Powdercoating nerf bar?
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From: Texas
Powdercoating nerf bar?
Anyone have an idea how much it would cost to powdercoat in black the oval chrome step bar on a Supercrew? btw, Do the plastic foot steps on the chrome step bar pop off? If so, anyone got some tips how to safely get them off?
I originally painted mine with some spray paint, and it's holding up pretty well, but I'd like to get a more permanent finish even if it meant spending a little extra..
I originally painted mine with some spray paint, and it's holding up pretty well, but I'd like to get a more permanent finish even if it meant spending a little extra..
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From: Rosenberg/Baytown TX
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Not sure on the step bars but I've heard that some are a pain to get off and the plastic breaks. I have the westin nerf bars made from 3" stainless tubing. The plastic step pads came off fairly easily by hand, I didn't do anything special, just did some pulling. As far as powdercoating, if you find a shop, ask them if it's cheaper if you take off the old paint yourself so all they have to do if prep the bare metal and then powdercoat it. I'm a welder for the navy and almost everything I weld ends up being powdercoated. But if the project has old powdercoat or paint or rust, it has to be put in a burn oven or undergo a media blast process (like sandblasting) which is time consuming. So you might be able to save whatever shop you choose some time and, therefore, save you some money if it would be cheaper to prep your nerfs yourself. Take off the old paint with a 4" grinder and a flapper wheel (sanding pad). But if the difference in price is minimal, I would have a shop do the whole thing. I just know from experience in dealing with the powdercoat shop at work that prepping an already painted project for powdercoat takes more time than the powdercoat itself. Call around for a reputable shop too cuz a bad powdercoat job looks like crap and is hard to fix.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Clemson, SC
I bumped the other thread that Jake posted.
edit - duh didn't see when op was posted
To give you an idea about the powdercoating...our local guy quoted me $60 to do both my exhaust tips (4x18). I'd expect roughly $200 for the steps.
edit-
edit - duh didn't see when op was posted
To give you an idea about the powdercoating...our local guy quoted me $60 to do both my exhaust tips (4x18). I'd expect roughly $200 for the steps.
edit-
Heyas.. yea.. I did figure how to remove everything, but it's definately going to take some patience. It's a 2-step process, and once you figure out how it works, it's really not that bad. My bar is only slightly different from yours, being that I had a supercrew step bar with 4 pads, but it should be all the same underneath. You're going to need a couple screwdrivers, maybe some of those small micro screwdrivers, or just about whatever tools you have laying around the house.
I used a sturdy flathead screwdriver to remove the step pads. You can be kinda rough here, but what you have to do is pry in between the bar/step and get to the retaining clip. You have to pry on top of the clip and pull/push down to detach the clip from the pad. Do this on both sides. I found it easiest to work from the outsides, towards the middle. Like I said, you can be kinda rough here, you shouldn't have to worry about breaking the clips in this step, and the step pad itself is pretty tough, nothing to break there.
Here's a pic of what it looks like underneath the step pad.. look closely at the clips, and you might understand how they are attached to the step pad.
After you manage to get the step pads off, now you're going to have a few one-way clips to pry out. Obviously, you can't just pull them right out, so you're going to need to get something really small and push in on both sides. Here's where I used a micro screwdriver set I had laying around, but whatever you can manage to.
I used a sturdy flathead screwdriver to remove the step pads. You can be kinda rough here, but what you have to do is pry in between the bar/step and get to the retaining clip. You have to pry on top of the clip and pull/push down to detach the clip from the pad. Do this on both sides. I found it easiest to work from the outsides, towards the middle. Like I said, you can be kinda rough here, you shouldn't have to worry about breaking the clips in this step, and the step pad itself is pretty tough, nothing to break there.
Here's a pic of what it looks like underneath the step pad.. look closely at the clips, and you might understand how they are attached to the step pad.
After you manage to get the step pads off, now you're going to have a few one-way clips to pry out. Obviously, you can't just pull them right out, so you're going to need to get something really small and push in on both sides. Here's where I used a micro screwdriver set I had laying around, but whatever you can manage to.
Last edited by mblouir; Dec 7, 2009 at 11:34 PM.
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From: Clemson, SC
Even though I broke a tab on each rail they don't stick up that much. I put just a touch of glue on each one where the tab broke and they are just fine.