Do i need to take the front bumper off to get the top and bottom plastics off the bumper?? And also how much of a pain is it to pop the plastics off? Do they tend to break the clips off when taking them off?

I have a sport with a painted bumper that's rusting and i wanna take the plastics off to sand down the bumper before i hit it with some paint.

 

Mine is on with drywall screws. Doesn't feel too brittle at this point. I will be replacing bumper when I get around t doing the body work. Wish I could find bumper without the plastic. I may try to pull part of it off tomorrow and let you know. Not like it will make mine look uglier with it off!