So its time to repaint that rusting ugly thing on the back of my truck. I'm going to be painting it with the same Truck liner i used on my bumper and tow hooks.

First you have to remove it from your truck so you can paint it and sand it easier. To do this you have to remove 6 torque screws that support it. You will probably need a breaker bar to do this, these things can be a pain, i got the first five out after struggling with them for about a half hour, but the last one became i pain. The bolts are welded within the body and this one broke so it was just freely spinning somewhere inside my truck. so i dove in found it and finally got it out.

Then if you want to repaint the bracket that it latches on remove the six torque screws and take it off.


Alright, so now you have them both off, it is smart to remove the pins that hold the mounts and the frame together. First remove the c-clip then hammer the pin out, you will have to hit it pretty hard to move it.

Next i suggest you remove the latch hard ware because you do not want to paint this, do this by unscrewing the 3 bolts holding the latch on and the 1 holding the handle.


Then begin to sand, try to sand down all the rust until you can't see it anymore, you can try using just sand paper but you may have to use a wire brush.



So today i continued to sand the living daylights out of this rack and heres how far i got....

My worst area of rust...

The Brackets


Tomorrow i will be painting it hopefully it will come out well.

 

Uhhh...you put duct tape on the paint on the back of your truck? . That's a great way to ruin the paint.
I still have to paint mine. I'll be doing mine in undercoating. I'm probably just going to leave it on the truck when I do it though. I don't want to go to the trouble of removing it.

 

Thats what I was thinking. Why not painters tape?

I'm liking the progress. I need to repaint a few things on mine too.

 

Ha I'll take the duct tape off. I had it on cause it's parked outside and it's supposed to rain

 

Well you know what they say, if you cant duct it ....

Did you put the lower half of your bumper assembly back on? In the pics it looks like you are rolling w/o a valance....

The repaint of the front bumper really turned out well! I hope the tire rack goes the same way! God i need a ZR2...

 

I haven't got the lower assembly back on I need some clips that I broke taking it off. What do you guys think about painting my grill black? I would just paint the parts that are red and it would be a gloss not the bed liner. Tell me what you think.

 

it has worked for everyone else so far. No one paints it and ahtes it. no one gives the painted grilles crap. They almost always improve the look of the car.

 

Alright I probably will. What kinda of prep work and paints should I do? A light sanding and just paint it or do I need some primer?

 

When i do mine it will be light sand and shoot, but that is because AYNTHING will improve my grille
I would suggest a light sand, light prime and 2-4 coats of what ever color you are going for. go light and go slow. it will turn out better

 

any suggestions on what type of paint to use for the grill?