So, Brown Santa dropped off our new PSC Brawler Lite front bumper yesterday and the test fit went perfectly. Now it’s time to finish it. I ordered it unfinished because I planned to do some slight modifications for a license plate mount. After looking at the backside of the bumper, I am worried about being able to get to everything for proper protection from the winter salt we deal with.

My initial idea was to have the whole bumper zinc plated and then truck-bed-line the outer parts you see. While this is still one of my favorite ideas, I can’t find a local plating shop that will take on a QTY 1 job.

What I’m now wondering is if I’m over-thinking this (I tend to). I know there are plenty of you guys that are running steel bumpers in climates that get winter salt. What do you do to get into the inner crevasses of your steel bumpers to ensure they are around for more than a season?

 

powder coat, if done correctly seals the metal up nicely, make sure it is sand blasted good and then cleaned of all oils etc.
I would think that if you had it sandblasted then just bed lined it would seal up nicely too, then you just need to worry about the mounting points of contact.

 

It is behind the mounting plate that is my primary concern. I don't see a way to properly access it for any prep or finish.

 

I'm from Pittsburgh and know the salt problems. I had my rear PSC powder coated in December and has small rust spots appearing by March. You should look into a zinc primer powder coat first followed by a top coat.

AEV has a three stage powder coat and guess what, I've already got rust on the edges after one winter. The best we can do it touch everything up in the spring then again in the fall.

Your idea sounds good, and I wouldn't worry too much about behind that mounting plate. It's well sealed off from direct elements. And if it does rust out it'll take 20 years to do so bc of how thick these bumpers are!