Chrome Rocker Panels

The rocker panel is the area of the vehicle body between the wheels and below the doors. The term has its origins in horse-drawn coach building. This area of the body is exposed to damage from stones and other debris, and at one time it was customary for vehicles to come from the factory with protective panels that shielded the area from impact. These panels were usually bright chrome or polished stainless steel, to create design detail and visual interest in addition to their primary function of protecting the vehicle body.

However, as styling trends changed and chrome fell out of favor, bright rocker panel moldings began to disappear. Today some vehicles have black plastic protective rocker panel moldings and some come from the factory with a textured coating in the rocker panel area, in an effort to protect the lower body from stone chips and other kinds of damage. But if your vehicle has neither or you’re not satisfied with the OEM rocker panel shielding solution, we have the bright panels that will deliver unmatched style as well as protection.

There’s no question that unprotected rocker panel areas are a bad idea. The constant onslaught of stones, gravel, and other debris can chip and scratch the paint, exposing bare metal. This not only makes for an unsightly vehicle, if left unattended contact with water and road salt will cause the metal to rust, possibly even resulting in panel perforation. This is the reason why the rocker panels are usually one of the first areas on a vehicle to rust out. Our rocker panels will not only protect the rocker panel area sheet metal behind them and prevent this kind of damage, their gleam will also give your car or truck a whole new look.

Chrome or polished stainless steel rocker panel moldings are a great addition to your car or truck if installed alone, but they’re even better as part of a complete bright finish vehicle makeover. Like much of the chrome accessories we have for other parts of your vehicle, most of our rocker panel moldings are made of mirror polished 304 stainless steel, which is selected for its strength and high chromium content that makes it highly resistant to corrosion. However, some panels are made of aluminum, which comes in a range of finishes including diamond plate, or made from chrome plated TPO plastic, a durable combination of impact, heat, and chemical resistant plastic and UV and chip resistant chrome.

Regardless of the type of material, you can count on your rocker panel moldings to provide many years of great looking, durable protection. Each panel is custom made for the vehicle application, assuring precise fit and style that will perfectly complement your vehicle. Most panels attach to the vehicle with 3M acrylic foam tape, however drilling and retention with rivets or self-tapping screws is required for a small number of products. 3M adhesive is so strong and reliable, it’s used by the vehicle manufacturers to install trim at the factory. To ensure secure attachment, clean the area thoroughly to remove anything that could prevent adhesion, then peel back the film from the pre-applied adhesive and press the panel into place.