Running board pre-installation…

Here's how I prepped the running boards prior to installation.

1st I masked off the rubber with masking tape.



Then I painted it with Bill Hirsch's POR-like paint. (It was very thin - hope it's as good as POR).



Then, because the rubber fill the mounting holes, I drilled out the holes. I found that a 3/8" wood bit worked well. With it's long point, I could go through the back first, then when the point showed, reverse it and bore through cleanly. That work fine on the rear (round) holes, but the front holes are actually slots. These I drilled twice, front and back, then used a 3/8" rat tail file to enlarge and smooth out the drilled hole. The rubber is very tough, so there was no danger of separating the rubber from the metal. It is on there very firmly.

Here are some photos of that process.







Next comes the installation. The rubber seems a little thicker than the original- although that maybe just because it is new - so I hope it fits properly. Once installed, it should really tighten things up.