I am refinishing a rear step bumper for my 79 F150. Can anyone tell me the correct paint code for the gray colour? I think it was metallic?
Thank you for your help!

 

If I'm not mistaken.....Ford did not offer a step bumper from the factory back then......Most were dealer installed aftermarket bumpers, so you would have to get with the bumper Mfg. to find out.......If they are even still in business

 

Most step bumpers are a mixture of chrome and a metallic paint. I've had luck with krylon paints making a pretty good match.

 

Concur with above... Back in the day rear bumpers were optional. I recall rear bumpers started becoming more standard in the late 80s. I know it was an option on my Dad's 1987 Nissan Hardbody cuz had to add it to the overall cost.

Color?..... dull silver, very light on the metallic.

 

Dude it's oakey chrome! Aka argent silver.

 

Hio....I remember when my Dad bought a brand new '74 Chev.........Literally the only options it had was a added on step bumper and a spare tire.......LOL.......didnt even have a radio.....go try to find a new truck optioned like that nowadays.......

 

You are correct, most step bumpers were dealer installed, but Ford did have a factory step bumper.
The reason most bumpers were dealer installed is simple. It was much cheaper for the dealer to put on an aftermarket bumper than order the truck with one from Ford, plus, a lot of the dealer installed bumpers had the dealers name etched into the bumper...lifetime free advertising.
The factory bumpers were finished in argent silver.
Here's a picture of a train car at the San Jose assy plant back in the day. You can see the factory step bumpers on the two black trucks.

 

Ford sells an aerosol argent silver, I'm not sure if it's an exact match to the original argent Ford used for the bumpers though, through the years Ford had a few different shades of argent
Part number PM-19K207-AA, Tasca Ford sells it online for $8.40/can

 

I used VHT cast aluminum on mine, doesn't have that crappy finish silver paint usually does. It also looks better than any of the fake chrome finishes. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...5&l=c54b95c486

 

Ah yes... the same color I used on my intake manifold. Purrfect.... doesn't look like aluminum foil.

 

"Hammered silver" looks pretty slick.
Probably a year or two old.

 

Looks to be Argent Silver to me. Here's the factory Ford bumper on my '77.

 

99 1/2% sure it was the same argent silver as they call for on factory rims in that era..... But I've only ever seen 1, so that's where the 1/2% comes in But I was thinking the bumpers and the rims matched.

On a side note - the step changed, and they added a plastic cover, beyond that I think they used the same side pieces and mounts all the way through the end of the '96/'97 model. Aftermarket stuff apparently started getting expensive in the early '90s (as well as receiver hitches becoming the norm), that's when "factory" bumpers started appearing on Fords - up here at least. Before that - Luverne OWNED that market in MT.

 

A whole lot of Luverne bumpers in Idaho too.....

 

Ford never made anything but a straight (I guess they call it a 6" drop?) bumper that I know of?, and there's a pile of 250's here. Back then, when people actually tried to pull a trailer with the bumper, they needed at least a 10" drop, or more. The bumpers were all heck for stout, and the mounts were the opposite, had to be re-engineered to be strong enough. The best setup I ever had on this era pickup was a 2" drop receiver hitch with an 8" drop Luverne bumper to fill up the hole. Looked good, and just the right height to use a "normal" stinger. Lots of farm equipment up here, so I use a clevis hitch a lot, and they don't make those in a drop-style, so it worked nice for me.