Powder coating an Ammo Can? Bed storage help...

Here's the deal...

I purchased (2) 20mm Ammo cans for storage in the bed of my truck. I was leaning towards buying a toolbox for the back; however I felt this method was cheaper and more practical for the amount of things I wanted to store. I plan to use "U" bolts on both sides to with locks to secure them.



I've been quoted $50 a piece to have them Powder coated, which would entail me somehow removing the rubber gaskets under the lid(I'd like to keep them in for water protection) during the curing process (oven) of the Powder coat. Is it possible to remove the rubber gasket and reinstall after the powder coat has been done? I've also looked at line-x again $50 a pop and I'm not sure how the hinges/handles would be affected. Yes, I know I can simply sand,prime and rattle can them but I really don't want to have to unbolt them from the bed to reapply additional layers of paint. What do you guys think? Yes... long post, I know. Thanks.

 

I've considered doing ammo drybox bed storage for a while too. I would honestly recommend doing rattle can RustOleum Enamel. If you are patient and spray 1-2 coats per day for about 4 days, it will put a heck of a finish on them. Good luck with whatever route you choose!

 

Appreciate the response, thanks.

 

Yeah, no problem. I've had really good experiences with their spray enamels. Refinished my stock skidplate with them too.

 

maybe the bed liner spray?

 

In my experience you can remove the gasket with a flat screwdriver or putty knife then simply peen the metal back to pinch the gasket. I Have done that numerous timed painting these cans and it works.

 

unfortunatly the spray on options fade over time even with multiple layers of both paint and clear coat (ive tried) but it is so much cheaper. great idea though, i use a couple .50 cal ammo cans in conjunction with a toolbox and like em.

 

The OP wants to take the cans apart then paint and reinstall gasket..yes it can be done

 

I had a toolbox and switched to ammo cans and I like this method of storage a lot better. It definitely frees up a lot of bed space compared to a toolbox.



I left mine as is but I would probably put rattle can bedliner on the boxes that way you can touch it up if they get damaged and it's more durable than regular spray paint.

 

Do whatever you think looks best with your truck and your budget, if you're not extremely particular about them. But again I'm really happy with black spray enamel, and I don't really care much about fading

 

and the nice thing about the fading, once you do good first coat, maybe every 6 months just one quick spray over and they look brand new! and wouldnt take but maybe one can to do entire can touch up for both probablly twice outa the same can. i usually do the krylon flat black camo with a matte clear coat and usually works very well, in the hot texas sun usually takes bout 6 months to start fading pretty bad.

 

i'd probably spray paint them too, ...seems like the powdercoating will be quite a hassle, w/ little benefit/cost..

 

The green paint on them isn't very easy on the eyes. It looks like they've been repainted a "few" times over the years. Thank you on the advice on removing the gasket.

 

use Rapco spray paint.