EVO rock skins question

My next mod will be a set of evo rock skins. I've heard that nutserts are a major PITA especially without the tool. I was wondering if there is any downside or reason not to use rivets instead? It may be a dumb question, but ive never looked at a set up close.

Hobolobo said:

My next mod will be a set of evo rock skins. I've heard that nutserts are a major PITA especially without the tool. I was wondering if there is any downside or reason not to use rivets instead? It may be a dumb question, but ive never looked at a set up close.

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Absolutely, without a doubt, get the astro nutsert tool. Trust me...

Edit:look on amazon

Don't go with the cheap harbor freight one. It's far easier using a good tool.,

I did plan on spending the money on a good one if I have to, but i figured since i have a rivet gun and a metric shit ton of rivets laying around i would see if anybody has tried that or if theres a reason not to (strength, size, etc)

As mentioned get or borrow the Astro tool or one equivalent. It will be like night and day without it. Really, for me, the hardest part was drilling that first hole! LOL. Im glad I did though. I like the skins.

Is this the one?

Hobolobo said:

View attachment 191932
Is this the one?

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Yes, it will make life much easier when installing the skins.

Hobolobo said:

View attachment 191932
Is this the one?

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I belive so. Just becareful of which one you get. They sell metric, standard, and combo sets. I goofed the first time.

As everyone mentioned. Get the tool. You will thank yourself. I did one side without the tool and told myself I would never do nutserts again without it.

Spend a few bucks on a piece of sheet metal and practice with the tool a few times. Mine came with some various sized nutserts. Don't use the nutserts that come with the armor for the practice ones. The ones that come with the armor have a thinner outside lip. If you use different ones on the jeep, the armor won't draw into the body. Ask me how I know.

LasVegasJK said:

Spend a few bucks on a piece of sheet metal and practice with the tool a few times. Mine came with some various sized nutserts. Don't use the nutserts that come with the armor for the practice ones. The ones that come with the armor have a thinner outside lip. If you use different ones on the jeep, the armor won't draw into the body. Ask me how I know.

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Thanks for this insight. I bought the Astro tool and a piece of sheet metal to practice with this weekend. Glad I read about the nut-certs.

Lil Nasty said:

Thanks for this insight. I bought the Astro tool and a piece of sheet metal to practice with this weekend. Glad I read about the nut-certs.

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Don't forget to get some clear silicon RTV to apply to the skins before your final install.

The nutsert tool is deffinitely worth getting. I have installed 3 sets or rocker guards, and 2 sets of corners now. Once you get the hang of the tool, its very easy. You will get the feeling of the tool rather quickly and how tight you need to get the nutsets. I have seen some installs (not evo) that used rivets and I asked why, and it was just what the shop or person decided to do. This was on a set of custom guards however. Going from the install video of the Poison spyder skins, they will tell you that if you get to a nutsert and it fights you, its a good idea to stop right away, and chase the threads just incase.

Some great advice in here.

I installed my AEV corners about 6 years ago and just recently took them off to put the EVO Builder Corners in-place. Of course rust isn't really an issue here in AZ, but I was happy to see the body panel underneath was preserved just the way it was when they were covered up.

One more pointer here, in case you do happen to mess-up on a nutsert, the method I used to remove my old ones was to take a grinder to the outside edge and grind it down, gentle not to get any paint. Then when there was very little left, bang the nutsert into the body and retrieve if you can. (The AEV ones had to be removed since the edge sticks out about twice as much as the ones EVO supplied.)

I can't stress enough to put your skins on bare metal for their initial fitment. You want to get them in exactly the right position before you go drilling holes. Ratchet straps, c-clamps, hammering... Are all useful techniques to get it in the right spot and much easier when you don't have to worry about damaging a painted or powder coated finish.

Ran them bare steel for a weekend after instal. (Note: I damaged the rear upper plate on a rock wall. So I just removed it)


Pic of the panel that will be hidden when the EVO corners come back from Powdercoat


Our buddy simulating a spare tire on UTIADAM's new carrier..