Were the original mud flap brackets painted?

[jodawill]

I bought the mud flap brackets from @boxyjeep. Mine are rusted beyond recognition. Does anyone know whether the originals were painted? I'm debating whether I should attempt to paint them or just use them as is. If they were painted, would they be painted the same color as the vehicle, or just plain black?

[fiatslug87]

They were black.

[jodawill]

2 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

They were black.

That's good news. Thanks!

[jodawill]

Does anyone have recommendations on how to paint them? What kind of paint should be used on a high wear spot like that?

[Pete M]

should be able to simply blast them with rustoleum.  regular paint is pretty tough if properly prepped and applied.  I guess you could step up to an enamel paint if you'd like.  certain can't hurt  

[boxyjeep]

Scuff with 3M pad extensively.  Clean with acetone.  Self-etching primer.  Then black top coat.  I’d do semi-gloss or flat.

[jodawill]

1 hour ago, boxyjeep said:

Scuff with 3M pad extensively.  Clean with acetone.  Self-etching primer.  Then black top coat.  I’d do semi-gloss or flat.

 

Are the mud flaps supposed to touch the body? I installed the replacement for the missing one today and it pushes pretty hard against the bottom.  I do see that there's damage from the mud flap touching it in the past though, so maybe that's how it was originally?

[boxyjeep]

12 hours ago, jodawill said:

 

Are the mud flaps supposed to touch the body? I installed the replacement for the missing one today and it pushes pretty hard against the bottom.  I do see that there's damage from the mud flap touching it in the past though, so maybe that's how it was originally?

 

Share some pics of how you installed it--it may be backwards.

[jodawill]

50 minutes ago, boxyjeep said:

 

Share some pics of how you installed it--it may be backwards.

 

[boxyjeep]

That looks about right.  They are a tight fit

[jodawill]

1 minute ago, boxyjeep said:

That looks about right.  They are a tight fit

 

It looks like the bracket on the driver's side was modified. Maybe it was originally tight against the body, then someone extended them because they were rubbing the paint off. And maybe their extension failed, resulting in the missing mud flap?