When I picked up my 2005 F150 FX4 the previous owner had installed a nice brush guard, which is great for up here with all the animals we have crossing the road. They sprayed it with that spray in bed liner material (forget the actual term) which I heard is supposed to work great but it is corroding and peeling everywhere and looks awful. Looks like the bolts are rusted in place and I would rather not bother with taking it off.
Assuming I cover the front end properly, I should be able to wire wheel it right? I would assume the spray on liner should come right off.
Any suggestions on primer/paint for it?
Would spray or brush work better? Never dealt with this type of material before so I want to make sure I do it right.

 

I wire wheeled the brush guard on a CJ-7 I had many moons ago, then primed and painted it. Looked great until winter hit it again...

After you do that, touch up the rust with some rust conversion (turns rust black), then spray paint it again.

 

if you like the look of it, you could just linex the whole brushguard. that will definitely hold up

 

Looking closer today, the physical metal is so rusted and flaking its going to be a fun job!

 

Is there any specific paint which I should be looking for or will any automotive spray paint work.

 

I didn't use any special automotive paint on my brush guard. I used Rust-Oleum primer and the black paint. Took a couple of days to get a good prime, couple of coats, and a good clear coat enamel. I can't remember what the brand is but it's a smaller can that's red. It's lasted for three years and goin. Just has a couple of small pits that need fixin

 

I understand the struggle of not wanting to take it off but........one of the reasons it is probably doing this is because the previous owner didn't take it off and clean it up good enough before they sprayed it.

On the paint side, if you arn't looking for a textured look I go to Tractor Supply and buy the thick black tractor paint for all my parts on my Jeep. The stuff is super thick and holds up awesome. You'll have to brush it on unless you thin it out and put it in a spray gun.