Rola rack paint

[Jaketino]

Has anyone ever painted their rack to make it more water resistant? I just bought one and started seeing the reviews of how water got into theirs and rusted it from the inside out. Living in the PNW, I don't want any chance of this happening. Any ideas?

 

[Buckles]

Havent painted mine, but I did use a silicone sealant on all holes and joints when I installed it. Havent had any problems with rust so far.

I also replaced all the factory hardware with SS hardware from home depot.

 

[GhostRing]

Mine did the ol' leak rusty water everywhere after the 1st rain with it installed...
I welded it into a 1-piece unit and no leaks since? Nice rack, but I have a feeling I
will end up making another before any real rot occurs.

 

[Jaketino]

Yeah, I don't know how to weld (although that would be preferable), but if I used silicone on all the holes and smoothed it out, then painted it, wouldn't it seem like that would work? I wanna paint it either way since it already has a few scratches (got it today...).

 

[Nyc-Runner]

Havent painted mine, but I did use a silicone sealant on all holes and joints when I installed it. Havent had any problems with rust so far.

I also replaced all the factory hardware with SS hardware from home depot.

+1 same thing I did except for the stainless steel screws which I will be doing soon,I can already see some surface rust on the screws it came with.

 

[Jaketino]

When I do paint it, would it be better to sand off the existing paint or to leave it as an extra layer of protection against rust?

 

[1fast_e]

I havent painted but used black gasket sealer on both my racks and have never had an issue with rust. The screws mounting the wind screen do need to be replaced though

Good luck

 

[having fun]

If you can't weld, you could fill and shape around the seems with jb weld. Leave the existing paint and put a few good coats of body filler primer on it before painting with a few coats of that also.