boulder bar finish

callaway · **Posted:** Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:55 pm

i picked up some boulder bars today that need some help.

i can have 2 options:

sand down scratches and peeling areas and repaint a few times
or
sand/strip down current paint and have the bars powder coated.

i'm thinking that the sand/paint combo would be easier as the powder coat will eventually be scratched away and need paint touch up.

opinions?

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

I've found that it is hard to get a good bond with paint on powder coat. My recommendation would be to have the current finish baked off (they do this at powder coating places). I've sanded the PC off one BB before taking the other in to get baked (sanding PC was not easy). Then you can decide whether you want to just paint them or have them re-powder coated. Either way, getting rid of the original finish will make future finishes much nicer...

callaway · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:29 am

Skyjump136 wrote:

My recommendation would be to have the current finish baked off (they do this at powder coating places).

any ideas as to what would that cost me?

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:07 am

I know that the rear bumper from Rock Lizard will cost about ~150 for the standard black powdercoat and it is a huge bumper compared to those rails so it shouldn't cost much.

You could also look into getting them galvanized then paint them by hand. Galvanizing will prevent rust almost forever. The Jeep would fade away long before the BB's did.

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

callaway wrote:

Skyjump136 wrote:

My recommendation would be to have the current finish baked off (they do this at powder coating places).

any ideas as to what would that cost me?

I think they did this for $30. They throw your bars in a big oven and it cooks everything off...only problem is that sometimes they wait until they have a bunch of stuff that needs to be done before firing up the oven. So you could wait for a week or so.

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Tokyojoe wrote:

I know that the rear bumper from Rock Lizard will cost about ~150 for the standard black powdercoat and it is a huge bumper compared to those rails so it shouldn't cost much.

You could also look into getting them galvanized then paint them by hand. Galvanizing will prevent rust almost forever. The Jeep would fade away long before the BB's did.

Unfortunately the process is pretty much the same so the price difference between some BBs and a bumper is not as much as you'd think. Plus, Marty is probably getting a decent discount because he's having multiple pieces done. I bet it would be about the same.

grumppee · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:16 am

A third option to consider is using bedliner. I applied bedliner to my RRO rock rails in the summer and they look great. It's quite durable and helps prevent rust.

callaway · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:20 am

IF i get the current finish baked off, would it be better to have them powder coated or painted?

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:03 pm

Sandblast...pretty cheap...then decide what coating you want

moose · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:21 pm

The nice thing about paint is that it makes it easier to touch up. (although I like the Line-X bedliner idea too)

Rockjeep · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:08 pm

I was driving down the street one day i saw the county sand blasting some grifitti off a wall. I asked the guy if he would like some side work for some cash. He came by my house and blasted a bunch of parts for a case of beer. he didn't care, he was paid during the hour anyway. Keep an eye open for things like that. I have his cell number for the next time.

Rock Lizard · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:16 pm

Get it sandblasted. Even if you bake the old stuff off, you need to thoroughly prepare the surface. Powdercoat won't last long unless it has a blasted surface to bond too. Paint is cheaper, and easier to touch up. Get them sandblasted, then whatever you use to coat the rails will bond much better and last much longer. I personally use Rustoleum "Hammered" paint. It is very durable, covers up blemishes, and looks awesome. After a couple days to fully cure, it is just as durable or even better than powdercoat, and it only costs $5 a can. Two cans will easily do 3-4 coats per rail.

moose · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:36 pm

Rock Lizard wrote:

Get it sandblasted. Even if you bake the old stuff off, you need to thoroughly prepare the surface. Powdercoat won't last long unless it has a blasted surface to bond too. Paint is cheaper, and easier to touch up. Get them sandblasted, then whatever you use to coat the rails will bond much better and last much longer. I personally use Rustoleum "Hammered" paint. It is very durable, covers up blemishes, and looks awesome. After a couple days to fully cure, it is just as durable or even better than powdercoat, and it only costs $5 a can. Two cans will easily do 3-4 coats per rail.

The nice part is that you can mask off the KJ and give them another once over to touch up trail rash w/o removing them. (and the hammered let me go with silver)

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:39 pm

Rock Lizard wrote:

Get it sandblasted. Even if you bake the old stuff off, you need to thoroughly prepare the surface. Powdercoat won't last long unless it has a blasted surface to bond too. Paint is cheaper, and easier to touch up. Get them sandblasted, then whatever you use to coat the rails will bond much better and last much longer. I personally use Rustoleum "Hammered" paint. It is very durable, covers up blemishes, and looks awesome. After a couple days to fully cure, it is just as durable or even better than powdercoat, and it only costs $5 a can. Two cans will easily do 3-4 coats per rail.

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

sqliberty · **Joined:** Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:08 pm **Posts:** 207

I like the Line-X I had done to mine. They sandblasted them and then coated them. It's been over two years now and no problems. I had the same done to the brushguard.

callaway · **Posted:** Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:09 am

Rockjeep wrote:

I was driving down the street one day i saw the county sand blasting some grifitti off a wall. I asked the guy if he would like some side work for some cash. He came by my house and blasted a bunch of parts for a case of beer. he didn't care, he was paid during the hour anyway. Keep an eye open for things like that. I have his cell number for the next time.

thats awesome :tup:

i actually came across a stroke of luck today. I work as a design engineer for a company that does point of purchase displays (think home depot/lowes paint chip displays, anything that can be mounted on a fixture) and i brought the bars with me to day so i could make use of the model shop/spray booth to clean and paint the bars. it turns out that we have a big display going out tomorrow for powder coating so my bars got to tag along. the job we are running is black but i wonder if i could get them to hold them until a red job comes through :twisted:

Rock Lizard wrote:

Get it sandblasted. Even if you bake the old stuff off, you need to thoroughly prepare the surface. Powdercoat won't last long unless it has a blasted surface to bond too.

since this is being done along with our display i can only assume that it will be a professional job. right? i mean displays arnt intended to be dragged on the ground but it will look a lot nicer than if i sanded/painted them.

boulder bar finish

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