Protecting powder coat finish - Toyota 4Runner Forum

silverado1957 · 09-24-2020, 12:32 PM

For those of you that have roof racks that are powder coated either at manufacturer or you had it done...what are you using to protect the finish from fading and/or oxidizing over time..? I know chips can become an issue and the plating comes off, which isn't really what I'm trying to understand.

There are black trim products, but they are usually for plastics not metal...it may not matter but I wanna ensure I don't miss anything that folks are using that works and you're happy with.

Make sense..? Hope so....

fkheath · 09-24-2020, 01:21 PM

Powder coat is just a paint that is baked on in an oven. You should be able to care for it like any other automotive paint. It is normally used on steel but can be applied to aluminum as well. A better way to go would be anodize, but that can only be put on aluminum. It is a chemical process that is actually part of the metal, not a coating. For example, the TRD Pro roof rack is anodize, not paint. Anodize can also get scratched or dinged unless it is what is called hard anodize which is very tough. To cover up chips in anodize or powder coat, I use a black permanent marker sharpie pen.

NorthPark · 09-24-2020, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkheath

Powder coat is just a paint that is baked on in an oven. You should be able to care for it like any other automotive paint. It is normally used on steel but can be applied to aluminum as well. A better way to go would be anodize, but that can only be put on aluminum. It is a chemical process that is actually part of the metal, not a coating. For example, the TRD Pro roof rack is anodize, not paint. Anodize can also get scratched or dinged unless it is what is called hard anodize which is very tough. To cover up chips in anodize or powder coat, I use a black permanent marker sharpie pen.

Check out Birchwood Casey Super Black - there are a few other gun smithing products out there. It's meant to cover up scratches in hard anodizing

Amazon.com : Birchwood Casey Super Black Touch-Up Pen, Flat : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : BW Casey Aluminum Black Touch-Up 3 Oz : Hunting Cleaning And Maintenance Products : Sports & Outdoors