Powdercoat Roof Rails?

[Lenny33]

I am removing my roof rails to black them out today and I worry that painting will not be durable enough to stand up to all the abuse a rack sees. So my question is whether anybody has decided to just go and have the rails powder coated while they are off the truck?
I am not sure what kind of costs I will be looking at, but this seems like
a better option to me.

 

[Lenny33]

I found a place locally that will do them pretty cheap.
I will let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[STX4Runner]

That's interesting. Don't the roof rails have plastic pieces that would melt in the powdercoating process?

 

[FoxPhoto]

Plasti dip is the popular choice I have seen. Post some pix after you get it done!

 

[Lenny33]

Once you take the end caps off the roof rails, you are left with the metal rail and some plastic pieces on the end that bolt down into the roof. Once you unbolt from the roof, there is still some plastic left, but that comes off with a couple more bolts. Pretty easy to get down to just two metal rails.

I was concerned that both the Plastidip and painting might not be durable enough to stand up to tie downs, ratchet straps and bungee cords so....
Checked around and found that I could powder coat these rails relatively cheap.

I will show pics and give a review of the final product.

 

[Lenny33]

I am not sure if these cell phone pics will show enough detail, but I am very happy with the results of the powdercoat black out of the roof rails.

 

[Lenny33]

Another pic...

 

[bruindave]

nice! thanks for the pics. Could you take a close up pic of the rails? It seems like some parts were different shades of black. Also, how much did it cost you?

 

[Lenny33]

The "caps" on the end were done with Krylon and a clear coat and they are not quite the same as the rails. I am giving myself a few days to see if I want to redo them or not. If you are seeing any discoloration on the rails, it is just smudges and fingerprints. They turned out great.
The rails cost $90 to clear coat.

 

[Jtwo]

Looks good, think you went the right direction in powder coating them. I rattle canned my sliders but ended up taking them off to get them PC'd. I was getting tired of retouching them.....Not that I won't have to do that anyway but it seemed like everytime I washed my T4R I'd have to touch them up. Haven't had to do that with them being PC'd....yet.

 

[osugsxr]

The "caps" on the end were done with Krylon and a clear coat and they are not quite the same as the rails. I am giving myself a few days to see if I want to redo them or not. If you are seeing any discoloration on the rails, it is just smudges and fingerprints. They turned out great.
The rails cost $90 to clear coat.

How has the powder coated rails been holding up? End caps too ?
I was quoted $125 pc, $350 paint

 

[rwrobs777]

I got rid of my factory racks and went with Baja Racks...made 2 crossbars out of steel tubing and stainless t fittings and had everything powder coated for $80.00 The rack powder coating is VERY durable...Had to remove the rack powder coating with a stiff wire wheel to install those t- fittings !!

 

[r32]

I've been debating painting my rails as well. They need protection. Over time, salt water drip from my surfboards has done what you'd expect to the top of my roof and my rails. The all black looks nice on yours.

 

[osugsxr]

I don't plan on using the roof rack nor do I like the a complete basket style roof rack. I'm leaning towards just painting them a matte color to match the wheels. Although the the black paint could be good as well to match the body. As for the powder coating it'll be two different colors slightly end caps and rails.:fish:

 

[JRod0981]

I don't plan on using the roof rack nor do I like the a complete basket style roof rack. I'm leaning towards just painting them a matte color to match the wheels. Although the the black paint could be good as well to match the body. As for the powder coating it'll be two different colors slightly end caps and rails.:fish:

What sheen did you end up with? I'm going to powder coat my rails in the next few weeks while I'm not driving at all and can't decide on sheen. Matte to match the trd wheels or if they should have a slight gloss to them. I'm also doing the skid plate at the same time. Decisions, decisions....

 

[ride16734]

I Wrapped mine with black matt finish from vvivid vinyl. They have sample size that is perfect for roof rack. One roll did the job for both sides at like 12 bucks. it's been on for 2years and looks perfect still.

XPO Black Matte Vinyl Wrap – The VViViD Shop

 

[Blue 4ever Runner]

I've been bouncing all over the place on this. At first I was going to paint them but figured they'd scratch too easily. I've never wrapped anything but the above post is pretty good in that if I go that way and mess up it's only $12. I also thought about spraying them with bed liner. Powder coating is another option but the priciest one. I'm probably going to try the wrap and see how I do with that.

 

[JRod0981]

I Wrapped mine with black matt finish from vvivid vinyl. They have sample size that is perfect for roof rack. One roll did the job for both sides at like 12 bucks. it's been on for 2years and looks perfect still.

XPO Black Matte Vinyl Wrap – The VViViD Shop

Nice. Thank you for posting this. I will check it out. How does the matte look with the plastic end caps once you have done some trim shine with it? I use a fairly OEM look to the plastic dressing and kind of want the rails to match in sheen. Totally overthinking this probably but hey, it’s a new ride for me.

 

[ride16734]

I've been bouncing all over the place on this. At first I was going to paint them but figured they'd scratch too easily. I've never wrapped anything but the above post is pretty good in that if I go that way and mess up it's only $12. I also thought about spraying them with bed liner. Powder coating is another option but the priciest one. I'm probably going to try the wrap and see how I do with that.

It was my first time wrapping also, but found not very hard to do. You just have to run razor blade on the inside of the bar where crossbars go.

 

[ride16734]

Nice. Thank you for posting this. I will check it out. How does the matte look with the plastic end caps once you have done some trim shine with it? I use a fairly OEM look to the plastic dressing and kind of want the rails to match in sheen. Totally overthinking this probably but hey, it’s a new ride for me.

Vinyl I used was a perfect match. Link above is the one I purchased. If you have a question or a concern let me know. My friend used Rvinyl and his didn't look right so he ended up with vvivid vinyl. You just have to split the sample size in half so you get 2 6"x5ft strip.