Wanting to paint new CBI sliders. Paint questions...

I just got shipping notification on my CBI bolt on sliders for the 1st gen DC.

So I'm going to paint these sliders. Bed liner is out so... I will basically be sanding them a bit if needed, wiping with acetone, priming and painting with a rattle can.

There are several types of paints to use but I'm not sure if I should use a different type of paint other than a Krylon enamel paint. (semi?)gloss black. I was thinking of maybe some kind of undercoating type of paint just for the ease of coverage and some added durability from the odd rock chipping while doing mostly city driving. I don't care if they get scratched or used. But I don't want to be painting them every 6 months either.

Any brand recommendations, or just recommendations at all?

 

I've found PJ1 epoxy to be the cats ass. Extremely durable. Minimal prep required.

Rust oleum sucks

 

I like VHT. John Deere makes some good paint too.

 

Any epoxy paint is going to blow enamel or laquer out of the water

 

Here is how I did mine. First step is always to remove all the oils and grease. Think I cleaned them with acetone. Next I went over them with a Scotchbrite pad to remove loose stuff and then cleaned 'em again. Next step was sealing all the stitch welds with SEM autobody seam sealer to keep water and salt out of the areas that cant get a good coat of paint. The seam sealer wont crack or lift and is paintable. After that I primed with three thin coats of SEM self etching primer and finished with four coats of Rustoleum Professional enamel in satin black. If I was to do it over again I would skip the SEM self etching primer and enamel paint and use VHT Roll Bar and Chassis paint in satin black instead. Its self etching, epoxy based, and should be far more durable than rattle can enamel. The Rustoleum is soft like all other rattle can enamels and laquers because it isn't hardened.

 

Man, thanks for the advice guys. Now for the satin/gloss argument. I'll probably do satin.

I really like that it is truly a one step process. I'll take my orbital sander with 80 grit and go over the bars if needed, then acetone and paint.

I'm so excited to get these sliders!

 

Ok so how many cans did it take?! I just got them today and man that's a lot of tube to paint...

 

Honestly I don't recall. Two to four? Three should be more than enough but buy an extra can so that once you start you can for sure finish. I use one of these and I like it.

 

Ahhh ok, I'll buy 6 and return ones I don't use. But man I was thinking it would be like 8-10...

Thanks!!!

 

POR15

 

POR15 fades in the sun.

 

Not with their top coat, plus you can paint directly over it as well

 

Okay, you didn't recommend that the first time. There is no denying the POR15 is very tough but cleaning, then acid etching, then applying POR15, then applying a UV stable top coat that isn't as durable as the underlying POR15 seems like an awful lot of money and effort for sliders.

 

I wasn't being an ass or anything.
Yes POR15 is more work. But to me, in the end it is very much worth it considering sliders and bumpers range from around 400-1200 each. I want good protection for my truck and I also want quality protection for my protection

 

Yup POR15, doing the same to sliders and rear HC bumper from Pelfrey

 

For me easy touch ups are a must. If VHT epoxy holds up and looks decent, I'm happy. All are viable alternatives however.

This thread will help others for sure.

 

I like a nice satin black rustoleum for all my meant to be beaten parts

 

It's done. VHT chassis and roll bar paint did the trick and did it well. Just have to be patient. I just cleaned the hell out of the sliders with a ton of acetone and a ton of white rags. It took about 1.5 hrs per slider. Overall I used 4.5 cans of paint in satin black. Looks great!

I'd say that this paint is very durable given that during the install I was using a dead blow hammer (plastic) to help align the sliders up and down the frame and left no marks whatsoever. The paint is very durable so far.

I used a jack to "press" them on with the weight of the truck helping. Ya gotta be careful, yes they are bolt on but they do not want to come off or slide up and down the frame for positioning after they are about a quarter the way on.

 

Did you have any stitch welds to seal?

 

Well not really. They were fully welded all over, except on the gussets that run from the frame bracket down the tube that comes off the truck frame. They were fully welded up the bracket but the end of the portion on the gusset was welded from the end, about an inch to inch and a half toward the bracket. It would have been about 3 inches of welding on both sides to fully weld.

That said I suppose I could have sealed those, but I did not. Everything else was fine and I just hit it with several coats. 2-3 light coats per the instructions. Then I did about 4 medium coats about 15 minutes apart. Instructions said 2, so it's on there pretty thick. The gussets are on top of the tubes and will not be taking a lot of abuse.