For those of us in the rust belt, having the bumper hot dip galvanized would seem to make a lot of sense.
4x4 labs rear bumper rust
- Thread starter anel
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nukegoat
Should have bought a Jeep
I thought polyurethanes were different than urethanes
Dustin Messina
SILVER Star
That would be a good choice.
I don't think any paint or powder would look all that great being touched up. Neither of them will "melt in" to the original finish so all will have an overspray dry edge. Paint is usually thin (too thin) so it will hide quickly. A thicker powder coat would be easiest to touch up with a brush and unreduced paint because you can build up the coating quicker to match the two.
I honestly think there are two categories here
#1 the guy that beats the hell out their truck on rocks and has dented quarters and baked off paint and such and might as well paint their sliders. Makes sense for sure.
#2 the person that really likes their cruiser nice and keeps it that way 99% of the time but isn't afraid to use it. Powder coat for the win hands down.
I honestly think there are two categories here
#1 the guy that beats the hell out their truck on rocks and has dented quarters and baked off paint and such and might as well paint their sliders. Makes sense for sure.
#2 the person that really likes their cruiser nice and keeps it that way 99% of the time but isn't afraid to use it. Powder coat for the win hands down.
My truck lives in california in a nice Los Angeles climate. My 4x4 labs rear has the same stuff happening as the OP on areas where I have hit rocks. The rest of the coating is holding up really well.
Yes, if you like that color.......
This tip won't help you much because of the large amount of work you do. But for smaller projects that are made with hot rolled steel here is a trick to remove that scale without sand blasting. Vinegar that you buy at the store is a mild acid. So if you pour some into a pan, and then submerge the hot roll steel in it leaving it over night, the Vinegar will dissolve the scale off of the steel, leaving you with a clean surface to work with. Since i hate grinding that scale off before welding, I've used this trick on some welding projects when my customer didn't want to spend the money to buy CRS.
I used vinegar on the little round spot that rusts around the bolt holes on the rear bumper and it bled some type of liquid for a long time. I finally sanded it , added spot putty and painted it, but it's starting to show again.
My 4x4labs rear bumper that I got last October has already started to rust 4 months later and I live in California. Sucks.
Paint it afterwards. It does require special prep for paint, but nothing too onerous IMO.
- Thread starter
- #53
I guess I’m not the only one then.
Different states use different road chemicals. Does that make any difference between paint and powder coating? I was planning on having a bumper and some sliders powder coated this year and now I’m wondering what the conversation should be with the powder coater.
It will depend on your raw parts but most likely they will have some sort of contamination from the manufacturing process. Tube has the drawing lube driven into it (why DOM looks black), hot rolled has carbon scale. Even welding will leave burned in impurities. If your coater at least blasts the parts that is a big positive step. The next big thing is a wash and "conversion coating". In CA it may be a ceramic based wash, in other places an iron phosphate wash. All are good and very important. These coatings are the link between the powder and metal, as well as a corrosion inhibitor in areas that get scratched. Some low buck outfits will blast and then powder coat. The durability of the metal-powder bond is about half that of a proper conversion coating.
It will be very much like buying a car on CL, you can smell a rat pretty quickly. A good shop will be happy to run you through these prep items.
If I miss a reply here or elsewhere I'd be happy to help with questions via pm too.
hward1
87 fj60 / 95 fjz80
considering one myself
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Box Rocket
SILVER Star
I've had the paint vs PC debate in my own head for years. As has been mentioned, with the proper steps taken and processes used PC will hold up well and look great, probably better than paint in almost any case. I've had a couple PC'd bumpers and for me, I've come to conclusion it's just not worth it. I try hard to keep my rig looking good but it gets used and the bumpers and sliders get scratched. The PC is just too difficult to touch up and have look "right". So I've stuck with Paint for armor pieces for years now. I'll do some touch up here and there during a wheeling season, but I'll typically pull the armor and sand and repaint them once a year. It takes a bit of effort but can easily be done on a Saturday with 3-4 cans of paint.
I'm do something similar with the axles/frame. Obviously I can't conveniently pull them and really clean them and repaint , but usually once a year, I hit the trouble spots that have been scratched up with a wire brush and do a bit of sanding and hit them with some paint too.
Some people just don't want to hassle with the work involved to do it. I don't mind it and it seems to be what has worked best for me. Which reminds me, it's time to get after it again.
I'm do something similar with the axles/frame. Obviously I can't conveniently pull them and really clean them and repaint , but usually once a year, I hit the trouble spots that have been scratched up with a wire brush and do a bit of sanding and hit them with some paint too.
Some people just don't want to hassle with the work involved to do it. I don't mind it and it seems to be what has worked best for me. Which reminds me, it's time to get after it again.
I don't think PC lasting one year in CA is reasonable. I am hoping Luke at 4x4 Labs is reading this and will share with us his thoughts and his PC process.
This issue is a deterrent to buy from him, for me at least. Nothing personal, I'm just not sensing the quality in the PC I would expect.
I do realize his bumpers are excellent, it's just the coating I'm speaking about.
This issue is a deterrent to buy from him, for me at least. Nothing personal, I'm just not sensing the quality in the PC I would expect.
I do realize his bumpers are excellent, it's just the coating I'm speaking about.
Phares
Mostly Useless
You can buy the 4x4labs bumpers not powder coated. While the OP does have a valid concern I wouldn't stay away from Luke's business solely on the PC. I've had my bumpers for almost a year now and haven't experienced anything like this. I'm in NC so certainly nothing nasty but worse than CA. The bumpers thus far have been excellent.
