Painting rock sliders?

[KeithMaine]

This is a perfect application for hot dip galvanizing. The zinc will protect the steel even if scratched or badly worn, doesn't flake or fade. It is a hard finish to warm up to aesthetically. It can be painted however. We old Series Land Rover guys have a bias for the galvy.

 

[Wizzard]

Look for a local powder coater as you may be surprised how reasonably priced it may be. After touching up with a rattle can will do the trick.

Agreed. A good powder coating facility will also offer zinc coating to put down as a base layer before they powdercoat, the zinc coat will really help with corrosion protection especially should you scratch the powder. Quality outdoor vehicle entry gates are also done this way (zinc + powder), painted steel outdoors starts to have rust runs after a short time.

 

[Davemon]

Talked to a local guy who came highly recommended today. He's gonna do it for $125/pair. I'm returning the Rustoleum. I think it's the right choice. I like messing around with my 4runner, but I just don't have time right now for painting jobs really. I have a BOSS lift I still have to install!

 

[Marcocopuffs]

My sliders came in! Does anyone have any tips for going the rustoleum route? How should I prep the sliders...? How many cans?

 

[Intruder]

My sliders came in! Does anyone have any tips for going the rustoleum route? How should I prep the sliders...? How many cans?

Clean them up with some sort of grease and wax remover like the Duplicolor stuff, scuff them up, use a few thin coats of self-etching primer, then paint them. How many cans is going to depend on how thick you want it. You'll have time between coats to run out and get more if you need it, but I'd get 4-6 rattle cans to start. If you have extra cans when you're done just keep them for touch-ups or when you have to redo them.

 

[Mistaken]

+1 for powder. :cheer2:

 

[High_Country]

I would at least price powder coating in your area. I was planning on coating mine myself and found out that powder coating a pair of sliders cost about $60. After you figure in the cost of materials, your time, and the ultimate durability of the product powder coating wins out for me. Also, they have this cool option of a 'granulated' or textured powder coat that looks pretty good - not slick and shiny.

 

[swapmeet]

Short answer... Rattle Can.

Ridiculously long answer....

Powder peels off. It just doesn't bite like paint. Thats because its a powder "Coating" its a plastic coating. Also the metal can rust under the coating. And it will. Trust me.

Any metal that has mill scale (very hard dark layer) on it will be much more difficult to prep. I used a dozen 80 grit sanding pads on my DA for my skid plates. The sliders were better.

If you have mill scale to deal with, 50-80 grit. The amount of work to remove the mill scale isn't worth the effort unless you have a sandblaster at your disposal.

If its true bare metal, 120 grit will leave sanding marks in it. (thats how you tell the difference)

So you want to clean it first, get the oil off the metal before sanding. Cause if you sand first, you're grinding the oil into the grooves you make, which is harder to clean off.

So Thinner/ Cleaner/ Degreaser first. Clean it really good.
Then sand however you plan on sanding (follow the reccomendations of your paint)
Clean it again when you're done.
Next I used Rustoleum Self etching primer on top of the sanded metal. 2-3 coats.
Once dry scuff the self etch with 320 lightly. You don't want to remove it, just scuff it.
I wipe it off with a damp cloth, to remove the dust.
Then paint with whatever you want paint it with. I used Rustoleum Professional Gloss Black.

One thing I don't understand with the bedliner crowd... If your slider has any texture, its going to hold dirt and mud etc. I guess if your rig is strictly a trail toy I get it, but I daily my truck and I don't want mud and stuff on my pants getting in and out.

Just food for thought.

FWIW, I spent hours and hours reading forums and threads looking for info on coating sliders and skids. The general response is just paint them. And don't powdercoat anything thats going to get drug on rocks.

IMO, the best coating is POR15, but if you buy the prep + coating + top coat etc, the cost gets pretty steep. The prep and dry time is kind of a PITA too. I think paint does just as good of a job on something that's going to get beat up... cause I plan on beating my sliders up.

 

[reidbailey]

Powder Coating

My sliders came in! Does anyone have any tips for going the rustoleum route? How should I prep the sliders...? How many cans?

I just had a set powder coated and think they came out great in textured black.

If you decide to go that route, and want their name, let me know.

 

[chiz45]

I was worried about chipping during transit, so i chose uncoated, but Budbuilt packed mine well. The box was intact, with no damage. I had the sliders powdercoated locally, which ended up costing me $50 more than Budbuilt was charging.

OP, I know this doesn't apply to you as you got OPOR's, but is relevant for future BB buyers.

I just had a set powder coated and think they came out great in textured black.

If you decide to go that route, and want their name, let me know.

reidbailey, I had mine textured as well, and like the grip. The only warning I would give over smooth finish is watch the back of your pants!

 

[rasber3140]

Is there something to treat bare sliders with to protect them while maintaining the bare metal look?

 

[themuffinman619]

Short answer... Rattle Can.

Ridiculously long answer....

Powder peels off. It just doesn't bite like paint. Thats because its a powder "Coating" its a plastic coating. Also the metal can rust under the coating. And it will. Trust me.

Any metal that has mill scale (very hard dark layer) on it will be much more difficult to prep. I used a dozen 80 grit sanding pads on my DA for my skid plates. The sliders were better.

If you have mill scale to deal with, 50-80 grit. The amount of work to remove the mill scale isn't worth the effort unless you have a sandblaster at your disposal.

If its true bare metal, 120 grit will leave sanding marks in it. (thats how you tell the difference)

So you want to clean it first, get the oil off the metal before sanding. Cause if you sand first, you're grinding the oil into the grooves you make, which is harder to clean off.

So Thinner/ Cleaner/ Degreaser first. Clean it really good.
Then sand however you plan on sanding (follow the reccomendations of your paint)
Clean it again when you're done.
Next I used Rustoleum Self etching primer on top of the sanded metal. 2-3 coats.
Once dry scuff the self etch with 320 lightly. You don't want to remove it, just scuff it.
I wipe it off with a damp cloth, to remove the dust.
Then paint with whatever you want paint it with. I used Rustoleum Professional Gloss Black.

One thing I don't understand with the bedliner crowd... If your slider has any texture, its going to hold dirt and mud etc. I guess if your rig is strictly a trail toy I get it, but I daily my truck and I don't want mud and stuff on my pants getting in and out.

Just food for thought.

FWIW, I spent hours and hours reading forums and threads looking for info on coating sliders and skids. The general response is just paint them. And don't powdercoat anything thats going to get drug on rocks.

IMO, the best coating is POR15, but if you buy the prep + coating + top coat etc, the cost gets pretty steep. The prep and dry time is kind of a PITA too. I think paint does just as good of a job on something that's going to get beat up... cause I plan on beating my sliders up.

Sounds legit. I got some sliders coming in and I'll give this method a shot.

 

[wfo9]

Is there something to treat bare sliders with to protect them while maintaining the bare metal look?

There are powder coats that look like bare metal.... you could also clear coat, but doubt it would hold up all that well.

 

[Scharfschütze]

I went OPOR as well and painted them myself. Prep is key, sand and clean them REALLY WELL first, I used 97% alcohol from Walgreens in a spray bottle. Then prime and paint.

I used Rustoleum self etching primer and Rustoleum textured matte black paint. The texture is very subtle but should wear well and touch up easily. I might put texture strips on my steps eventually if they start showing premature wear. 1 month in, looks great! I agree on bedliner being a sponge for mud. I dont think its well suited to sliders. A buddy of mine with a Tacoma also is having peeling issues 6mo into a $400 rhinoliner job on his sliders...not cool!

 

[jjames34]

Short answer... Rattle Can.

Ridiculously long answer....

Powder peels off. It just doesn't bite like paint. Thats because its a powder "Coating" its a plastic coating. Also the metal can rust under the coating. And it will. Trust me.

Any metal that has mill scale (very hard dark layer) on it will be much more difficult to prep. I used a dozen 80 grit sanding pads on my DA for my skid plates. The sliders were better.

If you have mill scale to deal with, 50-80 grit. The amount of work to remove the mill scale isn't worth the effort unless you have a sandblaster at your disposal.

If its true bare metal, 120 grit will leave sanding marks in it. (thats how you tell the difference)

So you want to clean it first, get the oil off the metal before sanding. Cause if you sand first, you're grinding the oil into the grooves you make, which is harder to clean off.

So Thinner/ Cleaner/ Degreaser first. Clean it really good.
Then sand however you plan on sanding (follow the reccomendations of your paint)
Clean it again when you're done.
Next I used Rustoleum Self etching primer on top of the sanded metal. 2-3 coats.
Once dry scuff the self etch with 320 lightly. You don't want to remove it, just scuff it.
I wipe it off with a damp cloth, to remove the dust.
Then paint with whatever you want paint it with. I used Rustoleum Professional Gloss Black.

One thing I don't understand with the bedliner crowd... If your slider has any texture, its going to hold dirt and mud etc. I guess if your rig is strictly a trail toy I get it, but I daily my truck and I don't want mud and stuff on my pants getting in and out.

Just food for thought.

FWIW, I spent hours and hours reading forums and threads looking for info on coating sliders and skids. The general response is just paint them. And don't powdercoat anything thats going to get drug on rocks.

IMO, the best coating is POR15, but if you buy the prep + coating + top coat etc, the cost gets pretty steep. The prep and dry time is kind of a PITA too. I think paint does just as good of a job on something that's going to get beat up... cause I plan on beating my sliders up.

Now that it's been a few years do you still recommend this method? My sliders just came in. I had to work through some decent gouges from the shipping but I'm ready to get them painted up.

 

[MikeOU]

I'm spending my Saturday painting my C4 sliders. Started this morning and taking a break...

Started with wiping everything down with acetone. Removes any oil, grease, stickiness from tape/shipping.

Next hit with some light sanding to clean up any burrs and provide just a little texture to the bare metal.

Just applied 2 coats of Rust-o-leum Self Etching Primer. Should be dry by the time I send this!

Going to hit them this afternoon with several coats of Rust-o-leum automotive matte black.

I did get the step pads for the C4 sliders coated in Lin-ex. Get those back early next week.

 

[83Mule]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...nt.php?attachmentid=261704&stc=1&d=1501372807 Used Acetone and a million microfibres to wipe down then Rustoleum etching, gloss black Pro and clear.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Painting rock sliders

I picked up my Domello rock sliders from their shop in Riverside, CA but went with the bare metal thinking I was going to save money. The time it took me was worth far more than the cost of powder coating. I painted with a brush and a quart can of Rustoleum primer and Rustoleum enamel paint. I have some of the paint (1/2?) left over for touch up. Very little if any prep. I hung the sliders with rope from the garage rafters which allowed me to paint all sides with every coat. I finished with a can of Rustoleum spray paint for a glossy finish, but I actually preferred the hand painted look before the spray paint application. It took a while but two years later it's holding up very well.

 

[ToyoTodd]

Similar on another thread...

I did a similar topic write up over here on using POR-15 on my sliders: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/203141-diy-rock-slider-paint-coatings.html

 

[CS223]

I did the rattle can bed liner, details & pics can be found in the link below. Biggest issue is the prep work, you can't simply wipe them down and spray them. They need to be sanded or sandblasted to get the mill coatings off. There is no easy way out of the prep work. You might find a local monument company or sandblasting company that will do them cheaply for you. Powder coater here wanted more than I was willing to pay.


http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/245610-sso-southern-style-offroad-slider-review.html