Rust treatment options for powder coated steel bumper.

I picked up a used Relentless HC rear bumper today, and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me before I mount it to the truck. The bumper is in good shape besides the required cleaning and rust spots where the coating has chipped. What is the preferred way to tackle this rust? Is it sanding, priming, and touch up with black rustoleum? Sorry if it’s been asked before, couldn’t find anything using the search function.

 

Currently undergoing something similar with my ARB. I just did a test area for proof of concept that turned out pretty good but here’s what I did: Tape off the area you want to affect. Use aircraft remover (carefully, it’s powerful stuff) to remove any powder coat still around the area. Once all the powder coating is removed I used various grades of sand paper on an orbital sander to smooth it down and remove the surface rust. Then clean it well (I used mineral spirits). After that I used a couple coats of self etching primer followed by a couple coats of semi-glass black rustoleum paint. Doesn’t quite match the powder coat but I plan to eventually redo the whole bumper the same way when I can take the truck offline for awhile. This seems to be a good way to repair the rust while also making the bumper easier to repair in terms of scratches gained while on the trails.

 

Thanks, task for tomorrow. We’ll see how it turns out.

 

If you can afford it get it sandblasted. Then just rattle can it. Powder coating just traps rust.