Powder coating opinions

[Jackie]

As many of you have seen, our old friend, Pete had fabbed up some steps for my stock Rubicon sliders a while back. I'm still really happy with the work, except for the fact that they rust so easily. I'd rather have them powder coated. I found a place in Golden that gave me an estimate of $175 for both. Here's their site: http://www.powdercoatingspecialties.com/.

Below is a picture as it sits now. Do you think the bid sounds about right??? I actually thought it would cost more than that.

[Chris]

I have no idea what powder coating costs Jackie but I'm not a fan myself. Sliders get dinged regardless of the finish and rattle can is easy to match and look good, not the case with powder coating. Just my opinion of course!

I rattle can my sliders every spring after a good wire brushing to remove the rust.

[Jackie]

Hmmm... The original sliders (powder coated) don't show any rust at all after 5 yrs. I don't ride as hard as most of the folks here, but they had more than a few good dings before the mod with no rust. I checked the Shrockworks site tonight and they want almost $500 for a similar set-up to what I have already, so I might consider going the cheaper route. I don't care about "dings". I just need to stop the rust and since I can't even get them off the Jeep by myself, the less often I have to do that, the better :p.

[Coonburger]

sand em down get some spray on bed liner boom awesomeness :)

[Jim]

Are you removing them and taking them in or are they removing them? They will be removed so they can be put into the oven.

Your price seems about right to me. The items will be removed, sand blasted, possibly chemically wiped down / cleaned, powder coated, baked in a large oven.

I'd lean towards Chris's thoughts of paint - but then if you did have it coated you could still touch up - just try to go for basic color (black?) so it'd be easy to somewhat match (I think the powder coat will be a glossy black but what do I know).

I had a small boat trailer powder coated in the early 90's. While it does not get scraped against rocks and was/is stored indoors for 95% of its life, rust is starting to pin-hole up through the coating.

[Jackie]

I thought about that... my husband poo-pooed it...:rolleyes:

I would def. choose bed liner over paint if it were only up to me. (Even though it's MY jeep - he thinks he gets to boss me around).:mad:

From what I have read, powder coating is the best (but most costly) way to go. Keep in mind, my hubby and I are not the mechanical kind who enjoy working on autos. We just want things done right (preferably the first time) so we don't have to do it again (in this case for at least a few years). We're realistic that nothing lasts forever.

About the price... Is $175 in line???

[Robert B]

i agree with Coon on this one but maybe just buy the roll on stuff and then you can touch up little spots with paint (rustoleum hammered black is what i use ) and then maybe every few years just redo the liner on the bottom if needed ....cause even with powder coating they are designed to get hit and the powder will still get taken off

and i have no idea what powdercoat costs minus its alot lol

[Robert B]

oh and powder coat is usually a matte finish or maybe a slight semi gloss but ive only seen matte

heres the big question Jackie how are they mounted to the jeep????

okie urs are bolt on (browsing old posts) so they can do it its just what you want to do really

[Jim]

$175 seems reasonable to me - a deal if they're removing / reinstalling them.

[Jackie]

Yeah. Pete welded to the original bolt-on sliders and added a few extra mounts (also bolted to the frame) for support. So each one should come off in one piece. I will have to (or rather, Britton will have to) take them off and re-install since I can't turn the wrench hard enough. Not worried about that part.

I think we might go the powder coating route and the do touch-up as needed after that. Again, I don't care about scratches and dings, but I gotta get that rust away, and keep it away best I can.

When I talked to the girl at the shop, I told her I did NOT want anything glossy. It must match the flat black of the original sliders. She assured me that was no problem.

[Fordguy77]

Somewhere on the forum Pete posted a link to several powder coating places, and one he did business with regular with some price listings. I'll see if i cant find them.

[Fordguy77]

Might check these guys out
Good Paint Llc 4404 East 60th Avenue, Commerce City, CO 80022-3138 http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/chrome-extension://lifbcibllhkdhoafpjfnlhfpfgnpldfl/numbers_button_skype_logo.png(303) 287-1594 ‎

They were found here
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?13743-Sand-Blasting-and-Powder-Coating

[Rob]

I do what Chris does: wire brush and rattle can. Looks fine and much cheaper.

[Robert B]

well since you dont wheel as hard in ur truck jackie powder coat might hold up just fine :D i have to redo my paint about every 3-4 months and have spots to grind clean and paint again almost everytime i wheel i am very hard on my truck lol

[Chris]

Does the price include prepping Jackie? I suspect not so be ready for the price to take a jump. Durability of a finish depends heavily on the preparation (all rust removed) then cleaning (all grit, oil, etc) via caustic wash, then coating and finally baking.

I suspect doing that kind of prep my rattle can jobs would last longer than they do. Just a FYI on the price really.

[Brad]

POR 15, can be painted right over rust if you wanted. That's what's on my sliders.

http://www.por15.com/

[Chris]

Yeah, that's a great product! I'll be using it myself when it gets warm. I found some in the garage I had forgotten I even had and tested it on one of my Brody Yard Art pieces to make sure it was still good. A long time ago iused POR 15 on the entire chassis of my '41 Plymouth, great stuff!

[Patrolman]

Agreed with Chris. Do you have to sand them first? If it includes blasting and powder coating, it is probably a decent price, but I have never powder coated before. I believe there is a place off I-25 near downtown called RoadRunner PowderCoating. Only place I know of, but again, haven't used them.

[Jackie]

The gal on the phone told me that they get them totally clean first before coating and baking. I'll be careful to double-check, but here's what they claim on their site:

Powder Coating Specialties provides the following services:


Powder coating for all metal substrates
Metal pretreatment
Iron Phosphate
In house sandblasting (aluminum oxide, glass)
sensitive substrate stripping (chemical)
Thermal stripping
High temperature ceramic application
Teflon application
Anti graffiti coatings
Thermal plastic
Pre coating preparation (masking)
Assembly
Packaging
Shipping
Pick/up and delivery

Quality Control Mechanism

ASTM D1737 Bend testing evaluates adhesion and flexibility on test panels.
ASTM D279 Impact Testing evaluates the adhesion properties of the finish when rapidly deformed.
ASTM D-3359 A&B Cross-Hatch tape adhesion testing is used to evaluate the bonding properties of the finish to the substrate.
Testing equipment is used to accurately measure finish color, thickness (ASTM D1186), gloss (ASTM D-523) and other properties that are critical to the coatings performance.
To ensure finishes are fully cured, Quality control technicians use the M.E.K. (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) resistance test method PCi #8.
Oven temperature calibration ECD curetrak documentation and certification

[CS79bronco]

Like Chris & Jeff said, prep is key. You can use a cheap wire wheel in a drill to remove the rust & old paint. Then clean with alcohol or other non-residue solvent, prime with good spray on, Rustoleum is good, & paint a couple or more coats. $30-40 for wire wheel, primer, & paint. It will last for a few years baring scrapes, easily touched up, & make you feel good about doing something on your rig yourself. I built a bumper & tire carrier last spring, cleaned, primed 3 coats, painted 3 coats. It's been scaped clean to the metal in places, to the primer in some more. No rust except where it is bare metal. The Rustoleum primer seems to be tougher than the paint.

[dr350jja]

Before you go through the trouble of taking the sliders off, I would talk to that place and find out exactly what is included with the price quote they gave you. There is a lot of prep work to do, before the powder coating. Just need to see if they do it, complete job. My sliders came powder coated, but I just sand them down and touch up with spray paint, after they get scrapped up on the rocks. I probably will never powder coat them again, only because it would be a never ending battle to keep the coating in good shape. MUCH easier (and less cost) to just rattle-can when needed. :2c:

[Jackie]

Thanks, Jim (and everyone else for your input). I will need to get Britton to sit down and read this thread. He is not into 4-wheeling (which is fine). I'm not hard-core (which is also fine), but you can see by the pic that the rust is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

YES - I will bang them up again. Yes - I will need to keep tending to them, but if they have a base-coat (of powder coating), won't it make for an easier upkeep? I wouldn't even care about the rust on the steps if I wasn't worried about it making it's way to the body.:eek:

[Jim]

if they have a base-coat (of powder coating), won't it make for an easier upkeep? I wouldn't even care about the rust on the steps if I wasn't worried about it making it's way to the body.

Powder coating can chip/flake off in large sheets, like some paint jobs can, if base prep is bad. I don't think it will make upkeep easier but could see it being more difficult. Your upkeep will be with scraping brush and spray paint can and not with more powdercoat (I'd assume).

I guess, the reason for this post, is that "if" your powdercoat, when whacked with a rock, comes off in flakes larger than where the rock dented the slider, you'd be in for more upkeep than less upkeep.

Perhaps others can answer this Q: Does a powdercoat flex much when the metal under it is bent? If it doesn't flex, and if you'll encounter "bending metal", you might find larger areas separating from the base metal than if you had a thin coating of paint.

[The StRanger]

Iv used roll on bed liner (Duplacolor). Very flexable & paintable
Ghosthunter's Skidplate are done that way
Once a year, Buy a roller & open a can.... done...

[Rick]

sand them down and touch up with spray paintAlot cheaper

[carpenle]

x3 on the por 15. It is great stuff and very durable. You can brush it on and it self levels, so it looks like it was sprayed. You can get mat finish or gloss. Will cost approx $50 a qt. and will def. be enough for your sliders.

[ExplorerTom]

Herculiner is another good choice. Just make sure to keep it away from your hootus:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18595&highlight=hootus

[pictaker]

Jackie, I do A LOT of powder coating on my rig and the "ONE" man I go see is LEE at Pristine Powder Coating. He is AMAZING. He is very fair and he is a one man show. He will blast them for you and powder coat them any color you'd like. I personally recommend Cardinal Paint and Powder BK-59. It's a matte black finish with a hint of texture. I had a few scrapes and dings last year on the under side and I just rattle canned some matte black texture under there and was good to go. Here is his contact info:

Lee
3768 South Lipan Street
Englewood, CO
(720) 488-5499

[pictaker]

P.S. $175 is a pretty good price for those sliders.

[Jackie]

Thanks, David. I'll give him a call after work today. :thumb:

[trailfiend]

If you call up Colorado Powder Coating Inc. he'll do all the prep for you.

But I'll recommend what Chris mentioned - spray paint :) I've used Rustoleum spray bedliner (sucks for bedliner, but really effective for this) in the past - the greatest thing IMO about it, is that for touch up you don't need to sand it down... just wipe it clean and touch up as needed since it's already a rough texture.

In my experience w/ powder coating stuff, it should run you between $150-$200. The guys at CO powder coating do great work, I had my front bumper done with them, a ton of assorted oversized architectural steel brackets for pergolas and decks, and recently my cyclocross bike done by him - all were very well done, and with very fast turnaround! I dropped my bike frame off on a Wednesday, he said it'd be done the following Monday.... I got a call the next day saying it was ready.

[Shane]

Herculiner is another good choice. Just make sure to keep it away from your hootus:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18595&highlight=hootus
x2 I used this on the skid plates of my S-10, removed the carpet on the inside it holds up to a lot of abuse. I picked up the kit for I think about 100.00. If you have an small old paint roller you could jusy but the smaller container for about 40-50. The only down side I saw is that it does not come in a matte finish that i know yet.
I was also think about using on some of the upper rocker on my jeep.

[AccordRanger]

Personally once I get sliders I will be using the $1 spray cans at Walmart. I used it on most of my frame and it holds up ok, and us cheap to touch up.

[ExplorerTom]

Go with the Rustoleum bedliner spray. It sticks VERY well to bare metal. My sliders and front bumper are painted with it and no signs of any chipping. The only downside to it is the texture when you're washing it.

[Shane]

All of these options are good it just depends on what look and durability your after. The most important is prep in all of the options.

[Popsgarage]

Hey guys, it's not really necessary to powdercoat anything on your rig. I've found the best stuff is to clean whatever it is you want to paint with your wire brush, give it a light coat of primer and then spray it with your favorite color of Rustoleum Hammered spray paint. I've found it to be the cheapest, easiest way to keep your stuff from rusting. It's by far the most durable spray paint I've found. And that makes any dents, dings, scratches, or scuffs very easy to fix. You just re-apply. Credit for this idea goes to Stephan Watson from Off Road Design in Carbondale, who has been using it for years on the parts he sells for the same reason.

[Chris]

Lots of choices! I need to repaint my sliders as I do every Spring. I'll touch up the rust with POR-15 and then hit it all with some cheap rattle can black. If you have grip tape on your sliders paint right over it, doesn't hurt at all and looks good. I've been doing that for years.