Sliders and bumper finally showed up, paint now or after welding/mounting? (1 Viewer)

[Francis K]

Sorry for the ignorance my expertise in painting is limited to pointing the can and my expertise in welding is limited to well….yea I don’t have any.

My XO fab sliders and NWTI rear bumper finally showed up they are sitting in my warehouse. I have to take them to the guy doing the welding/mounting for me but I was wondering what order do I do this in. I was thinking to rattle can the sliders with some bed liner so they have some grip to be used as steps and rattle can the rear in krylon black satin to match my ARB front.

Do I do this now or do I wait until they are mounted to do it? Would be easier to do it now obviously but wasn’t so sure that was such a good idea considering they needed to be welded up.

Thoughts?

Thanks fellas

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Weld, paint, install.

You might contact your welder/installer and see if he can paint them after he welds and before he installs them.

 

[Dusten]

If you paint them prior to install a few things will happen

The welder will have to remove paint where he's welding. This will need repainted.

The heat will damage paint that's not removed. This will need repainted.

The paint will likely be damaged as they're moved around doing install.

I'd paint anything not being welded, like a bumper.

 

[burnttoastburgos]

to add to the previous posts, yes.... mock up and completely weld your kit, remove and coat. Your weldor will have a source to have them painted or powdercoated, am will most likely appreciate it more with welding them in raw steel.

However, if you have the means, look into getting them powdercoated. I understand you want to rattle can them to do it quick, and very affordable but powdercoating is cheap in terms of how it protects your investment. .02cents

 

[Pascoscout]

I would skip the bed liner. I did it on my front bumper and regret it. It still comes off on hard rock hits and is expensive to repair. If you really want the grip maybe limit the bed liner to the top or consider some of the 3M grip tape.

Powder coat is nice if you don't wheel your rig. If you plan to drag those bumpers and sliders over stuff then paint is the way to go. Powder coat chips easy and will rust and bubble once you break through the coating. Paint is easy and cheap to repair.

I painted my sliders before they went on just because it was easier. Now I just mask off the truck and paint them installed (they are bolt on). I do that for the rear bumper too. I end up doing it about once a year to cover up all the rock rash and prevent rust. Front has the bedliner so that a different animal until I can get it to a company to remove it.

On your sliders I would build then paint everything except the plate that gets welded to the frame. If you want more corrosion protection then coat the back side of that plate and the locations that you plan to weld it to on the frame in a high zinc weld through primer. Once welded on then remove the excess primer and paint the weld area to match the rest. Bumper is weld, paint, install.

 

[Broski]

I would skip the bed liner. I did it on my front bumper and regret it. It still comes off on hard rock hits and is expensive to repair. If you really want the grip maybe limit the bed liner to the top or consider some of the 3M grip tape.

Powder coat is nice if you don't wheel your rig. If you plan to drag those bumpers and sliders over stuff then paint is the way to go. Powder coat chips easy and will rust and bubble once you break through the coating. Paint is easy and cheap to repair.

I painted my sliders before they went on just because it was easier. Now I just mask off the truck and paint them installed (they are bolt on). I do that for the rear bumper too. I end up doing it about once a year to cover up all the rock rash and prevent rust. Front has the bedliner so that a different animal until I can get it to a company to remove it.

On your sliders I would build then paint everything except the plate that gets welded to the frame. If you want more corrosion protection then coat the back side of that plate and the locations that you plan to weld it to on the frame in a high zinc weld through primer. Once welded on then remove the excess primer and paint the weld area to match the rest. Bumper is weld, paint, install.

This ^^^^

 

[dsmud4u]

think about rustolem. You can paint easily over and over again. Even powder coating will come off if you go “hard in the paint” while wheeling…no pun intended.

 

[Broski]

Epoxy enamel in a rattle can !!!

 

[TXLX100]

Have them powder coated and then you can always hit with spray paint to touch up. Spray paint isn’t very durable, you will be repapraying 1-2x a year from road abrasion. Or POR15 them if want to save money.

 

[SHIfTHEAD]

Satin Black rattle can after it's all welded up. Two very light coats that barely change the color then two wet coats. Wait till it's dry to the touch and flip over. Do the bottom first so if some paint is messed up while you are painting the top it's easy to touch up after it's installed. I've done this for dozens and dozens of things and it's held up well. Rattle can is very tough if you prep the surface right. I wipe down with mineral spirits and then wash with the cheapest brake cleaner I can find, let it dry then start the process mentioned above.

 

[Francis K]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the input, my thought process with the sliders was to use the rustoleum truck bed coating so that they have some grip when used as a step. Sounds like perhaps that isn't the best idea., maybe just put a coat on the top of them?

 

[Pascoscout]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the input, my thought process with the sliders was to use the rustoleum truck bed coating so that they have some grip when used as a step. Sounds like perhaps that isn't the best idea., maybe just put a coat on the top of them?

That's what I recommend, just on the top. 3M also makes some nice stick on grip tape that would do the same thing, maybe even better.

I use rustoleum paint on my sliders and bumper. I have to paint once a year due to wheeling damage. My truck was my daily driver for two years and I never had any issues with damage from normal road use, just smashing them into trees and big rocks. Prep is the key to making rattle can paint hold up. First be sure to remove all the foundry slag (anything plate or heavy square/angle shapes will have it, not so much an issue on tubing). Then sand the bare metal to rough it up with a power sander and 60 or 80 grit paper. Then wipe the whole thing down with acetone or xylene to remove all the oils and residue. Once you clean it be sure to wear laytex or similar gloves to keep oils from your hands off the clean metal. I recommend a couple coats of primer and then color as described above (light coats then wet coats).

When I respray I sand the scratches smooth with 120 grit and rough up the hole piece with the same, mostly hand sanding. I clean with acetone and then do 1 coat of primer and two coats of color over the repair spots and then one coat of color over the whole thing.

 

[LandTank87]

Reviving this thread sort of...

Considering sliders are meant to be beat up, I dont think you could go wrong with any option of painting them. My suggestion, albeit I am a new convert from a rock crawler taco to my project 80 series LC build, go with the cheaper option. I used to only buy high quality for my crawler, but this was more for strength over abuse. With overlanding rigs, you are going to abuse them more than you are flexing them in big rocks.

I recently bought a pair of white knuckles for my FZJ80 and rattle can bed liner'd them myself for a mere $30 (Rustoleum Bed Liner in a can from HD). A little light sanding, mineral oil to wipe clean, then paint away. I think they turned out pretty good, and the best part is I can buy another can at Home Depot for $6 whenever I need to touch them up.