Has anyone ever painted their factory step bars that came with the chrome package? I want to trim down on some of the chrome on my truck but don't necessarily want to make the investment in all new steps. I am considering a flat black or maybe a rubberized coating.

 

You can plastidip them to try it out. If you paint them, you have to rip ALL of the chrome off. You can get cheap new sets for $200, so that may actually end up being more cost effective when factoring in your money AND your time.

 

Yeah I had considered the plastidip. I havent ever played with it, does it peel right off if you don't like it?

 

Sure does! I painted my mirror caps with it just to see how I liked it, but it looked good enough with the clear that I left it. I will be painting them if I end up keeping them instead of getting tow mirrors.

Anyway, I purposefully didn't mask a portion of one mirror off to test how easy it was to take off and it's like peeling plastic wrap off of food you put in the fridge; slightly difficult to get it started, but comes right off as soon as you get it going/torn a little bit. One thing to note though, is that it only comes off when it has multiple coats. If it's super thin and sparse like overspray, it acts almost like paint cause the particles aren't stuck together, just sitting there independently, so I'd still mask off things you don't want it on aka remove the steps from the truck first.

 

I painted mine with rustoleum truck liner in a aerosol can. I took them off the truck, sanded, (masked off the foot plastic,PITA to get off), and shot them with some primer and the liner spray. it's all opinion on what and how you want it. I could've of used the quart size and rolled it with a roller for a more thicker application. So far it's held up to rain,mud, and some 4 Wheeling with rocks.

 

did you dry sand or wet sand them? what grit paper?

 

wet sanded with 60-100 if I can recall and then primed it pretty heavy

 

I would use bedliner as well. Much durable than plastidip and will give a nice textured finish.

 

Yeah, I would never suggest plastidip for permanent use, especially in a high traffic/contact area like side steps. But it's perfect for temporary

 

Powdercoat them, it will be a more consistent layering and will last forever.