Powdercoat vs. Rattlecan offroad

[TheArkMaster]

Which is better for wheeling purposes? Pros? Cons?

Personally i think powdercoating will be better for anything except sliders. I ask because I just spray painted my sliders, and I'm about to paint my front bumper. I can't decide which will be better for my front bumper, and eventually my rear bumper when i get it. What do you think?

 

[BigBluePile]

All depends on your budget.

Everything rusts depending on the climate. You can't fix powdercoating. You can respray your rattlecan parts at any time though

 

[4Running Daily]

I wouldn't powder coat anything if you're going to use it for what it's intended for. You'll scrape wheels easily, sliders easily, front bumper occasionally, and rear bumper rarely.

 

[TheArkMaster]

Thats what I was thinking. Now the more pressing issue. Gloss black or Matte black? :girl:

 

[Doozi]

I'm powder-coating my bumpers. Powder-coat is significantly more durable than even professional liquid paint and the shop I'm using sells color-matched rattle cans for touch-ups for when I do drag something across the rocks. They'll sandblast and phosphate-dip everything before powder-coating which improves adhesion and durability... much better prep than I'm currently setup to do. I'll also have my sliders powder-coated because the design I chose has a lot of top-side, visible surface and it'll hold up to foot traffic a lot better. I feel that my 4Runner is still a little too "pretty" for a lot of rattle-can action, but I'm not going to be upset if I ding up my bumpers doing what I'm building the 4Runner to do.

And... matte black! I think that it's easier to get a "smooth" coat.

 

[Slow_T4R]

On my addicted front bumper and sliders I used the rustoleum (sp) bedliner in a can. I personally think it's awesome, you get a little texture (which is nice on sliders for grip) and it's pretty tough. The best part is everytime I knock some off I just spray a little bit for a touch up and it's good as new.

 

[KidVermicious]

All depends on your budget.

Everything rusts depending on the climate. You can't fix powdercoating. You can respray your rattlecan parts at any time though

BBP is right, as usual.

I'd use matte, it doesn't show scratches as well.

 

[KidVermicious]

On my addicted front bumper and sliders I used the rustoleum (sp) bedliner in a can. I personally think it's awesome, you get a little texture (which is nice on sliders for grip)

That is not at all nice when you step out of your truck and slide your calf lengthwise down your nice textured sliders.

 

[Slow_T4R]

That is not at all nice when you step out of your truck and slide your calf lengthwise down your nice textured sliders.

Lol. It's not sand paper brochacho. Maybe I should take a pic to show the detail. There are no rough edges or anything like that. It's just a nice texture.

Here's what it looks like so people can stop saying don't bedline it!

 

[nevada]

BBP is right, as usual.

I'd use matte, it doesn't show scratches as well.

agreed. matte is my choice as well. mostly because I don't like SHINY tho. its just doesn't look good.

I intentionally got my bumper in bare metal, I didn't want it PC'd. with paint, I can easily sand off the paint if I need to make adjustments(weld) and then repaint it.

not so easy with PC.

 

[sam24th]

That is not at all nice when you step out of your truck and slide your calf lengthwise down your nice textured sliders.

This right here.... I regret ever putting that stupid grip tape on my sliders. Every time I get out of my truck with shorts, I get some pretty nice scratches on my calf and it sucks.

 

[TheArkMaster]

I need to touch up my sliders i just painted so i'll sand em a little, throw a layer of primer, and finish with matte black. Eventually mayble i'll bedline everything, but not until its just a wheeler, which will hopefully be within the year.

 

[JWaldz]

PC...



cus I'm a lazy ass who hates painting


But seriously, PC will last longer than spray paint. This day and age, you can damn near match any color pc with spray paint. My sliders are PC'd and when they get scraped up I break out the grinder and spray paint over. Who cares if it's not an exact match, it's close enough considering what you're doing to it in the first place.... Taking it offroad to get scratched up some more. If I had to do it over, I would have painted my sliders with spray paint. I just happened to get a good deal on the sliders w/ pc. My front and rear bumper though, PC all the way.

 

[adam2562]

well i used a cpl cans of bedliner spray and i've got rust seeping thru edges.. i sanded the metal first and cleaned it with acetone, then sprayed the bedliner spray... i'm gonna have to get it blasted off soon and powder coating it professionally should get it done right.. anybody in the DMV area have a powder coating hookup?

 

[jstim]

Want to resurrect this thread to see if there are any new opinions out there?

 

[TheArkMaster]

Want to resurrect this thread to see if there are any new opinions out there?

Hey man. Sorry for the late reply. I've been out of the 4runner world for a while. That being said, I just picked another up.

To address your question, my knowledge base has grown extensively since I posted this thread as a "I don't know anything about anything mechanic" person. I now know some stuff about anything. Here's my $.02:

It depends on your purpose. If you're building a rig that doesn't see rocks and stays on pavement or dirt roads, powder coating will definitely look more clean and professional, last longer, and overall have a higher quality finish, but it comes with a price tag.

If you're going to see any rocks, I see no point in powder coating. It's just going to get scratched up and you'll have to touch it up with spray paint anyways. For $50, you can buy more than enough paint, primer, sand paper, etc, and it's easier and less noticeable to touch up.

My consensus: If you're wheeling it, spray paint. If you're not, and and you just want it to look good, PC would be what I would do.

Hope this helps!

 

[sn0wrunner]

I'm the opposite. I wheel my 3rd gen a lot and I am so glad I powdercoated my front bumper. I've had buddies that have just rattle canned the front bumper and you can see a chip from just about every little rock that hits it. If you're on this forum you obviously care a little bit about the appearance of your 4runner. I want mine to look good even though I take it offroad. I'll be the first to admit that I'm lazy. I don't want to have to touch up and rattle can my front bumper once a month or more often because of little rock chips. It might not bother some people, but it would drive me nuts having the paint chipped as bad as I've seen rattle can paint on front bumpers. I'm not saying that powdercoating won't chip, because it obviously can depending on how big the rock is, but it will certainly hold up better to small pebbles hitting it on the highway. And let's be honest, as much as people say they "off road" their 4runner, these are street vehicles. Even for someone that offroads frequently, if you look at their mileage driven on road vs. offroad they're on road like 98% of the time. After all you have to drive on road to get to the trail right? There aren't a whole lot of people out there towing their 3rd gens to the trail head. If it's a tube buggy, by all means, rattle can everywhere. I powder coated both bumpers, and rattle can skids and sliders, and I'm quite happy with that. Usually touch up the skids and sliders once a year (once again, I'm lazy :biggrin1.

 

[TheArkMaster]

I'm the opposite. I wheel my 3rd gen a lot and I am so glad I powdercoated my front bumper. I've had buddies that have just rattle canned the front bumper and you can see a chip from just about every little rock that hits it. If you're on this forum you obviously care a little bit about the appearance of your 4runner. I want mine to look good even though I take it offroad. I'll be the first to admit that I'm lazy. I don't want to have to touch up and rattle can my front bumper once a month or more often because of little rock chips. It might not bother some people, but it would drive me nuts having the paint chipped as bad as I've seen rattle can paint on front bumpers. I'm not saying that powdercoating won't chip, because it obviously can depending on how big the rock is, but it will certainly hold up better to small pebbles hitting it on the highway. And let's be honest, as much as people say they "off road" their 4runner, these are street vehicles. Even for someone that offroads frequently, if you look at their mileage driven on road vs. offroad they're on road like 98% of the time. After all you have to drive on road to get to the trail right? There aren't a whole lot of people out there towing their 3rd gens to the trail head. If it's a tube buggy, by all means, rattle can everywhere. I powder coated both bumpers, and rattle can skids and sliders, and I'm quite happy with that. Usually touch up the skids and sliders once a year (once again, I'm lazy :biggrin1.

Good point! Now that I think about it, it wasn't abnormal for me to treat my last runner like a tube buggy. I don't think bedliner would have even held up to smashing(slowly, but lots of metal on rock action) into big rocks. I agree though. The owner's willingness to touch it up definitely plays a roll in it as well.

 

[manesfesto]

I have been on the fence for my bumpers and sliders as well. I think it you do intend to use them the way there designed, I would just stick to rattle can.

You will destroy good powdercoat with rocks and probably trees.

 

[Elan_]

I say you powder coat everything you can. Good powder coating is very durable and you can touch it up. Any consumer paint shopt (Sherwin, etc.) can make color matched spray cans.

Although I have a work relationship with a powder coater and have access to free black coating or free color coating if I buy the colored powder so I might be biased. If I had to pay full price I think I might still go with powder coat everything but it would be a harder decision.