Cleaning up the rear bumper step trim?

[postwick]

The step trim on the rear bumper of my '07 is pretty faded. Could I pop it off and spray it with truck bed liner? Something else?

 

[Hamfisted]

Did you already scrub it with cleaner? I use that Mother's Back to Black ( Walmart ), and it seems to do a good job at keeping it black. Bed liner would be overkill.

https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-06112-Black-Plastic-Restorer/dp/B00GZLMEN4

 

[postwick]

Did you already scrub it with cleaner? I use that Mother's Back to Black ( Walmart ), and it seems to do a good job at keeping it black. Bed liner would be overkill.

https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-06112-Black-Plastic-Restorer/dp/B00GZLMEN4

Thanks, but I prefer a permanent solution. I just noticed that buying a new trim is only about $50 so I'll just do that.

 

[Hamfisted]

Yeah, if it's too far gone that's what I would do too. I use that back to black stuff about every six months and it seems to hold up pretty good. My '03 is still original and it's still pretty black. If I look at it close I can tell it's faded a little, but not too bad.


https://www.ebay.com/p/1911238297

 

[postwick]

Yeah, if it's too far gone that's what I would do too. I use that back to black stuff about every six months and it seems to hold up pretty good. My '03 is still original and it's still pretty black. If I look at it close I can tell it's faded a little, but not too bad.

Yeah mine is bad. 15 years in the Florida Sun.

 

[Kevin08]

Duplicolor Vinyl & Fabric spray last a very long time on outside trim. Pic shows console side panel sprayed with Flat Black.

I think the piece un clips from the bumper cover so easy spray without masking. I’m going to spray this part, windshield wiper arms and trim panel around wipers. All have faded more gray than black on mine.

Clean the plastic with something that removes all dirt & oil, but that is also clean rinse. I used Purple Power on couple interior trim parts this week and then had issues with vinyl dye biting in. It left a greasy film even after blasting with pressure washer, so don’t use it for pre paint/dye cleaner.
Probably best to use the Duplicolor prep cleaner. On plastic use a medium to stiff nylon brush with cleaner to get into the texture of the plastic. Let dry then spray. Duplicolor vinyl & fabric spray dries fast, you can reinstall the part in less than an hour.
It’s not just paint, it does bond into the plastic.

 

[postwick]

Wow Kevin, those parts look great. What time can you be here to do mine?

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Thanks, but I prefer a permanent solution. I just noticed that buying a new trim is only about $50 so I'll just do that.

When you remove the old piece, could you post how you did it or any tips? Thank you.

 

[RichardH]

Chemical guys have some great products. I've used their leather cleaner, leather conditioner and waterless wash items. Really good stuff. They also have products to restore plastic like you are describing. And, hey, if you're not happy with it just get a refund from Amazon - they even will pay to ship it back to them.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chemical...guys+plastic,aps,266&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-a-p_1_21

 

[Kevin08]

Wow Kevin, those parts look great. What time can you be here to do mine?

It’s 20 degrees here, don’t tempt me, I might stay until April. Lol

My 08 Expedition is a project. 275k miles and previous owner has 5 young kids with apparently no vehicle food restrictions. Transmission doesn’t move, but I bought it for $1,200 because the motor was replaced little over a year ago and around 30-40k miles on it. Hopefully couple more stimulus checks and I’ll have a new transmission!

 

[Kevin08]

Duplicolor flat black vinyl & fabric spray on the latch trim compared to bumper pad not yet done.

 

[Kevin08]

I totally forgot about this one. I’ve not used it, don’t know if it’s gloss or flat.

 

[Kevin08]

Guess I’m committed to recoloring all the interior trim panels now. The side panel hasn’t been cleaned yet. I wasn’t sure I wanted true black over the oem dark charcoal, but I like it better clean & new looking. Original finish is looking bad even after cleaning.

I’ll do the bumper pad after I get the carpet back in.

 

[postwick]

Guess I’m committed to recoloring all the interior trim panels now. The side panel hasn’t been cleaned yet. I wasn’t sure I wanted true black over the oem dark charcoal, but I like it better clean & new looking. Original finish is looking bad even after cleaning.

I’ll do the bumper pad after I get the carpet back in.

View attachment 40129

Did you do the bumper pad yet? I got my new one and need to know how to get the old one off. Haven't been able to find any info on this, hoping I don't have to remove the whole bumper.

 

[Hamfisted]

Did you do the bumper pad yet? I got my new one and need to know how to get the old one off. Haven't been able to find any info on this, hoping I don't have to remove the whole bumper.

You have to remove the rear bumper facia to change out that trim pad. No way to get to the fasteners with it on the Expy.

 

[Kevin08]

Did you do the bumper pad yet? I got my new one and need to know how to get the old one off. Haven't been able to find any info on this, hoping I don't have to remove the whole bumper.

Sorry I haven’t done mine yet. I was focusing on the interior while waiting for the new transmission which has arrived. I maybe be back under it today. I’ll look and see if/what’s blocking access to the clips. Usually they’re a squeeze/pinch to release style

 

[Kevin08]

I can’t even see any of the clips. The steel bumper/receiver hitch fills up the entire cavity and I can see another plastic shell on top of that. So I think Hamfisted is correct, easiest if not only way is to remove the cover. I’m planning to paint all my Eddie Bauer tan to the newer King Ranch accent color, so I’ll take my bumper covers off later this spring. Looks more like milk chocolate or coffee color. Can’t find a paint code on it yet. Might be the Caribou Brown on the new Ford trucks. Anyone know that color please tell me.

 

[Kevin08]

Some YouTube complaints on the Duplicolor flat black not being flat but too shiny to match the original interior trim.
I was concerned about this but as I mentioned above I’d started and committed myself. Actually I’m happy to discover that it is truly a more flat black. The shininess fades away over a week or so. I wasn’t wanting to spray the door panels just so everything matched and honestly I can’t tell a difference in color between dyed and stock panels now after a couple weeks. I so was tempted to add the Java color to some panels like the newer King Ranch F-150’s I’ve seen. But I haven’t found the color yet and not made up my mind where to Java and where to leave black.

 

[Hamfisted]

To get the bumper step pad off you just remove the two 13mm nuts on each end and pop the pad off. They're those self threading nuts that screw down on a plastic "bolt" shaft that's inserted in the pad. To re-install you just smack it back down in place and re-attach those 13mm nuts onto the shafts. If you can get a 13mm socket or wrench ( Gearwrench FlexHead Box Wrench ? ) on those two nuts from underneath you won't have to remove the bumper, but I couldn't, so I just removed the whole bumper and set it in the grass to avoid scratching the paint to work on it. These are the only fasteners holding the pad on, and they also secure the foam insert in the bumper. There is one harness plug on the driver's side of the bumper to unplug to free the bumper from the Expy once the bumper fasteners are removed.









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