What Are Your Sliders Coated With?

So picked up my sliders the other day, un-coated as powder coating in the past on various automotive parts (bumpers, wheels etc) have always given me mixed results. I've narrowed down the alternatives to one of the following (after prepping them properly and using a self etching primer).

Some form of spray-on bed liner

Simply painting them with something like Rust-Oleum Hammer Finish

Rubberized rocker guard spray and a layer of paint on top

The sliders have a kick-out that my daughter will use to get in the truck and I'll also use to access my roof box so a coating that's not too slippy would be best.

 

Mine are powder coated from RCI.

 

Interested in recommendations. Mine were powder coated new, but it’s been two years, and they are starting to look like crap. I think I need something stronger than paint, because the underside of the sliders get blasted by gravel and compromises powder coat/paint quickly.

 

Powder from AP. Yes it will eventually scrap off but it’s pretty tough and I can touch up with bedliner.

 

I purchased my CaliRaised sliders in bare metal and painted with Raptor Liner (bed liner) and they are holding up well after 2 years.

Cheers,
Bob

 

I painted mine this summer, self etching and multiple coats, they were a nice black and now after a few months of winter the undersides are rust.

 

When I built my sliders I sprayed them with just Rustoleum semi-gloss. Takes no time to touch them up when they get scraped. But I'm a cheap bastard.

 

I rattle canned mine. 3 snowstorms later the paint had been salt blasted off and was rusting. Stripped them to bare metal when it warmed up in the spring and re-coated with POR-15 Protective coat, and then the POR-15 Top coat. So far so good after 5 storms. Touch ups, if needed, will be a cinch. Cheapo paint brush, a couple of swipes and done.
My nephew swears by "Steel It" coatings, but they are very spendy.

 

Raptorliner is best bedliner out there.

 

Right now my sliders are coated with ice.

 

My sliders were originally powder-coated but now I have some rust marks on the scratched areas. Looks like surface rust. Can I apply Raptorliner over them? Or I should apply rust-oleum first and then apply Raptorliner?

 

I just redid all of my P&P sliders and skids. I sanded/grinded and repainted my skids with primer and cheap black spray paint but I had my sliders sandblasted and powder coated because I did not have the patience to get all the surface rust off of my sliders, way more intricate. They look beautiful, until I go and bash them. I'll touch them up with gloss paint when it comes time.

 

I've looked at Raptor Liner, did you use the 2K version where you mixed in the hardener and spray with an air compressor? If so, how many bottles did you use?

 

I realize my N-Fab steps are not sliders but the textured finish they put on them has held up very well after 4.5 years. I assume they are powder coated.

 

Sounds like what my spring project is going to be.

 

I don't care who you are. That is some funny sh*t.

 

I used 2 bottles of the 2k and sprayed with the Raptor Liner “Pro” spray gun via my cheap 5 gallon Chinese compressor. The Spray gun worked well….

Cheers,
Bob

 

Roll on raptor liner on my wife’s sliders and mine. Both times I was doing it out of state in someone else’s garage and didn’t want to spray it on and create a mess with overspray. Hers are going on 3 years no issue. Mine are on 3 weeks

 

It's all in the prep.

Mine arrived bare steel as well. I spent an entire weekend prepping and painting them in summer of 2020. I probably spend about 60 bucks on paint.

First step was to clear all the oil and welding debris off them. I used acetone, scotch bright pads, and a wire brush on a drill. Cleaned all that up, went over it with acetone again. After that I put a coat of Ospho on the sliders.

Note: there can be some issues with Ospho, you don't want to leave it on till it dries, if you do you need to clean it off with more. Also. I forget the exact procedure I used, I highly advise that you look it up before attempting.

Once the Ospho is done, I hit it with five or six coats of primer. Light coats, letting it dry before the next coat. Takes about 20 minutes or so.

I let it cure overnight, then the next day I hit it with about five or six coats of Rust-Oleum satin black. You really want to let this sit overnight too before attempting to install the sliders.

After two New England winters, they have held up surprisingly well. Only rust spots are where paint got chipped. I know people with powder coated stuff that has not held up this well.

I think making sure the metal was clean thoroughly, and add in the Ospho really helped keep the paint durable.

Also, I should note that I don't really off-road very much, so I'm not kicking up a lot of gravel and bashing them on rocks. That was my intention, but I just never seem to be able to get out.

 

very similar to my process, except Ospho (not sure what this is yet).

 

I'm gonna give the Raptor liner a go, I like the look of the texture and it's supposed durability. My plan is to thoroughly clean the sliders with acetone after scuffing them up and then spraying them with acid etch primer before laying down the Raptor liner. May have to wait a couple weeks though as the weather is supposed to get quite cold in my neck of the woods. The joys of an un-heated garage.

 

The thing I dislike about bedliner is that everything sticks to it and doesn't easily hose off.

I bedlined the rockers on my old Grand Cherokee and they always looked terrible, road grit and mud was constantly stuck to them. I had to scrub them to keep them clean.

 

http://www.ospho.com/directions.htm

I found out about this stuff when I originally bought my 4R, I was looking at ways to preserve the frame. I put some in a spray bottle and hit the front suspension parts and crossmember, it looked great, it turned all the rust black. Unfortunately once it got wet, it turned white.

Looking into it more, I found that most people recommend to NOT let it fully dry, and to wipe off the excess.

When I was inquiring in a local group about painting my sliders, a few people recommended the Ospho step. I had it already, so I figured why not.

 

I thought I did everything to protect them, but now that my wife makes fun of the brown slowly growing on the underside of the sliders, its clear I need to something better.

 

Spray paint and a brush-on bedliner.
A "hammered" finish type paint hides chips.
Had paint only for a few years. Cheap and easy for touch up. Wet gravel roads will sandblast it down to metal quick though.
Last year in areas where I saw the worst blasting I used a brush to dab on heavy bedliner. Holding up well so far. I wanted the slick surface of paint on actual sliding surfaces as much as possible rather than the rough increased friction bedliner gives.

 

Since we're talking sliders, when you're mounting the sliders do you guys spray the slider & frame mating surface with anything? To prevent whatever water makes it's way between them from cause excess corrosion? Think I may spray the frame with some additional Boeshield (which I've sprayed the frame with before) before install.

 

I wool waxed it, as that’s what I had.

 

I think that's a good idea. My frame still had a good coating of fluid film on it when I installed my sliders. I also used anti-seize on the bolts. I think come springtime, I'm going to pull them off and make sure the frame underneath still looks good. That's also good opportunity to throw another couple coats of paint on the sliders.

 

I used a 1/4” nap weenie roller for the latest application of Raptor liner. Used it everywhere except the tread plate. Tread plate was Raptor Liner with crushed walnut shells and 3/4” nap on a weenie roller to make it nice and grippy. The 1/4” nap application is very easy to clean. The 3/4” with walnut shells might as well never get cleaned cause you can’t get anything off it. Same bottle of Raptor Liner though, only difference being the nap and shells

 

I used spray can Rustoleum bedliner. I think I also did the primer, the sanding, the wire wheel, the washing, etc. But the big thing is that I laid down that bedliner thicker than yo momma's thunderthighs. It's an ugly job with streaks, but I didn't care. You can barely notice the streaks anyway. But when I put it on, I put it on. I got it in there. And I did it again. And I really did the bottoms a whole lot. I mean, it's probably still more bedliner than slider. If I was going to bedliner it, I was going to do it to the point that I'd have no regerts. I covered that thing up like you'd cover it up with the $5 chick on the street corner in the bad part of town. I laid down the layers, playas.