Black Step Bars Rusting ??

I was just on the phone with a few parts suppliers trying to buy a set of Westin Gen X ( http://westinautomotive.com/westin/viewproduct.jsp?id=17&vehicleId= ) steps for my truck and 2 out of the 3 guys i talked to said they won't even sell any Black side steps because the will Guarantee rust and fall apart.

I am in Canada where we get a fair amount of snow in the winters and they do salt the roads at times, according to the suppliers the black painted bars won't last more than a couple of years here, one guy suggested " Black Stainless Steel ". Not sure if they are tinted black or stainless painted black but he said that all he will sell.

Any Northern folks having trouble with their black step bars ????

 

Stuff like that is definitely not going to hold up unless you are willing to do the following;

strip paint, get galvanized, seal, paint.

I would definitely suggest stainless.

 

My black ones turned to swiss cheese after the coating got chipped, Spend the extra $50 and get stainless ones. Rust never sleeps.

 

Up north you would probably be better off getting the stainless and paint it.
I have black painted Westin bars and they are 10 years old with no visible rust. However, I had them painted last year just because the black started to fade and I wanted them color coded to the truck's accent color, and I remember that when I took them off and tilted them on end there were rust flakes coming out the end, so the insides are rusting, but like I said, it's been 10 years, so it's not bad.
Someone has suggested spraying the expandable foam insulation into the open ends to prevent moisture from getting in there and rusting from the inside out, but I don't know if that might cause other problems.

 

"Black stainless steel"...whatever it is, it sounds awesome! Who offers that?

I put on mild steel N-Fab steps a few months ago. I was just counting on them rusting. My plan was to sandblast them and take them to Line-X years from now. If I'd realized that black stainless steel was out there, I definitely would have considered it (depending on how they look).

 

There are very few manufacturers doing Black Stainless. Westin was the biggest to offer it, but their vehicle coverage has decreased significantly in that material.

All you have to do is buy a set of standard stainless bars and have them powdercoated.

 

With everything else blacked out on my white TRD i was really hoping for the black step bars as an accent as well. The one shop i called today mention buying the black bars then having them coated with the same stuff they use to line truck boxes...

 

I have the Westin Black stainless steps on my 2008, love them and yes they are the ones you should buy. I had a black steel push bar and it rusted out over one winter in New England. They replaced under warranty but i paid extra to get the thing linex'd so that it doesn't rust out.

 

Do you know the part # for those steps?? Also any pictures would be great !

 

I bought stainless 2" Nfabs with the intention of painting or powdercoating them

 

I bought a set of N-Fab 2" black step bars. Line-X said they will spray them for $100 per side. Paid $300 shipped for the bars, so $500 total. A little pricey, but if the Line-X holds up as good on the bars as it did on the bed of my 11 year old Silverado, they should last awhile.

 

Do they use salt for the snow in Missouri ?

 

Yes, and plenty of it. In the past, it was mostly the rock salt, but over the last few years they have been switching more to the sodium choride solution. But either way, they aren't stingy with it. I try and wash my vehicles in the winter anytime the temp gets above freezing.