pick up truck and suv owners with nerf bars .
 

i have a 2002 dodge ram 1500 4x4 . i bought a set of westin ( black powder coated ) nerf bars " side steps" and had them painted to match the color of the truck ( silver) i also put mud flaps on the front and back. the problem i'm having is the paint is chipping on the inside of the rear of the bars . had them repainted and sprayed in the chip prone areas with "3m rocker panel chip proof
spray" this stuff is also chipping.any suggestions on how to protect these areas from chipping?

Not sure how to stop it, but I asked my bother-in-law about painting my hitch and he said that paint probably wouldn't stick since it was originally powder coated.

So, I'm interested in any good solutions as I may decide to do my hitch. I was thinking of a bed-liner coating cause the hitches always rust out so fast and look nasty.

26sonic,

It's going to be tough to keep those bars from chipping. I have done this a few times for my customers over the years with mixed results. Body shop will warranty paint for defects but not for chipping. Goes without saying though. The only thing I have ever sprayed on a nerf bar for a customer that hasn't chipped off is my Arma Coatings Polyurethane liner. This can be done in color, or you could coat it and then paint it. Have you tried some Epoxy paint? I have a customer that painted his dump bed on his truck with it. He has had good luck with that.

32fever,

There is a company called Curt that makes painted to match hitches for vehicles. They can be ordered using the paint code from your vehicle. They are very good quality, round tube hitches. I think you'll find the price friendly too.

Buck
#183

Hey Chuck, stay off dirt roads!!! And dodge the potholes!!!! LOL!!!

That is one of the reason I went with the brushed aluminum on my 94 Dodge. Still have them and am going to try to put them on my new truck one of these days.

Mike

Westin stainless tubes was the ONLY way to go.
I had them on my one and only dodge adn they were great.
Set off the truck. easy to install
and solid as a rock.

Never had to worry about chips or rust.

I would not think about painting these just for the reason you are stating :(

One option to help reduce the impact is to find a body shop that can order some 3m clear tape. I have seen it many times on trailers( I have some on order ) to protect the chipping
Its expensive, 55 bucks for a roll 4 inch wide

buck183,
Never heard of them. My concern was more using a black bed-liner type finish. The safety chains always wear the paint off and rust takes the paints place. I'm looking for something that won't wear off as easily. I'll still make it black, cause a white hitch would look nasty after a MI winter. Same type of thing as stone chip on a nerf bar, it all wears paint. It would be nice to find a nice color of choice finish to apply that resists the flaking. I'd just want black for the hitch, but lots of folks want color coated nerf bars.

Mnfstbt,
I had a set of chrome plated Westin's once.......once. The finished pitted and started to rust, they took them back, and later found out they had a problem with a few batches of bars, and mine probably came form that. This was about 3-4 years ago though. I replaced them with Stainless Westins and then put the same on my current truck. That's the ticket. A little elbow grease and all the road muck wipes off.

Mark

Westin makes chrome plated stainless nerf bars. The finish is warranted for life. I've gone 1 winter and have driven over 24,000 miles. The only problem I have had was the plastic step wearing out. Called Westin and they overnighted a set at no charge. :D Wish everything could be that easy,
Dan

I've seen some sort of clear, adhesive backed material. (It isn't packing tape, but it looks like it) I think the idea is for it to sacrifice itself. When it gets to looking bad, just peel it off and put on another piece.

After reading more carefully, MNFastboat already mentioned this. He even knew what it was.

Other than that, don't look down there. Or rattle can it on a regular basis.

26sonic,

Thought of something else today for ya. Any powerdercoater worth his weight should be able to get you a color that is close and hold up forever. All of Westin's black bars are powercoated. I rarely have problems with them....then again, I rarely have problems with anything from Westin.

32fever......send me that hitch, I'll put something on it that will NEVER chip off! I sometimes think this stuff might be bullet proof. :D

Buck
#183

Mylar Film will help a LOT. Make sure it is the thicker stuff with the adhesive back on it. Porsche uses it for the large flares on the back of thier cars and it works the balls.

Jon