Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Work done before Winter.
Rear bumper upgrade and Front bumper repair.
My van originally came with a regular rear bumper. I wanted to upgrade to a step bumper. Had to check around but finally found one for $100 at a junkyard.
Obviously a junkyard near Pittsburgh.
Before painting you need to remove the two plastic step covers. There are a plastic clips that slip through the bumper. You need to squeeze both sides of the clips to get them to slide back up through the bumper.
Grind off all of the old rust and bumper sticker.
Brush on a rust converter.
I used spray can primer. For paint I used NAPA Intermix MS Pint 56A (black)- $7.75.
Covered the paint with NAPA clearcoat. On the plastic parts I used black Krylon Fusion spray paint.
While the bumper was off I painted the tail end of the van.
Reinstalled the rear bumper. I didn't take a picture at the time but you can see how nice it looks today.
Or maybe not. We're in the middle of a blizzard at the moment. I'll post another picture in the spring.
Front Bumper.
Since the back bumper is now black the front has to match. There is a noticeable dent in the front bumper that was there when I bought it.
To pound it out I read that some advise using a wood block and a hammer. I tried for a while and it didn't seem to improve much so I started using the round end of a ball-peen. Don't bang real hard, just tap tap tap tap tap.
After about an hour and a half the dent was much improved. Probably could have used a few more minutes but by then I was bored out of my skull.
Before re-installing I needed to take care of the rust on the bumper mounts. I used a product called Rust Bullet.
Before and After.
Used the same paint and clearcoat that I used on rear bumper. Not to shabby.
Rear bumper upgrade and Front bumper repair.
My van originally came with a regular rear bumper. I wanted to upgrade to a step bumper. Had to check around but finally found one for $100 at a junkyard.
Obviously a junkyard near Pittsburgh.
Before painting you need to remove the two plastic step covers. There are a plastic clips that slip through the bumper. You need to squeeze both sides of the clips to get them to slide back up through the bumper.
Grind off all of the old rust and bumper sticker.
Brush on a rust converter.
I used spray can primer. For paint I used NAPA Intermix MS Pint 56A (black)- $7.75.
Covered the paint with NAPA clearcoat. On the plastic parts I used black Krylon Fusion spray paint.
While the bumper was off I painted the tail end of the van.
Reinstalled the rear bumper. I didn't take a picture at the time but you can see how nice it looks today.
Or maybe not. We're in the middle of a blizzard at the moment. I'll post another picture in the spring.
Front Bumper.
Since the back bumper is now black the front has to match. There is a noticeable dent in the front bumper that was there when I bought it.
To pound it out I read that some advise using a wood block and a hammer. I tried for a while and it didn't seem to improve much so I started using the round end of a ball-peen. Don't bang real hard, just tap tap tap tap tap.
After about an hour and a half the dent was much improved. Probably could have used a few more minutes but by then I was bored out of my skull.
Before re-installing I needed to take care of the rust on the bumper mounts. I used a product called Rust Bullet.
Before and After.
Used the same paint and clearcoat that I used on rear bumper. Not to shabby.
