[MOONMAN5]

Hi guys,

I've been asking friends, other people in the community and the google about surface rust on steel rock sliders and wanted to get some input from you all. First of all, I'm a still a newbie when it comes to off roading, overloading and the like. I'm glad this is a supportive T4R community that can help me answer my questions.

That being said, my intentions for my 2018 T4R was primarily meant to be my daily driver, camping, and occasional light to moderate trails. Currently, I have no intentions on going hard, but obviously that could change in the future. I have a few friends who are into this hobby and they suggested I get sliders, which I ended up pulling the trigger on. My purchase included a powder coat satin finish that claimed to be "fully coated and durable". The sliders have been installed for maybe 2 months and HAVE NOT seen any trails and HAVE NOT been scratched or impacted in any way. I noticed about a week ago some surface rust on the weld points of the sliders on both sides.

So my questions is, is this normal for sliders that are SO NEW to have surface rust? Is this something that should be expected, especially after paying the additional fee for having them powder coated? I will not mention the business I am currently dealing with, but their response to me was to purchase a brush and some satin paint to cover it up. They stated that this is normal and it is because the powder coaters were trying to keep the surface smooth, so they accidentally missed some areas. Ultimately after a few communications, they said they would cover $30 for the material and labor. I don't feel this is fair.

As a customer who paid good money, I feel like the durability of the PC should have lasted much longer, especially since the sliders have yet to see the trail. Had I known ahead of time this would be an issue, I would have gone with a different company. Not to mention, there were other issues in this entire purchase process.

Ultimately, I'm a small business owner as well and am trying to be sympathetic, patient and fair, but I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick. I'd love to hear your input about whether surface rust is normal for the sliders being so new, if you believe their solution/customer service is fair and what you think their customer service solution should be.

Thanks in advance.

[RedSled]

No it is not normal, they cut corners in the powder coat process, and should stand behind the product. Just my opinion though.

[jaemz]

Originally Posted by MOONMAN5

Hi guys,
They stated that this is normal and it is because the powder coaters were trying to keep the surface smooth, so they accidentally missed some areas. Ultimately after a few communications, they said they would cover $30 for the material and labor. I don't feel this is fair.

so they admitted they ****ed up, then said sucks to suck you deal with it? you paid for a powder coating, not a "to the best of our ability" powder coat.

how much did you pay for the powder coat? i dont understand how someone can "miss some areas" when youre doing the work in a spray booth with a spray gun lmao

[MOONMAN5]

Originally Posted by jaemz

so they admitted they ****ed up, then said sucks to suck you deal with it? lmao you paid for a powder coating not a "to the best of our ability" powder coat.

how much did you pay for the powder coat? i dont understand how someone can "miss some areas" when youre doing the work in a spray booth with a spray gun lmao

The powder coat option was $100.

[LandCruiser]

Looks like the manufacturer has decided not to be good about it.

Sliders in our climate shouldn't rust if they're properly PC'd and undamaged.

You don't have too many options. Removing, stripping, and recoating them is expensive, and not worth it if they don't want to pay for it.

Rattlecan job is going to fix your problem but you paid good money and 30 bucks doesn't seem right.

I'd just ask them to refund the cost of the powdercoating and either recoat them at another shop around here or rattlecan them. But it sounds like they want to be shitty about it.

[ryguytheman]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

Looks like the manufacturer has decided not to be good about it.

Sliders in our climate shouldn't rust if they're properly PC'd and undamaged.

You don't have too many options. Removing, stripping, and recoating them is expensive, and not worth it if they don't want to pay for it.

Rattlecan job is going to fix your problem but you paid good money and 30 bucks doesn't seem right.

I'd just ask them to refund the cost of the powdercoating and either recoat them at another shop around here or rattlecan them. But it sounds like they want to be shitty about it.

Agree with this, I'd be asking firmly to get that money back that they charged for the PC. You didn't get what you paid for.

That said, I would take that $100 back, then go ahead and fix it with a rattle can and pocket the money. You'll end up having to rattle can them later if you use them for what they're made for anyway.

[tomb_rnr]

I agree with the last two comments. They dropped the ball on powder coating. At the minimum they should cover (refund) what you paid additional for the coating. $100.

They can deal with their powder coater if they are cutting corners. They need to take care of their customers.


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[the_economist]

It looks like I’m the minority view here, but this is sort of normal maintenance on everything steel that I own.

Within a month or two, my tow hitch started showing surface rust. I have a camper, and I’m patching up surface rust on it all the time, almost every time I use it. My skid plates have rust, and that needs to be scraped and sprayed over every few months. And my sliders have small rust spots also occasionally.

If you have a bunch of steel things sitting out in the elements, rust is just part of your life.

My advice: Get yourself a steel wire brush, and a can of black rust oleum spray, and put a note on your calendar to do your maintenance every three months or so. It’s not that much work, it is kind of fun getting to know your truck better.

[tomb_rnr]

Originally Posted by the_economist

It looks like I’m the minority view here, but this is sort of normal maintenance on everything steel that I own.

Within a month or two, my tow hitch started showing surface rust. I have a camper, and I’m patching up surface rust on it all the time, almost every time I use it. My skid plates have rust, and that needs to be scraped and sprayed over every few months. And my sliders have small rust spots also occasionally.

If you have a bunch of steel things sitting out in the elements, rust is just part of your life.

My advice: Get yourself a steel wire brush, and a can of black rust oleum spray, and put a note on your calendar to do your maintenance every three months or so. It’s not that much work, it is kind of fun getting to know your truck better.

That’s the reason why someone pays the extra price for powder coating. To not deal with that sort of stuff. Paying extra for coating and then having to deal with issues and to only be refunded $30? That’s not right.

If that’s the case I’m sure moonman would have opt’d to save on powder coating and just spray the slider himself.


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[Dillusion]

I agree on just getting the money back from powder coating. Its not like hes asking to get all his money back yet.

Was nice enough to not name names yet either.

[idHawk]

As a small business owner myself, I think they should refund the full $100 fee they charged you. It's a cost of doing business on their part to make it right. They can take it up with the Powder Coater on their end if they feel he didn't provide an adequate service, but that is their issue to deal with. You paid for a service in full, so you should get a full refund because it wasn't done right.

The difference between what they should pay you and what they seem willing to pay is only $70. The positives from doing the right thing far outweigh the negatives from not doing so. I just don't understand business owners sometimes.

[srsrogerissrs]

Post some pics

[euser]

Originally Posted by the_economist

It looks like I’m the minority view here, but this is sort of normal maintenance on everything steel that I own.

Within a month or two, my tow hitch started showing surface rust. I have a camper, and I’m patching up surface rust on it all the time, almost every time I use it. My skid plates have rust, and that needs to be scraped and sprayed over every few months. And my sliders have small rust spots also occasionally.

If you have a bunch of steel things sitting out in the elements, rust is just part of your life.

My advice: Get yourself a steel wire brush, and a can of black rust oleum spray, and put a note on your calendar to do your maintenance every three months or so. It’s not that much work, it is kind of fun getting to know your truck better.

I agree. They should refund if they totally screwed up the powder coat, but that isn’t going to indefinitely prevent surface rust either, it’ll slow it down. It’ll still require basic preventative maintenance as something sitting out in the elements. 2 months is a long time for chemistry to do its magic. Surface rust is something that’s easy to clean off as well. I have a vehicle that has spent its whole life in the desert that occasionally has some spots to clean up when I crawl underneath it.

[MossJenks]

Originally Posted by euser

I agree. They should refund if they totally screwed up the powder coat, but that isn’t going to indefinitely prevent surface rust either, it’ll slow it down. It’ll still require basic preventative maintenance as something sitting out in the elements. 2 months is a long time for chemistry to do its magic. Surface rust is something that’s easy to clean off as well. I have a vehicle that has spent its whole life in the desert that occasionally has some spots to clean up when I crawl underneath it.

Key here is "underneath". Unpainted parts. Do you routinely clean surface rust off the painted body of your vehicles? Powder coated parts should stay rust free indefinitely except where nicked and scratched.

[JPOVS]

The rock sliders I ordered from RCI lasted a couple months before they rusted and paint was flaking off. I was able to get a refund on my powder coat.
I wouldn't have any hard feeling its only business.