Rock Slider Finishes: Powder Coat, Bed Liner, Rattle Can, or Other?

Have 4x Innovation Rockers on order. Getting them in bare metal. I am leaning hard to finishing them with roll on bed liner. If (ha, when) it gets dinged up, touch up will be a breeze. Agree or disagree, and tell my why. Has to endure hard, salty Wis. winters. I am a noob at this 4R stuff.

 

I did mine with the Por clean, prep, primer and rattle can (6) satin black. Look great, easy to clean and touch up.

 

Not the best pic. The prep is key, took me good part of a weekend.

 

I have sliders on order also. Curious as to the feedback here.

 

Looks great

 

If you live somewhere where they salt the roads, they will rust.

If you use them, they will rust.

It doesn’t matter what paint, coating, or treatments you use.

They will rust.

 

I powdercoated one set, and I've rattle canned the rest.

Tractor Supply tractor paint by rustoleum is good stuff if you use the self etching metal primer. Wipe it down with acetone first.

Good prep + rattle can is going on 5 years on one of my bumpers. A friend bought my 4Runner and asked where I got that bumper PCed, I explained the process and he was impressed.

Not to mention I'm out a weekend and like $30 bucks, and easy touch ups.

LIke the other guy said, if you use them AT all, you'll be touching them up.

 

I will add one suggested step into the above that I always follow as the final step before I paint - I take a torch (MAP or propane) and lightly go over all surfaces. This will do two things for you... 1) it draws out the residual moisture from the metal to ensure it is completely dry; you might be surprised by how much it draws out. 2) it will reveal any oily/waxy spots that you might have missed earlier (you will see a small yellowish puddle form).

Personally I tend to use SEM rust shield, followed by 2k PPG Shopline black epoxy primer, and then top that with a cheap 2k satin clear (I often just use Summit's brand, or Omni). Holds up extremely well, and it's a perfect match to rustoleum satin black for touch ups later on. Unless you already have a compressor and spray gun and what not, this isn't exactly an economical solution though. Rattle can will give you great results too, just tossing out what I use (I go a bit overboard, just to help it hold up against the barrage of winter road salt).

 

There’s a guy locally who makes sliders and sells them on Craigslist. He uses this stuff to paint them after sanding and cleaning. Says “it holds up incredibly well and doesn’t fade to an ash color.”

 

The 4xinnovation sliders are beefie, love them
My frankenstein whatever rattle cans I had laying round grey color held up since ‘17 but I only took em off to get a good clean/repaint
Stay on top of the scratches dents before they rust

almost forgot
Wear disposable gloves so you dont transfer oils

 

When I got my C4 sliders, I sanded off all the scale, applied a couple of coats of Rustoleum etching primer, and then 3 or 4 coats of Rustoleum Hammered Black. They turned out more gray than black but looked great. The color actually matched other black trim on the '10 TE. Every year or so, I would wash them really well, put some cardboard behind them and respray with the Hammered Black paint.

 

I used the hammered as well n really liked the outcome
Do you think the hammered black is dead on compared to the MagGrey 4Runner color?
Considering but would want some difference in color you know...

 

I think it is really close. It looked great with the silver though.

 

Personally I think I'll do mine with roll on bedliner when I get them, I like the idea of the texture for grip since they'll be used as a step.

 

That was my original thought as well. The bed liner texture would give a better grip than paint.

 

I rustoleum mine but it doesn’t last long before looking like shit. May try spray can bed liner

 

I just picture any time they're wet, a foot would slip right off smooth painted tubes. If I had sliders with flat step plates that would probably be better, but I still like the idea of ease of touch up with bedliner

 

I have the same thought. I am considering skate board tape to rectify that. But...I am concerned about having a salt sponge attached to the sliders. The sliders I am getting have step plates.

 

I didn't think about the salt much, we don't get snow out here in California much.

I think with the step plates you'd probably be fine, just comes down to personal preference at that point

 

^^^
Old mountain bike tire fits right around tube
Couple holes n zip ties

HFreight sells stick on tire grip but then you have to count on adhesive

 

Good, tip. I rarely use the slider as a step. This is a good option if it ever becomes an issue.

 

I have a set on order. I plan on getting them coated with bed liner. Figure it will be a lot more durable than paint.

 

its a clumsie girlfriend issue.....