Got a "how to" question

[siredwards]

How do I take off this piece of bumper trim without breaking it? I mean it's a 21 year old piece of plastic. That's 21 long years of hot summers and cold winters, relentless rain and blistering sun. Lol I don't want to break it but I want to paint it. Any ideas? Has anybody done it?


(BTW, this is not my truck just found a pic online.)

'94 2.3L XLT SuperCab 2WD 5 speed GREEN

 

[adsm08]

I assume the reason for removing it before painting is so you don't pant the bumper.

If you are set on removing it it is held on by arrow clips on the back side. You would need to reach up and squeeze the clips and pop them out one by one.

A better option may be to tape off the bumper and hit it at point blank with the spray can. It might be a bit more time consuming, but will have a lower chance of breaking the part.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Yep, what he said. after my wife rearranged the front bumper on the I 465 guard rail on my Ranger a few months ago, I got a used bumper with a slightly nicked rub strip, and the one on my damaged bumper was still good.

be warned, to get to all of those clips, you need to take off all of the brackets (which was not a problem for me as I had the old bumper laying on the driveway when I did it) You might be able to gently pry it off with a putty knife and screwdriver, but it might still break or deform.

AJ

 

[Mark_88]

Too bad it's not the earlier style...I did the same thing on my 92 bumper and it came out fairly easily...but using a similar technique as described above.

Just for your information...if you want to mount a Gen II (89-92) bumper on a Gen III it will go on the brackets you have...it just takes a bit of massaging...

Anyway...unless you have a good set of power tools, wrenches, and don't mind crawling around under your truck...it is much easier to simply mask the part and paint it where it is...

You might also need help to remove it because believe it or not...that bumper is actually very heavy...about 100 lbs or more...I know because I carried one out of a junk yard and wrestled with it in my driveway while I cut it down to a usable size for my Gen I 1988 Ranger...