HEy there, I had a set of factory nerf bars on my 99 F-150 that I just finished re-doing last night.

Long story short, the nerf bars on my truck were completely rotted through, missing both plastic end caps, and were an eyesore. Turns out that they were still pretty secure... lol

I found a set of factory running boards for 50 dollars, complete with brackets on craigslist, so it was a no-brainer for me.

The user running boards were complete, with end caps and pads, along with brackets. I looked under the truck, and even though the mounts are still solid, i didn't want to risk trying to remove the steps and the brackets complete from the truck. I removed just the step tubes, which took an impact and a torch. I took the brackets off of the newer step tubes, roughed them up good, and applied several layers of duplicolor bed liner out of a spray can. I used the bed liner, not the bed armor. The bed armor has more of a rubbery texture, and I was afraid it wouldn't hold up.
I sprayed the entire step tune, end caps, pad and all to get teh look i wanted. While they didn't turn out perfect, they are a HUGE difference when compared to my rotted out OEM tubes, and much more grippy. I'll get outside today and post up some pictures here for everyone to see as soon as I get off of work. Total cost was 50 for the steps, 20 for paint, and about 10 for misc supplies.