3D Printed Tailgate Hole Caps

[lanceoak]

How does a painted hole in a tailgate ensure that there will be a rust issue?

One of the notes said the hole allowed gravel etc to enter the tailgate when they washed out the bed. I normally open the tailgate to wash out dirt, etc. If the gravel etc goes into the tailgate and rattles around, I assume it will cause some damage over time. My old F150 rusted out there without holes. Assume holes will make it worse. Due to tip, have an appointment at local library to use their 3D printer. Hopefully that solves issue.

I went from a 2014 F150 to the 2025 Hybrid Maverick. My F150 had the rusting wheel well and the bottom edge of the tailgate - seems to be a usual Ford issue. It bothers me that they would leave such a big opening in the tailgate. Wish I had noticed it before I bought. Not looking forward to the rust issue....

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I went from a 2014 F150 to the 2025 Hybrid Maverick. My F150 had the rusting wheel well and the bottom edge of the tailgate - seems to be a usual Ford issue. It bothers me that they would leave such a big opening in the tailgate. Wish I had noticed it before I bought. Not looking forward to the rust issue....

Thanks!
There have been several threads in the past about these, but haven't seen any in a while. Some of them also have small vent slots in the plastic, to aid in drying condensation from the hollow tailgate cavity.

I printed the two covers today. Looked good but, they do not fit. I notice all the pics show the area UNPAINTED. My spray in liner covers the area - but leaves the hole... The plates do not fit into the hole. Oh well... I was hoping to plug it......

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[Tbone289]

One of the notes said the hole allowed gravel etc to enter the tailgate when they washed out the bed. I normally open the tailgate to wash out dirt, etc. If the gravel etc goes into the tailgate and rattles around, I assume it will cause some damage over time. My old F150 rusted out there without holes. Assume holes will make it worse. Due to tip, have an appointment at local library to use their 3D printer. Hopefully that solves issue.

I printed the two covers today. Looked good but, they do not fit. I notice all the pics show the area UNPAINTED. My spray in liner covers the area - but leaves the hole... The plates do not fit into the hole. Oh well... I was hoping to plug it......

Modern car bodies are painted inside and out with an anti-corrosive primer before they are top-coated in the color of your choice. This is called the "body in white" in the manufacturing process. Just because they aren't in the same color as the top coat doesn't mean they aren't painted.

Corrosion occurs when foreign material wears through this coating and holds moisture in place. Open drains allow these areas to be flushed so that foreign material doesn't collect and wear through the coating and they allow moisture to drain out. Your F150 likely rusted because you never took the wheel liners out and flushed between the inner and outer fender area. After years of collecting dirt in there it wore through the protective coating, held in moisture and rusted out your fender. Likewise with a drainless tailgate, sand, dust, dirt will enter through gaps in the tailgate such as the latches, settles in the bottom of the tailgate, wears through the primer/paint and holds moisture, leading to corrosion.

Salt does the same thing, but it removes the protective coating through chemical process rather than mechanical friction like sand, fine gravel and dirt do. It doesn't have to "settle" in the area to do this as dirt does.

With all of this in mind, IMO, you're much better off pulling the access plate off your tailgate once a year and flushing it with water through the factory drains than you are partially plugging the drains in hopes that nothing will get in your tailgate. After you flush it, you can lightly coat it inside with Fluid Film or the rust preventative of your choice to keep salt from penetrating the coating.