Custom bed rack paint

So I built myself a bedrack a couple of months ago for hauling my kayak/ladders/wood and whatever else around. I painted it with the Rustoleom Hammered finish black paint and the main hoops got scratched to hell already and started rusting. I was toying around with the idea of using some herculiner on them, but i doubt it will hold up to the abuse.

I was also thinking about getting a piece of black PVC pipe and ripping it down on a table saw. I would use like a 1" section as a cap to prevent the hoops from getting beat up. This would probably look a little halfassed though. Maybe use some adhesive backed black outdoor carpet.
Any ideas?

Heres the rack before paint

 

skate board tape?

 

I was thinking about that but it would probably beat the hell out of the kayak. Definitely putting some on my sliders though.

 

What about pipe insulation? Or another good option would be bicycle tire tubes.

 

I like the idea of the bike tire tube. Thanks for the idea.

 

I always save my bike tubes when I get a flat. There are a lot of good uses for them!

 

I used Duplicolor Bed Armor on my bed rack and it's held up to loading gear on it, dragging it through trees, shovels, Hi Lifts, etc.

May need some slight touch up after two seasons... is what I foresee.