Hey guys, I want to apoligize if this has been discussed already (I used the search button I swear) Anyways I want to mount offroad light on the bar in front of the radiator like some of you have. My question(s) are...

1) mine is starting to bubble because of rust, so can/should I sand it down to remove most of the rusted areas, primer it and spray with black (I want to paint it black anyways so you dont see the bar through the grille.
2) How did you guys mount yours? did you make a custom bracket to fit, mount the lights directly to the bar itself?

Any tips/advise would be helpfull and if theres a write up on something similar that would be helpful too.

 

Yes, go ahead and sand it down/paint it first. That bar is notorious for rusting. On mine I just drilled holes and mounted with bolts. There are openings in the bar to get to the bolts from the inside to install the washers/nuts.

 

I removed those pointless bolts that have a 13 mm head on them and used those holes. They should be body color

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I used those bolts on the support bar to mount the lights, I did not paint the bar yet (will do it once its nicer out. Heres the finished result, I'm pleased with them.

 

If you clean off all the loose paint and then do a good degrease on that bar, you can get a small can of a good rust preventative paint and paint right over the hard rust. Many of those paints have various chemicals in them to bond with the rust as well as "creep agents" to get the paint into small crevices. The best paints I've used for this purpose are POR-15 and Rust Bullet - there are a lot of others, many are just so-so. Be sure to follow the instructions, if the surface isn't prepped properly, it will be a waste of effort & use 2 coats - the first will often be enough to pacify the rust, and the second will be a sealer.