[mtomaro]

I'm trying to decide between having my sliders powder coated vs doing a paint/coating myself. Obviously PC is stronger and will likely last longer, however, a DIY job makes for easy and matching touch ups.

For those who have done it yourself, how has it held up? Given the chance, would you do it yourself again?

[KidVermicious]

Nothing will hold up to gravel blasting and rock scratches. If you're going to use them like sliders, just throw some rattlecan on there and be done.

[470SNC]

Multiple coats of Duplicolor bedliner, if it wears off, just quick spray another coat, nice and easy especially if you're gonna put those sliders to good use.

[cutty01]

I just ordered a pair of sliders with a powder coating. If they get scraped up, it will likely be at the bottom where it will be harder to see. I figured I can always repaint the bottoms with a paint can and the top will still have the good looking professional powder coating that will get the most viability.

[Jetboy]

I've had very good success with a rattle can etching primer coated with a good quality enamel spray paint.

If you want to step up in cost, I really like imron two part urethane. It's a lot more $ at $40 ish for a quart and catalyst, but it gets very hard and very durable once it's cured in a week or so. I painted my sailboat with it and it's pretty impressively durable.

[DEERUNNER]

Powder coat will also rust. Every coating will rust. The dings and scrapes rust, the welds rust, etc. Powdercoat may be a good start if you want to spend the money, then as it rusts you can touch up with bedliner. Sand the rust spots, file the deep dings, wire brush the welds as needed, and coat. It will all eventually blend together. If you decide to coat them yourself, and to do it right, be prepared for a lot of elbow grease. If you don't sand them down to bare metal and get rid of the original scale the paint may not go on correctly, they made shed, and they will rapidly rust. Get them fully shiny, get them super clean, etch them, and spray them with whatever you choose. Touch up as needed, use the same procedure as touching up powder coat.

[kboxvegas]

On my OPOR sliders I put in the work with a wire wheel and sanding. Then used two coats of self etching primer followed by four coats of Rustoleum bed liner. The only thing that has touched it was the fine sand/rock roost coming off the front tires after two days on the mojave trail. The same spot on both sides, I just grabbed some cardboard and touched that area up with a couple more coats and it blended perfectly. While PC may be a little more resilient, touch ups will not be as easy.

[Jetboy]

Also - FWIW - not all powder coating is created equal. It's like paint. There are a lot of different types of powder that have different characteristics. You can have anything from paint like hardness to something a lot more flexible and durable like a thermoplastic type coating.

One final thing that I considered, but didn't think was worth the $ was to have them galvanized before painting. It's about $100 at a local galvanizing shop here to get them dipped.

[Hellamatic]

I use the Rustoleum v7400 alkyld system. It's an annual procedure though - nothing holds up forever on a set of sliders. Just keep spraying them yearly.

[FlaskTL]

Let me jump in here to. I actually had my custom sliders sprayed with line-x. Loved the look and the texture when stepping up into the truck but the first time out after getting them sprayed, it got ripped right off by rocks. (I also ripped the rear bumper off on a rock) So I went home and began the process of ripping, cutting, peeling, and sanding the great amount of remaining Line-X off. After I got it off, I sanded the bare metal down again. Then I hit it with Rust-Oleum automobile primer. After two good coats of primer I hit it with several coats of a Rust-Oleum hammer finished. I wanted them to be slightly darker than the silver paint of my vehicle. I love the way it came out. I can touch it up whenever. However, I did all this with sliders that were welded on....so the job was a little difficult, but it still turned out great. In a few days I will try and upload the pics I have of them to show how it turned out.

[ToyoTodd]

Reviving this thread as I just did this with my SSO sliders and wanted to share what I found. I looked at many options from powder coating, bedliner coating, paint over self etching primers, farm equipment paints and everything in between. I decided not to go with any of those based on the expedience others have had, good and bad. I think the best and most used option is powder coating but even that can come off in some cases.

In the end I decided to try POR-15 POR aka (Paint Over Rust: POR-15® Super Starter Kit - Black), specifically the starter kit, with a flat paint top coat. The kit comes with three steps to get your project ready for paint. I had never used this stuff before but from my research it looks like it would do the trick for keeping my sliders from rusting out and give a hard outer shell coating. This coating is supposedly very similar to marine style coatings.

Step one is to use the cleaner/degreaser, then the metal prep, which appears to etch the steel, then the POR-15 primer coat. My sliders came with a coat of oil to keep them from rusting too badly and the degreaser easily removed it. The final step is to paint the sliders with a good topcoat of your choice. I opted for flat black rust-oleum as I have had good success with it in the past as a top coat.

The POR-15 kit had plenty of material to do both sliders which included the perf plating on the top. The final Rust Preventative coating is very thick, I used a sponge roller to cover in two coats. BE SURE TO WEAR THICK RUBBER GLOVES! This stuff does not come of the skin easily. Turns out that cooking oil (PAM etc..) helps to remove it from skin if you get some on you. Trust me, just wear gloves and save yourself the headache. The thin gloves in the kit are worthless and too thin and will tear or break on the steel edges, especially if you have dimpled perf plate.

So the POR-15 rust preventative coating is very tough! Watched a video on Jay Leno's garage about it and i can tell you this stuff created a hard non-porus coating and appears that it will not easily chip off or crack from dents, rock rubs or dings. You must use a top coat of paint over it for any areas that will be exposed to sunlight. Apparently, it breaks down from UV so for armor under you vehicle it should be fine. Also, READ THE DIRECTIONS, there is some pretty harmful stuff in the coating and if you plan to spray it, you will need a heavy paint style respirator, and no a dust mask over your face is not enough! The POR-15 is glossy black after it dries however, you can then apply any color top coat that you like.

Another alternative coating that appears to be highly recommended on some other old car forums is called "master series silver primer:MasterSeries Silver Primer/Sealer-1 Quart-$37.00 - MasterSeries Coatings I have not used this product but came across it after I had purchased the POR-15. It's much cheaper than POR-15 and looks like another good option.

Hope this info will help some other looking to protect their sliders and other armor.

I will post some pics of the sliders after the POR-15 was applied and after I put on the final top coat. I will also post a followup after a few good hits on the sliders and let you know how it's holding up.

[CS223]

I used the Rustoleum rattle can bed liner product. Looked at a number of products and there are plenty out there that are superior but in the end I wanted something that was readily available, that had some texture and would be easy to touchup in the future. The two part paint products are a pain if you just need to touch up a scrape. It was spec'd for running board applications and could be applied to bare or painted metal. I sandblasted my sliders & applied it directly. I'm happy with how they came out.

[ToyoTodd]

Originally Posted by ToyoTodd

...I will post some pics of the sliders after the POR-15 was applied and after I put on the final top coat. I will also post a followup after a few good hits on the sliders and let you know how it's holding up.

Here are some pics of the sliders after applying POR. I will post more after the top coat is finished. I should only have to worry about touch up on the top coat for any repairs as the undercoat is very hard and won’t scratch, flake, or chip. My finish is had a little texture due to some of the foam roller coming off in the process. I am not too worried about it but if you want it smooth I suggest using a brush to apply it.

Here is the Leno Garage vid I referenced in the earlier post skip to about 1 minute in...https://youtu.be/OMxCWNUHNoU

[rebeckataylor]

Originally Posted by ToyoTodd

Here are some pics of the sliders after applying POR. I will post more after the top coat is finished. I should only have to worry about touch up on the top coat for any repairs as the undercoat is very hard and won’t scratch, flake, or chip. My finish is had a little texture due to some of the foam roller coming off in the process. I am not too worried about it but if you want it smooth I suggest using a brush to apply it.

I have some SSO sliders I'm getting ready to put on and had a few questions: After over a year how would you say the coating method you took is holding up?
Have you had any issues with the POR15 under the paint?
I've heard POR15 doesn't do well in sunlight left to its own devices but I've also heard painting over it should protect the coating. I have worked with this coating in the past but I painted the under carriage/floor board of my '66 Mustang with it so sunlight is a non issue there. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[ToyoTodd]

Originally Posted by rebeckataylor

I have some SSO sliders I'm getting ready to put on and had a few questions: After over a year how would you say the coating method you took is holding up?
Have you had any issues with the POR15 under the paint?
I've heard POR15 doesn't do well in sunlight left to its own devices but I've also heard painting over it should protect the coating. I have worked with this coating in the past but I painted the under carriage/floor board of my '66 Mustang with it so sunlight is a non issue there. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the very, very late reply. The POR15 coating is holding up great! Still looks like it did when I was done. I've driven over some good rocky edges and wheel ruts and the bottom of the sliders it still perfect with a few rub marks and scrapes but no exposed metal where it chipped or damaged the finish. Still very happy with the results.