Tailgate Panel refurbished?

[texjake]

Has anyone had any experience refurbishing one of those rear tailgate panels? I have one that is wood grain but want to change it to black. Is that just a wood grain vinyl decal? I wanted to paint it black but is paint going to stick to it? As you can see from the pic below I am missing one of those letters, the letter "L". How do you replace those letters or remove them & reinstall them after painting it or putting black vinyl down? Because I notice on the back of the panel the letters have been like riveted on. Not sure how to remove them & reinstall them without damaging the panel or the letters. It looks as if I could take a small flathead screwdriver bend the tabs up to remove the letters & to reinstall them take a pin punch or dowel and bend the ends back down to the panel? Any help on this project will be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone happens to have a letter "L" for the tailgate panel just laying around please let me know. I would hate to have to buy a whole letter set for just one letter. Thanks!

[texjake]

ttt

[Tom Vogel]

I redid mine. had it chromed, but you could polish and or clear anodize it. The woodgrain is vinyl and the black stripes are paint. I used metalic black vinyl tape on the black thin stripes and woodgrain vinyl for the broad stripe. You could use black Vinyl there as well I guess. The chrome letters are available as a set only from Trim Parts Inc. Fwiw, those letters are nicer than the original, If I remember corectly, they screw on. I used a drill bit to remove the tangs of the old letters from the rear, not much left to re-swedge there.

[ho70]

try ebay or a scrap yard for a cheaper letter

[texjake]

Originally Posted by Tom Vogel

I redid mine. had it chromed, but you could polish and or clear anodize it. The woodgrain is vinyl and the black stripes are paint. I used metalic black vinyl tape on the black thin stripes and woodgrain vinyl for the broad stripe. You could use black Vinyl there as well I guess. The chrome letters are available as a set only from Trim Parts Inc. Fwiw, those letters are nicer than the original, If I remember corectly, they screw on. I used a drill bit to remove the tangs of the old letters from the rear, not much left to re-swedge there.

Thanks. That's what I was looking forward to hearing. You been a big help!

[ho70]

memeber teeitup has seperate CHEVROLET tailgate letters for sale in Christmas bonanza post in parts section

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ho70

memeber teeitup has seperate CHEVROLET tailgate letters for sale in Christmas bonanza post in parts section

Ok, thanks a bunch. I'll give him a shout.

[texjake]

My final results after removing the old letters & the wood grain vinyl and painting the panel with flat black & installing new letters from TrimParts. A before pic, the removal process pic & the after installed pic.

[LockDoc]

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Looks great. Amazing what you can do with a little elbow grease and ingenuity.

LockDoc

[tommys72]

Looks really good...do the new letters screw in? I'm missing my O on mine

[texjake]

Originally Posted by tommys72

Looks really good...do the new letters screw in? I'm missing my O on mine

I've still got my original letter O if you want it. Just PM me an address to sent it to. It may have some pitting on it but its still in good shape. The original letters were swedge on from the factory and I had to use a small sanding wheel to remove them & the stems are not as long as the re-pop ones from TrimParts that uses the star style lock washer that you tap on with a socket. I guess you could use some JB weld to hold it on. Just let me know.

[tommys72]

Thank you very much...im sent you a pm

[WIDESIDE72]

Edited by staff.

[TacBlade]

Edited by staff.

[leddzepp]

Guys, if you have something to sell please list it on the parts board appropriately. Thank you!

[nobolt]

that looks very nice.
how well do TRIM PARTS letters compare with the originals? are they chromed metal?
how was the fitment, etc?
thanks

[texjake]

Originally Posted by nobolt

that looks very nice.
how well do TRIM PARTS letters compare with the originals? are they chromed metal?
how was the fitment, etc?
thanks

I was very impressed with the TrimParts letters quality! And yes they are chromed metal & the fit was perfect! The package is marked "Made in USA". That's why they are so perfect.