature]

I love my eastwood. I have never used another one so my opinion is useless.

[325irollin]

Stance one looks nice, think I'll have to pick one up

[JSanders]

I finally got around to using the Eurospec roller I picked up in august. It's a solid tool, but I had to modify the crap out of it to make it work as it seems they sent me one for every bolt pattern but 5x120. Aside from the pattern, I also had to remove the actual roller and grind down the edge on the pivoting arm to make it rotate to the angle I needed. Because of all the modification, I was only able to get my front fenders done.

After all of that, it worked great, but I would spend the extra $100 on an Eastwood if I were to do it again.

[evil.e30]

english- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXF4ZcpVufU&feature=related

[Bimmerteck]

I have owned 2, both eastwoods, one rolled around 50 cars before it was stolen, new one is on #10 or so.

[Stephen]

anyone in socal wanna help me roll my rears a lil bit before Left Coast Low?

[AWDalbert]

if looking to get a fender roller i recommend the parts shop max fender roller

check my review out comparing it to the eastwood

if you end up purchasing it ask for the blue harder wheel

http://zilvia.net/f/chat/211128-product-review-parts-shop-max-fender-roller.html

[JDM Babaganoosh]

i just use a broom handle

[ShanesG]

I have the eastwood, love it. I have rolled over 100 cars and it's still holding up. the only thing i had to replace was the bolt that adjusts the wheel.

Things that i wish they changed:
-I wish it was BBK friendly(i use a spacer/washers which is a pita)
-I wish it could adjust a few more inches lower(some cars have very small fender wells)

other than that its a great tool!!

PS always use a heatgun!

[AWDalbert]

I have the eastwood, love it. I have rolled over 100 cars and it's still holding up. the only thing i had to replace was the bolt that adjusts the wheel.

Things that i wish they changed:
-I wish it was BBK friendly(i use a spacer/washers which is a pita)
-I wish it could adjust a few more inches lower(some cars have very small fender wells)

other than that its a great tool!!

PS always use a heatgun!

shane pick this one up and ask for the blue harder wheel, will make life alot easier

http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/page.php?10

[ShanesG]

^Damn that one is nice, i really like all the adjustablility, i will def. look into getting that one when the eastwood takes a shiit!

[fatboy.yoshi]

stance fender roller nuff said...especially for guys with coils...if u dont want to raise the shock height the stance roller is short enough to work with...

[ginger_snaps]

old school bat than i use the magazine roll to smooth it out. As long as you can control the decent of jack slowly you wont have any issues and its $300 cheaper.

[riboflavin]

powered by max one is the best for lowered cars IMO.

http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/comment.php?comment.news.21


I couldn't get the right angle with eastwood one cuz the arm was too long for the distance from my hub to the fender. With PBM fender roller you can flip the arm and start from bottom of the hub instead of the top

[cobrawannabe]

powered by max one is the best for lowered cars IMO.

http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/comment.php?comment.news.21


I couldn't get the right angle with eastwood one cuz the arm was too long for the distance from my hub to the fender. With PBM fender roller you can flip the arm and start from bottom of the hub instead of the top

WOW! On a totally off-topic tangent here, but sheesh! Their exhaust work is beautiful!

[Drew]

Any opinions on the Eastwood Fender Finisher? My Miatas hub to fender height (on the ground) is about 10" and no roller will fit, so I'm thinking this is a better option.

http://www.eastwood.com/fender-finisher.html

[Canibust]

Just my .02... Heat gun and a baseball bat, (and sometimes a hammer if needed) has always worked for me! So if money is an issue, this is usually free. Even better if you have touch up paint laying around, but with the heat gun I didn't need it at all. Good luck! Post before/after pics when you've got your results.

[Anonymoose]

Just my .02... Heat gun and a baseball bat, (and sometimes a hammer if needed) has always worked for me! So if money is an issue, this is usually free. Even better if you have touch up paint laying around, but with the heat gun I didn't need it at all. Good luck! Post before/after pics when you've got your results.

+1 This is my latest purchase

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/18-Baseball-Bat-Rounders-Bat-FREE-Soft-Ball-Base-ball_W0QQitemZ270527766515QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Sp ortingGoods_Baseball_SM?hash=item3efcb61ff3

Perfect

[Ace_Rockolla]

Me and my friend rolled his 300zx fenders with a metal pole wrapped in duct tape without a heat gun and it came out nice. Kinda ghetto but it worked well enough.

[Lux]

Me and my friend rolled his 300zx fenders with a metal pole wrapped in duct tape without a heat gun and it came out nice. Kinda ghetto but it worked well enough.

It'll crack.

When i did mine I didnt use heat. To this day one sides good but by the next day after changes in temperature one side flaked. I got aluminum fenders so I just wet sanded it down where it cracked and it blended in with my silver paint. It was only on the underside of the fender and the edge of the arch but I taped off the rest and shot it with clear coat. Simple.

[Nathan]

PBM Fender Roller with a Westwood Head ( the roller thingy)

[Average_Jerk]

theres a member on here selling one. check the classifieds

[1lojet1281]

if you have access to a welder and some other simple metalworking tools you can make one.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car045.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car046.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car047.jpg

I made this one with about $30 worth of metal and four hours of my time

[Han]

You should start making them and sell them. I'd buy one if it was cheaper than the rest haha

[Tuck&Poke]

i dont know how that clears any brake calilpers, the eastwood already has problems clearing a lot of cars.

[1lojet1281]

i dont know how that clears any brake calilpers, the eastwood already has problems clearing a lot of cars.

spacers on the backside would allow it to clear any huge calipers, but in most cases the caliper is set back enough that you dont need to swing the roller that far. I have not had any problems with it.

[civicseth]

The Eastwood roller hits the calipers on STi's. Ask me how I know. :(

It also doesn't work on STi's with coilovers. I need to add some pull, but now that I have coilovers installed, the Eastwood is too tall to use. I'd have to remove the coilovers, or raise them all the way up, and hope it clears.

[Dust]

www.poweredbymax.net best fender roller ever

[*96tegls*]

www.poweredbymax.net best fender roller ever

AGREED x 10000

it works on lowered car unlike the Eastwood and has almost the same design with a different color ball that is just about as hard as the Eastwood

[AWDalbert]

PBM Fender Roller with a Westwood Head ( the roller thingy)

best setup ever

[firelizard]

PSM roller is great, been successful almost every time with it. The V2 seems to have addressed pretty much all the issues I've encountered with my V1. Except doing 14mm studs, I don't know if it can do those yet.

[Tuck&Poke]

The Eastwood roller hits the calipers on STi's. Ask me how I know. :(

It also doesn't work on STi's with coilovers. I need to add some pull, but now that I have coilovers installed, the Eastwood is too tall to use. I'd have to remove the coilovers, or raise them all the way up, and hope it clears.

thats odd, i've never ran into that issue with any car, then again i haven't done an sti but its not like it runs stupid small wheels. I don't mean to sound like I'm insulting your intelligence but have you used the full range of adjustment? I didn't notice it right away.

[Team_Gileto]

i live and die by my eastwood, but sometimes it just needs washers or spacers on the back side to clear calipers, i have heard the parts shop max one is nice though

[civicseth]

I just orderd the PBM roller.

[ShanesG]

Just my .02... Heat gun and a baseball bat, (and sometimes a hammer if needed) has always worked for me! So if money is an issue, this is usually free. Even better if you have touch up paint laying around, but with the heat gun I didn't need it at all. Good luck! Post before/after pics when you've got your results.

+1 This is my latest purchase

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/18-Baseball-Bat-Rounders-Bat-FREE-Soft-Ball-Base-ball_W0QQitemZ270527766515QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Sp ortingGoods_Baseball_SM?hash=item3efcb61ff3

Perfect

Me and my friend rolled his 300zx fenders with a metal pole wrapped in duct tape without a heat gun and it came out nice. Kinda ghetto but it worked well enough.

That is fine and dandy, but only when you're doing old cars or the person really doesn't care how it turns out if you eff up. Not when you're rolling $35k+ cars, using a bat/poll is the last thing i'd think about doing.

if you have access to a welder and some other simple metalworking tools you can make one.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car045.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car046.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/thayerp81/car047.jpg

I made this one with about $30 worth of metal and four hours of my time

Looks pretty legit, post pics after 10, 15, 20 rolls though, curious to see how it holds up.

[gtrefever]

i roll fenders on the side, did g35s,civics, 240s. all with my handy dandy rubber mallet and heat gun never cracked anyones paint.

[*96tegls*]

^^^ you should really consider selling those on ebay, you would make a KILLING !

[civicseth]

Got my PBM roller in the other day, and it's sitting here ready to be used now! Now I just have to wait until next week when I'm off work long enough to do it.

[bbaction]

I like my PBM roller but i ended up breaking the cotter pin in back but thats an easy fix.

[reverse]

I just did mine with a mallet & heat gun. Paint chipped on the inside though. Isn't there something you can coat it with to stop rust?

[Tonys18t]

The Eastwood does have problems with a lot of cars on the cailpers. but spacers always work to get round it.

The whole baseball bat thing is ok for beaters, but like someone already said when theres major money cars involved, just say no, lol.
I've worked on high end Mercedes and Ferraris with a rubber mallet before though. just to take the edge off the lip, then its roller all the way.

I've used most roller over the years, ( and hammer and dolly, mallets, etc) Eastwood still seems to be the best quality, i've done 500+ cars with the same roller. cotter pin replaced once, but otherwise it works great.

[AWDalbert]

after a 2 years the eastwood wheel can start giving tho

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/Beto1987/fender%20roller/IMG_3302.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/Beto1987/fender%20roller/IMG_0719.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/Beto1987/fender%20roller/IMG_0721.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/Beto1987/fender%20roller/IMG_0720.jpg

ive done too many cars to list with this roller all threads have been tapped and all hardware has been replaced

cotter pins will only last me about a week so stopped using those after a while too

thinking of getting together with a fabricator and inventing my own

http://awdfitted.blogspot.com/

http://fatlace.com/hellaflush/theflushness/getting-fitted-with-albert.html

[Tonys18t]

I've been pretty lucky with the wheel on mine i guess, the other hardware has also been cool so far, even with a lot of pretty heavy duty pulling work which really gives the roller a workout.

i tend to work the fender slow and easy, i can only guess that is easier on the roller... and the fender, lol.

[Monster E36]

Ive heard of ppl using a piece of pipe or a baseball bat..holding it against the rim in the fender and had a buddy back up slowly while u roll the pipe/bat at the same time and that so they said worked! Very ghetto i know i havent seen it first hand but the claimed it worked. something to think about....

[staytuned05]

after reading all of this, and looking in my wallet, and trying to use my brain on alcohol..... im going 20 minutes to South Philly to have a guy roll my rears for $40 each fender. Eargasm, a custom car shop with a guarantee. cause i may only have to roll the edge in once to a flat shape, then i will be good. and i dont have ANY friends who need fenders rolled for any reason, unfortunately so :( wish i had more friends who understood this stance thing lol