Re: need a close up photo of a 39 120 running board

Posted by David Grubbs On 2013/12/9 22:23:02

No luck at the farm and ranch store. McMaster-Carr makes some 1/8" thick rubber roll matting that has a straight rib on it that I can buy on line. However, I went out this evening to take a closer look at the running boards. I had always assuming that the old rubber was just badly worn. No such luck. The previous owner, in a sadly misguided attempt to fix the missing rubber, spread Bondo over the entire running board and sort of smoothed it out, then painted it black. Using a chisel I was able to remove most of it - sure stuck good to rusty metal! What I have left are the ridges and valleys and about 8 thousand holes where the rubber was attached to the steel. I think I will remove the running boards and take them to the guy who bead blasted my 51 prior to painting. This should take care of the rest of the bondo and rust. Then I can fill the holes and sand them smooth. I'm leaning toward the Dip -It spray rubber technique. This will allow the old steel ridges to show, while any rubber mat I install will probably telegraph the groves in the metal and conflict with the pattern in the rubber.

Pat - what did you do on the surface prep on your boards?