Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
then,
i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
i got it, brought it home,
ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
K-C lihgts, over the winch,
ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
rocker-bars
im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
with a grinder-wheel,
all and all,
,
so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
,
im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
ida spent on one item,
and having fun doing it.
,
but i do have one question,
whats a tough paint??
heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
,
so i need opinions on a tough paint,
thanks,
johnp

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I painted my mirror arms and brackets (after blasting them) with a
Rustoleum they make for painting steel outdoor staircases and stuff. It
has polymers or something in it so it won't scrape or scratch. Won't
hold wax though :) It was like $5 a can at Home Depot.

Matt

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I painted my mirror arms and brackets (after blasting them) with a
Rustoleum they make for painting steel outdoor staircases and stuff. It
has polymers or something in it so it won't scrape or scratch. Won't
hold wax though :) It was like $5 a can at Home Depot.

Matt

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I painted my mirror arms and brackets (after blasting them) with a
Rustoleum they make for painting steel outdoor staircases and stuff. It
has polymers or something in it so it won't scrape or scratch. Won't
hold wax though :) It was like $5 a can at Home Depot.

Matt

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

Powder coat is an extremely tough finish, works great for the top side
of boulder bars. But it is no match for rocks, you will dig down to the
raw steel in a hurry. Then you have the problem of not being able to
touch up the powder coat. There are plenty of places that will powder
coat these, be aware that tube assemblies tend to trap the wash down
liquids, then bleed out onto the final finish.

I've been happy with rattle can Rustoleum. You need to find the
commercial grade Semi Gloss. It is much tougher than the flat grade,
much less touchy for looks than the full gloss versions. I used it on my
front and rear bumpers, it takes the brush and small trees just fine, it
will chip when I hook on a chain. Touchup is easy.


Dirty Ditch Dawg wrote:
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

Powder coat is an extremely tough finish, works great for the top side
of boulder bars. But it is no match for rocks, you will dig down to the
raw steel in a hurry. Then you have the problem of not being able to
touch up the powder coat. There are plenty of places that will powder
coat these, be aware that tube assemblies tend to trap the wash down
liquids, then bleed out onto the final finish.

I've been happy with rattle can Rustoleum. You need to find the
commercial grade Semi Gloss. It is much tougher than the flat grade,
much less touchy for looks than the full gloss versions. I used it on my
front and rear bumpers, it takes the brush and small trees just fine, it
will chip when I hook on a chain. Touchup is easy.


Dirty Ditch Dawg wrote:
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

Powder coat is an extremely tough finish, works great for the top side
of boulder bars. But it is no match for rocks, you will dig down to the
raw steel in a hurry. Then you have the problem of not being able to
touch up the powder coat. There are plenty of places that will powder
coat these, be aware that tube assemblies tend to trap the wash down
liquids, then bleed out onto the final finish.

I've been happy with rattle can Rustoleum. You need to find the
commercial grade Semi Gloss. It is much tougher than the flat grade,
much less touchy for looks than the full gloss versions. I used it on my
front and rear bumpers, it takes the brush and small trees just fine, it
will chip when I hook on a chain. Touchup is easy.


Dirty Ditch Dawg wrote:
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I use either Krylon or Rustoleum - I forget, and I don't think I make any
attempt to be sure I alwasy use the same. My rocker protection is diamond
plating and angle iron. I wash it all off every year or so and apply a fresh
coat of paint. It gets scratched in the mean time, but it's no big deal. If
I cared, I could paint it after every time I go for a ride. It isn't that
the paint doesn't stick, it's that I find ways to scrape it off practically
everytime I go for a ride.

I wouldn't bother with the expense of powder coating the rocker protection.
If you use your rocker guards right, powder coating will get wiped out
anyway. Buy a 12 pack of Krylon or Rustoleum, and you can get years of
touching up.





"Dirty Ditch Dawg" <scopenutt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1106927802.104458.192010@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I use either Krylon or Rustoleum - I forget, and I don't think I make any
attempt to be sure I alwasy use the same. My rocker protection is diamond
plating and angle iron. I wash it all off every year or so and apply a fresh
coat of paint. It gets scratched in the mean time, but it's no big deal. If
I cared, I could paint it after every time I go for a ride. It isn't that
the paint doesn't stick, it's that I find ways to scrape it off practically
everytime I go for a ride.

I wouldn't bother with the expense of powder coating the rocker protection.
If you use your rocker guards right, powder coating will get wiped out
anyway. Buy a 12 pack of Krylon or Rustoleum, and you can get years of
touching up.





"Dirty Ditch Dawg" <scopenutt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1106927802.104458.192010@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>

Re: Rocker bars and a tough Paint.
 

I use either Krylon or Rustoleum - I forget, and I don't think I make any
attempt to be sure I alwasy use the same. My rocker protection is diamond
plating and angle iron. I wash it all off every year or so and apply a fresh
coat of paint. It gets scratched in the mean time, but it's no big deal. If
I cared, I could paint it after every time I go for a ride. It isn't that
the paint doesn't stick, it's that I find ways to scrape it off practically
everytime I go for a ride.

I wouldn't bother with the expense of powder coating the rocker protection.
If you use your rocker guards right, powder coating will get wiped out
anyway. Buy a 12 pack of Krylon or Rustoleum, and you can get years of
touching up.





"Dirty Ditch Dawg" <scopenutt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1106927802.104458.192010@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Well i was going to buy a set of Olympic rocker bars for my jeep,
> then,
> i went and priced a stick welder,,havnt welded since i was 19 :)
> i got it, brought it home,
> ive built a brush-bar on my winch-plate and have re-mounted my
> K-C lihgts, over the winch,
> ive spot-welded my nut-heads on the winch, just two,
> im in the middle of building a sort-of- look-alike
> rocker-bars
> im having a ball, teaching my son how to weld,
> and what flash-burn feels like,,axidentaly,
> how to cut half a finger off, and get 16 stiches,
> with a grinder-wheel,
> all and all,
> ,
> so far hes learning NOT to do what im doing,,,,
> ,
> im getting more stuff built myself for the same amount of money
> ida spent on one item,
> and having fun doing it.
> ,
> but i do have one question,
> whats a tough paint??
> heres where building verses buying gets me, as i cant powder-coat.
> ive anodized tons of aluminum, but cant powder-coat large stuff,
> ,
> so i need opinions on a tough paint,
> thanks,
> johnp
>