2026 BSBL on its way, new front bumper look?

[dockiwi57]

It's going to look awesome! Congrats on the new ride.

The 2026 black bumper, tow hooks and steel bash plate are going to look nice. I initially really didn't like the silver pieces on the 2025's but they don't bother me as much now. I suspect that I'll eventually paint them black when the get scraped up.

I also wasn't so sure about the Brush Guard on the 2025 Sasquatch package. It's proving a easy place to mount additional lights and I'll likely mount my dune safety flag there too. I was poking around on some Ford parts sites and was shocked at the price of the bar it's either backordered or stupidly expensive and that's just the bar not the mounting points too.

They are mighty proud of those bars. I've been ambivalent about them except for their potential role mitigating damage to the radiator should I smack a deer. I'm out west and it's common to see roadkill, usually 1-3 every road trip depending on season. I've had a couple friends over the decades experience this although I have not (knock on wood). I could see the bar making a difference between limping to the nearest town rather than being marooned for hours. At the end of the day, the juice is not worth the squeeze for me as I have no need for more lights.

 

[Superdave]

Hello folks, I appreciate the information on this forum. It helped me greatly with decision-making. On 11/05/2025 I ordered a BSBL and have received a total of 3 notices from Ford so far on progress with yesterday's email reporting that it has been shipped. Estimated delivery to SLC, UT between 01/25/2026 - 01/31/2026. They provided several images and something caught my eye. The front bumper with the same steel/recovery hooks appears to be all black now. Mine is non-SAS, so I can't speak to models equipped with that package.

Another thing I noticed is that the tires are listed as "225/65R17 Continental All-Terrain (A/T) Tires" -- so I wonder if they may have upgraded these slightly from the previous year's Cross Contact ATR to the Terrain Contact AT. I doubt that is the case, but will know for certain in a couple of weeks.

Here's the new front bumper appearance:

I just checked the Ford website which is showing all 2026 Badlands still have the silver front bumper...hmm.

 

[dockiwi57]

I just checked the Ford website which is showing all 2026 Badlands still have the silver front bumper...hmm.

Interesting. There seems to be a mix on ford's new 2026 BS page but when I start a build and price, the BL front bumper is black as in my image. If you add the SAS package, the front is black, but the rear is silver. Time will tell.

 

[OBSASQ]

My 25 OB with SAS has the bar and the silver steel overlay bumpers. I took the bar off the first day - 4 bolts to the tow hooks (one member said that bar saved them when they hit a deer). But getting the steel bumpers off to paint them black is a problem. On the back bumper two of the bolts come half way off then spin. But to detach the sensors in the bumpers

the entire front and rear have to come off to unplug them. Had a quote of $1200 at a paint shop to do it but for that price I can live with silver.

I'm thinking about Plasti Dipping them in place but not sure how well that would hold up.

 

[dockiwi57]

My 25 OB with SAS has the bar and the silver steel overlay bumpers. I took the bar off the first day - 4 bolts to the tow hooks (one member said that bar saved them when they hit a deer). But getting the steel bumpers off to paint them black is a problem. On the back bumper two of the bolts come half way off then spin. But to detach the sensors in the bumpers

the entire front and rear have to come off to unplug them. Had a quote of $1200 at a paint shop to do it but for that price I can live with silver.

I'm thinking about Plasti Dipping them in place but not sure how well that would hold up.

Nice rig.

 

[davidg4781]

IIRC my wife got about 40K out the original tires which were the Continentals. I did not like them I thought they were noisy on the highway.

I want to say I have 5/32 left at 42k miles.

What did she replace them with?

 

[Robins21]

BF Goodrich Trail Terrain T/A's. We went one size larger than stock. I also have them on my 05 F150 2WD. We love them almost no tire noise at highway speeds.

 

[Frenchy906]

My 25 OB with SAS has the bar and the silver steel overlay bumpers. I took the bar off the first day - 4 bolts to the tow hooks (one member said that bar saved them when they hit a deer). But getting the steel bumpers off to paint them black is a problem. On the back bumper two of the bolts come half way off then spin. But to detach the sensors in the bumpers

the entire front and rear have to come off to unplug them. Had a quote of $1200 at a paint shop to do it but for that price I can live with silver.

I'm thinking about Plasti Dipping them in place but not sure how well that would hold up.

Plastidip will hold up well enough for daily use.

You’ll just need a handful of cans to spray it thick enough to handle the road wear, and allow for removal later on, should you choose to remove it. Bonus is, if you do get a “chip” in it, just spray that area again.

Downfall to plastidip is that it fades. I had my original grille on my fusion dipped for 2 years, and it still looked decently acceptable. It faded, but there were no chips. I had my wheels dipped for 3 years, and they still looked good.

You will want at least four layers with the spray cans to make a thick enough coating, I did two layers on my wheels and spent 6 hours removing it when my lease was up. an absolute nightmare.

 

[dockiwi57]

Plastidip will hold up well enough for daily use.

You’ll just need a handful of cans to spray it thick enough to handle the road wear, and allow for removal later on, should you choose to remove it. Bonus is, if you do get a “chip” in it, just spray that area again.

Downfall to plastidip is that it fades. I had my original grille on my fusion dipped for 2 years, and it still looked decently acceptable. It faded, but there were no chips. I had my wheels dipped for 3 years, and they still looked good.

You will want at least four layers with the spray cans to make a thick enough coating, I did two layers on my wheels and spent 6 hours removing it when my lease was up. an absolute nightmare.

"The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! "

 

[JPtapt]

I got rid of nudge bar and painted the shiny silver stuff a charcoal gray. I think the bumper inserts and tiedowns look a lot better toned down.

Original:

Painted:

 

[OBSASQ]

I got rid of nudge bar and painted the shiny silver stuff a charcoal gray. I think the bumper inserts and tiedowns look a lot better toned down.

Original:

Painted:

Looks like you don't have sensors in your bumpers. Were you able just to unbolt and remove the steel inserts or did you paint them while still on?

 

[JPtapt]

Looks like you don't have sensors in your bumpers. Were you able just to unbolt and remove the steel inserts or did you paint them while still on?

This is a big bend with black diamond package, without sensors. I was able to totally remove and prime and paint. Eventually I will have everything stripped and powder coated. I have not done the rear yet, been sick. There are sensors in the rear insert. If you want, I’l let you know how it goes. It will probably be a week or two though.

 

[Quashish]

looks good what paint did you use?

 

[JPtapt]

looks good what paint did you use?

I washed it down and scuffed it up with the maroon scotchbrite pad, about 200-400 grit, I believe. Then I washed it again and wiped it down with rubbing alcohol. Then I primed it with two coats of Rust-Oleum Universal Bonding Primer. I let it dry for a about a week, then lightly hit it with the scothbrite pad again, and wiped it down with a damp cloth, then rubbing alcohol again until it was clean. Then I gave it two coats of 2X Ultra Cover Charcoal Gray Satin.

Links:
Primer
Paint

 

[OBSASQ]

This is a big bend with black diamond package, without sensors. I was able to totally remove and prime and paint. Eventually I will have everything stripped and powder coated. I have not done the rear yet, been sick. There are sensors in the rear insert. If you want, I’l let you know how it goes. It will probably be a week or two though.

Yeah, let me know. I couldn't get a couple of bolts in the rear off, they just spun in place. Body shop told me the biggest cost in their bid is how much they needed to take off and put back on just to get to the sensor plugs.

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