The step bars on my '99 are rusting at the welds and where the plastic ends meet the metal. I'm thinking of pulling them this summer and having them sand-blasted and powder-coated. Any idea what I might be looking at for cost?

Alternately, how do you folks think a few coats of good 'ol satin black Rustoleum would hold up instead?

Andy

 

I was wondering the same thing---my '02 XLT has some rust spots on the black tubes as well. I was thinking about taking them up the road to a sandblasting place and having them cleaned up. I would like to know what my best course of action is.

Tim C.

 

Have you guys considered spraying them with a spray on bedliner? I would do that before powdercoating.

 

From what I'm reading the cost is determined by how many coats of powder coating you would want.

Powder Coating is a dry finishing process, using finely ground particles of pigment and resin which are electro statically charged and sprayed onto a part to be coated. The parts to be coated are electrically grounded so that the charged powder particles projected at them adhere to the parts and are held there until melted and fused into a smooth coating in the curing oven. The result is a uniform, durable, high quality finish that is also environmentally friendly.

Nerf Bars, Pr. (plastic step inserts must be removed by customer)

One coat--105.00-210.00 ** two coats--147.00-295.00

http://www.eastcoastpowdercoat.net/auto_prices.htm

 

I can get a new set of Lund bars (extruded aluminum and powder-coated) for around $300!

By the time I'd have them sand-blasted, etc, I'd probably have that much in re-doing these.

Wow!

Andy

 

Yep---cheaper (and easier) to just buy new ones.

Tim C.

 

OhioLariat....I had the same thing with my 2000. Rust at the endcaps and in a few spots along the seams. This past weekend was nice so I hand sanded the rust, scuffed the rest of the tube lightly, wiped EVERYTHING down with a bit of Xylene and covered the entire tread insert with painters tape. I then applied Herculiner to the tube with a 1 inch brush. More of a "dabbing" action than a "brushing". At first I was a bit leary of doing it 'cause, if you've ever used it before, ya know there's no turning back! But it turned out great. It is soooooo easy to get great results with this stuff.

 

BTW..two coats took less than a quart. I bought it about a year ago to touch-up a bed on my previous pickup and I think it was about $30 then.

 

Sounds like an idea. Got any pics?

 

I put Line-X on my step bars....hopefully they'll last for years.

 

No pics yet, but just did it this past Sunday. I'll try to get some up on here soon....

 

That's a great idea---I will try that over spring break---did you wet sand or dry sand the tubes?

Tim C.

 

Well if they come out anything like Copenhagen's you are on to something there. Those look really nice. I'll keep this one in mind, for sure.

Great post THXtech.

 

I dry sanded them. Really didn't take that long either. Perhaps 30 min's each side to prep and another 30 min's each to apply each coat. Then about 2 - 3 hours to dry between coats. That stuff is brutal though. When they say to wear gloves, believe them. This is the second time I've used Herculiner and no matter how careful I am, I always get it on my hands. Usually when I've already taken the gloves off and see a spot to touch-up. Seem to think I can just grab that brush and hit it without any mess. But I'm always wrong. It takes about 2 or 3 days for it to wear off of your skin. I'll try to get pics up tonight after work.

 

I'm liking the liner idea, but am concerned about long-term appearance. My spray-in bedliner is looking a bit faded and dull.

Copenhagen, did you brush, roll, or spray?

Andy