I used this I put 2 coats on each. If I had it to do over again I would go with a smooth coating/paint.

 

I don't really want to spend $90 on painting them...

Why would you go smooth?

 

I paid $30 for the smaller can. I have the 3" lift so my calves slide on the bars when getting out. No blood but several scratches. Now I take a wider step when getting out to avoid them.

 

Hmm, Good point. I probably won't mind as much as the GF.

 

I used black rustoleum. Pretty simple.

 

+2 on black rustoleum. I'd use satin black and rustoleum rusty metal primer. I've heard it sticks better than regular primer but have no experience with it.

 

Rustoleum self etching primer. 2 coats.
Rustoleum industrial enamel. 3 coats.
Wet sand.
Perfect finish and very durable.

 

Looks good. How many cans were needed of each?

I would say that what you use for paint may depend on your location and what your plan is for future maintenance.

If you live in a drier climate and an area that does use road salt in the winter, something like rustoleum may be fine. If you are in an area that uses road salt in the winter, I would say that rustoleum is probably a waste of time, as I would guess you would be constantly cleaning rust off and repainting your sliders.

Also, it depends on how much off-roading use you plan, as something like rustoleum may scratch easy and require constant maintenance.

Just remember, you get what you pay for and if you go cheap, it may not hold up over the long-term.

I could pay to have it powder coated which would probably be the most expensive "normal" route, and the powder coat would probably not stand up to sliding on rocks. LineX probably wouldn't even hold up.

No salt around me. I just need something that looks good but can be touched up easily when it does get damaged.

 

I would say that what you use for paint may depend on your location and what your plan is for future maintenance.

If you live in a drier climate and an area that does use road salt in the winter, something like rustoleum may be fine. If you are in an area that uses road salt in the winter, I would say that rustoleum is probably a waste of time, as I would guess you would be constantly cleaning rust off and repainting your sliders.

Also, it depends on how much off-roading use you plan, as something like rustoleum may scratch easy and require constant maintenance.

Just remember, you get what you pay for and if you go cheap, it may not hold up over the long-term.

 

I have a full body paint setup and considered using a high end urethane paint, but elected to prime and shoot Rustoleum satin due to the ease of touch up in the future. It is relatively soft and easy to sand and blend. I plan to use the rails and nothing will stay on without periodic touch up......

 

Rustoleum self etching primer - 2 coats
Rustoleum truck bed liner - 2 coats
Very durable and has a little bit of a sandy matte finish that provides a little traction

 

This is what I did. It's a great finish non slip. Very durable and no complaints about getting scratched. Also very easy to touch up.

 

I do like the idea of having a little traction for standing on the rails to access the cargo rack

 

Rustoleum Hammered.

Super easy to apply, very hard paint, leaves nice thick coating, no primer required, textured for easy re-coating and touch-ups.

10/10 would use Rustoleum Hammered again. :rocker:

 

I've seen hammered Rustoleum come up a few times while searching... The finish doesn't look wrong after touch ups? It looks like it would be hard to match.

 

Rustoleum self etching 2 coats

Rustoleum textured satin black 2 coats


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Dupont kevlar liner and some clear coat...very durable and nice looking also it can be washed with ease....

 

Rustolium bedliner. Pretty easy to touch up. They are sliders, so I don't worry to much about how the touch ups look. I love having the texture. Only time I slipped off them was when it was covered in snow... Lol

Cheers


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Rustoleum self etching 2 cans

Rustoleum undercoating 2 cans

The undercoat was not UV stable and came off on front edge of sliders.

The second application

Rustoleum etching undercoat 1 can touch up

Rustoleum truck bed liner - 2 cans

This is holding up much better is UV stable

 

Cheap can of spray paint. Touch up as needed every few months. Grip tape on top of tubes.

 

I just painted my bare steel RCI sliders the other day. I sanded with 600 grit, put on about 2-3 coats of rust protection primer, then about 4 coats of flat black rust resistant paint. Honestly, if I could do it again, I'd pay the extra Benjamin for powder coating. The paint just seems like it'll wear down way too fast.

Plus my sister has a Tacoma with a custom steel rack that covers the whole truck. It's been on for about 3 years and there's some bad rust spots developing even under the paint. It's mostly on the front where the metal is hitting the wind when driving. We live in Colorado so I'm sure the salt they put on the road in the winter doesn't help.

My .02 cents

 

The problem with powder coat in my opinion is what do you do when it it all scratched up?

 

Rustoleum self etch primer and Rustoleum satin black. Has held up very well for 2.5 years. Will probably respray them this fall.

 

My vote and experience is the Rustoleum Bed Liner.

The step bar in the pic below was so rusted I was going to toss them, but gave them a coat of the bedliner stuff and they looked good as new. I also touch up the rear bumper and bumper guards and the tail light guards every year because they like to rust (I just tape off the area a spray without having to remove anything). The bedliner blends so well I just need to touch up and not have to do the hole thing. I also used the stuff to touch up the roof rack's crossbars because they were fading from the sun...