Material has been cracking and peeling off my running boards, need advice on how to repair....

My 2016 Tacoma's stock running boards have had the gritty material covering the actual cracking and peeling right off the past few months. I have attached some pictures to illustrate what I am talking about. I was hoping someone here would have some experience repairing this type of issue. Obviously, I'd like to repair it myself, but I'm not sure the best way how (or which product to use). I almost imagine rolling Flex Seal over the missing patches would work, but I wasn't sure if that would be a long term solution. Part of me wonders if I should just try to manually remove all of the material covering the stock board right off and start from scratch with something.

Any help appreciated....

 

My first thought is a proper refinish is more effort (effort, not $) than they are worth.

That said, *I'd* give them to the recycler.

Try w/o any boards for a while. If you find you need them to serve as steps for regular passengers, get a nice set of bolt on sliders.

If none of that is possible, or you just love the style, then stripping them, prepping the metal and finishing them with bedliner is likely the most cost effective way.

If you know someone with access to a media blaster that would be the fastest stripping method.

 

I believe they are the factory cast aluminum running boards so rust isn't a problem.

No patch will probably hold for long as the bond is compromised on the original finish.

A full strip and refinish with a bed liner product would probably be a low cost although high labor repair, if you are just a bit handy you can do the job in your driveway. They are attached with about 6 bolts per side.

 

I had that problem with an aluminum grill. The salt brine in winter here was creating a chemical reaction with the aluminum. I had to strip all the original paint off and sand it all down and repaint it. Just went through the first winter with it repainted and no issues.

 

I’m having a similar issue with my N-Fab predator pro steps. Finish peeling on the end caps after 2 north New Jersey winters. All 4 end caps same issue.

 

Gotta' Warranty??
My cheapo Amazon steps rusted after 6 months and they sent me a new set. And, no, I didn't have to return them.

 

Sent them a email tonight. Suppose to be a 5 year finish warranty. So I will see.

 

Any feedback from Toyota? I am experiencing the exact same issue on my 2106 Tacoma TRD Off-Road with the same style running boards.

 

Sand and re-apply bed liner. Raptor liner is great. Temporary fix. OR peel everything off and apply bed liner.

 

I had the same thing happen to my predator pro's. The aftermarket dealer i bought them from looked after me twice.

 

Do you only want to repair for cosmetic reasons? If so then just do it right and go pay to have it sand blasted then powder coated.

Are you on a budget? Buy a $20 sander and some high grit and waste an afternoon. Repaint with your choice of spray.

Want to spend no money? Just let it go. I think it looks fine

 

Update: Nfab took care of it. Sent me a new pair under warranty.

 

OP never returned, but as mentioned they’re probably not your time to pursue or to refinish.

 

Thought they might. I bought mine on Amazon, and they rusted in less than 6 months. They sent me a new pair a year ago. So far, so good!