Powder coat
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I am in the process of refinishing my OEM roof rack and just found this thread, figured I would add my experience so far.
Fully disassembled everything down to the bolts and screws. I found it pretty easy to take the bolt covers/towers off using a pry tool and a screwdriver. Key was to just go slow, work in the sun so the plastic isn’t brittle and canflex a little. Torx 40, 25, and 15 will took care of the screws and bolts. The metal rails and bars are getting powder coated at a local shop - I decided to do a texture and color match to my newer, beefier Yakima bars which will replace the existing ones. I know it seems excessive but I’m also powder coating the OEM bars since it was relatively cheap to add them in. $135 for powder coating the four metal pieces - I didn’t shop around just went with a place that does a lot of automotive work.
The plastic pieces in my case were very badly oxidized from the years of sun exposure. I’m sanding them down with a maroon scrub pad and some 320 grit to get rid of the oxidization. I’m debating whether I leave them unfinished and just use a trim restorer like Solution Finish, or paint them with a similar black and satin clear.
Fully disassembled everything down to the bolts and screws. I found it pretty easy to take the bolt covers/towers off using a pry tool and a screwdriver. Key was to just go slow, work in the sun so the plastic isn’t brittle and canflex a little. Torx 40, 25, and 15 will took care of the screws and bolts. The metal rails and bars are getting powder coated at a local shop - I decided to do a texture and color match to my newer, beefier Yakima bars which will replace the existing ones. I know it seems excessive but I’m also powder coating the OEM bars since it was relatively cheap to add them in. $135 for powder coating the four metal pieces - I didn’t shop around just went with a place that does a lot of automotive work.
The plastic pieces in my case were very badly oxidized from the years of sun exposure. I’m sanding them down with a maroon scrub pad and some 320 grit to get rid of the oxidization. I’m debating whether I leave them unfinished and just use a trim restorer like Solution Finish, or paint them with a similar black and satin clear.
Do you have any pictures of how the powder coating turned out?
I did a full disassemble and repaint. The 4 aluminum rails went to my local powder coat shop. $150 for sand blast and powder coat with flat black.
For the rubber boots, I used flat black plasti dip. For the remaining plastic components, I used Rust-Oleum professional flat black.
For the rubber boots, I used flat black plasti dip. For the remaining plastic components, I used Rust-Oleum professional flat black.
Oh and to avoid pesky water leaks I used neoprene washers and some bathroom silicone. Probably one or the other would suffice but just playing it safe.
I used paint stripper on my 2000 model to remove the peeling paint and polished the aluminum a bit. Looks plenty good for me.
