Typical lca light rust issues in rust belt

Was thinking about aluminum skids being this is the first thing to hit salt and water. Thoughts vs powder coating / paint options.

 

If you're going to bash them at all, aluminum is not a good choice - it's "sticky" when gouged, meaning you're more likely to hang up on the rock or whatever and cause additional gouging when you recover, and is much more difficult and expensive to repair.

Powder is more durable, but also harder to touch up or repair without the touched up spots being obvious.

If you want them for looks or as an "oops" in case of hitting something on the road, go with Aluminum and/or powder.

I live in the capital of salt hell, wheel very rocky areas on weekends, and run quality steel skids and sliders with Krylon paint. I touch them up when it looks like they need it. It takes a couple minutes once a year or so, way less time than the yearly WoolWax even. It doesn't even require taking them off the truck, just masking with tape and cardboard while I wash/sand/spray the f'd up spots. I did use POR-15 and WoolWax before installation on the backsides/insides of the mounts, because those areas are where salt might get sprayed in and trapped, but that's a one time deal, so not a hassle.