I want to redo my rear bumper and rocker panels, the ol' wisconsin rust finally make the rockers chip and the bumper look like hell. I really like the idea of doing bedliner, or herculiner....can someone point me in the right direction to which brand to get? I dont want an exaggerated rough finish, just enough to notice.

The paint is already chipped off in big chunks down to the bare metal. Before applying the bedliner, will I have to grind down the rest of the paint and then rough it up and paint with new? Or can I sand it down flush to the non-chipped paint and get away with it?

Please excuse all the salt and dirt

 

also, what do i do about this....? I dont know where to start to repair this, would Good Stuff Foam work? and then sand it flush and bondo it?

 

bump

novice needs help!

 

for the work your going to be putting into the bumper and money try a scrap yard for a better on That rust on the bumper looks like it's deep ..Lot of rust only looks like its ontop of the metal However think of rust as a iceberg many of times I seen a small bubble of rust and poked into it with a screwdriver and came out the other end ..Anyways if your going to DIY the bumper anyways get a grinder with a 80 grit disk ..before attacking it Remove all the rubber trim and anything non metal This will help you find hidden rust under the rubber step and prevent any grinder marks while working ..Next your going to want fiberglass and resin if the holes (if any are bigger then 3") make sure you grind 1 or 2 inchs around to hole for bare metal so the fiberglass has something to hold on to.. If the holes are smaller Dynaglass (bondo/fiberglass) or angel hair some people call it ..it's green ..This stuff fills in up to 3" holes More if you use wax paper with it and pull off the wax paper as it is semi hard ..Remember to work on the filling of the hole really good don't over add on holes because once hard it takes for ever to sand flat and level


Wheel wells : they look pretty good for a light grind and go over it with 120 grit or 180 your want to try to feather edge around the area that is bare meaning pull the back a inch or 2 from the primer under it so when your priming the metal / primer / paint there is no ruff lines from metal to paint ((( ))) you want ( ( ( ) ) ) line 1 is paint you sanded line 2 is primer under the paint line 3 is metal under the primer where you grinded of the rust I like to run a "skim coat" of bondo ..small amount of bondo to fill in any pin holes or low spot from grinding down rust to bring the effected area up to a level area ..if the grind was deep and you can see a diffence in the panel when you fill the bondo on use a block sander to sand it flat and level ..remember to run the flat palm of your hand over the area and feel if theres a wave in the work .. it means theres a high or low spot or a line that needs to be sanded better


wiper area ...grind the hell out of the area and JAM lots of fiberglass filled with resin in the hole. I would even see if you can take off the inside panel and work from in there anyways ya fill it in with glass and then dynaglass for extra strength ..bond will crack from the wiper putting pressure on the hold mount ...don't use foam ..Foam with suck water into it that's why they make sponges out of it .. 80 % of cars get rust ..not from just salt but from dirt forming in areas like the bottom of doors etc and sit there clogging out water vent holes and stay moist forming a pool that finds pinholes in paint and makes it soft till it makes a bubble layer between the paint and bare metal ...Anyways Hope it helps one more thing Buy "filler primer" and try to get everything sanded from 80 grit smooth to 220-320 grit when you add the primer and sand the primer with 400 grit then your good for your paint ..

 

thank you Moose, for all that information. I learned a lot and you gave me a better look on what I have coming when I get to doing this job.
So basically I have to do all of this even though I'll be using Bedliner on the bumper and rockers? I have also heard that I could sand the paint down with a rough grit disk and paint on the bedliner as it has a rough look to it anyways. Just looking for more ideas that would cut down labor, but if it has to be prepped like a professional paint job, I will do so. Thanks again for the reply!

 

Hey if you have a company around you that does sand blasting it will save you a few bucks


Anyways your doing the bed liner your want to get rid of the rust first then lightly "scuff" the paint your adding the bed liner to just to make sure it has a area to bond too


Don't feel too bad about learning autobody 101 I'm running around this week putting a stereo system together Kenwood usb/cd player. Pioneer 12" subwoofer 1300w 4ohm. Pioneer 3-way 6x9 800watt Stock door speaker (they kick pretty good still ) and today looking for at getting a sony xplod 1000w 4channel .I have a friend that works at a audio store and is quitting this week so he is selling me everything at cost to them and adds his 15% off on top of that ..The 12" sub cost me $39.75 Canadian and $15 for a 4 gauge amp wiring kit the sub in the store shows $119.95 lol Had it been not for him I might of paid it

 

I should just have it sand blasted, I never thought of that lol. as for the rockers, you see those huge areas of paint missing, I just take away the rust and then just scuff the paint, I dont have to sand the paint completely off? It just worries me because if I put the bedliner over it wouldn't it look uneven in the areas the paint is chipped off?

I would like to someday put a stereo system in mine, but I'm too worried about these little cosmetic flaws lol

 

The rockers like I said look pretty good. If it was my truck I would get a little palm sander and hit it with say 120 grit sand paper then 180 to sand down the missing paint edges (feathering) so the new Primer/bedliner sits flat and even across the rocker


The rest of the rocker area that your using the bedliner with I would scuff down with 320grit till the paint is dull and go over the 180 grit area a few times to make the 180grit/paint edge even flatter
And yeah I have the whole stereo system sitting in my house ..Now I have to come up with a plan on installing the 12" subwoofer without a box in a area that isn't in the way for hauling items and going camping etc First I was thinking the back hatch in the middle of the door . but the speaker is too deep so I might make a box or a custom panel for the passenger rear 1/4 panel across from my spare tire and put my Amp behind the tire with the controls showing I bought small tweeters yesterday and things called bass blockers so they only play high notes without getting distorted and run them off the door speakers ..so ya lots of wiring and Ohms and watts and volts and blaaaaaah just need some warmer temps up here

 

thanks moose, you're the man. ill make sure to post pictures too, when the warm weather hits here that is...are you in canada?

 

hey all, just wanted to update you guys. I finally finished my bumper, it took me about 5 hours over two days. Looks decent, i see a spot i need to touch up yet. Looks better than it did before! (I need to hit the car wash soon....) That rust hole beneath the wiper is next.