Painting Bare Metal (Steel) Skids

Question for y'all:

I assume the go-to for painting bare metal steel skids is using self-etching primer (rust-oleum?) and then whatever paint you want (could even be rust-oleum!). Anyone have any tips/products to avoid/etc.?

Thanks!

 

I just spray my stuff with Rust-olium BBQ enamel. Holds up pretty good.

 

No primer?

 

Nope, I just prep it(clean/de-grease) and paint it with the BBQ stuff.

 

a lot of people will use spray on or roll on bedliner or line-x as well

 

Steel-It for the win!

Just did two bumpers and sliders for my truck with it. Great stuff. Not exactly cheap but also much better than typical paint.

 

Steel-It, eh? A brief Googling makes me fairly interested. What variant did you use/what's it cost?

 

I almost did steel-it this time around, just couldn't bring myself to dish out the extra loot to paint something I'm going to be messing up all the time. Its supposed to be some dang good stuff!

 

• wipe it down with acetone
• Rustoleum self-etching primer (2 coats)
• Rustoleum satin black paint (1 light coat, 2 medium coats)
• Let completely dry before handling them

I like to set up two ladders and bridge them with wood. Hang the skids off that. Ensures the greatest coverage.

Also get one of those spray gun things that clip onto the top of the spray paint can.

 

Yeah I want something that's somewhat durable but mostly easy to maintain, not necessarily concerned with the finish itself.

 

Acetone is great for cleaning, but leaves a residue, which can cause adhesion problems. Iso alcohol removes this.
When surface cleanliness is critical, solvent must be wiped up before it dries to avoid letting contaminants remain on surfaces.
We are talking about skid plates though, so it's not worth putting too effort into when they'll be repainted/touched up several times.

 

I used the standard formula, black color. Sourced it from Wild Powersports in Fort Collins CO. About $24/can... yeah, expensive, but WAY cheaper than powdercoat, I can touch it up at will, and it's more durable than spray paint.

 

Did you have to prime it or do anything special for it? How many cans did you need/use?

 

I did this for my sliders but added bed liner to the top coat. Took 20 minutes to touch up with a piece of cardboard for overspray on a calm day.

 

Another vote for Steel-It. Our friends at a local fab shop have used it on Ultra4 chassis with great results. The sport cage and harness bar in our Jeep is painted in black Steel-It. It's very durable and easy to touch up.

 

I use an angle grinder and brush it smooth, hang it from the roof, do an acetone wipe-down then dab on this stuff:

$27 Rust-Oleum Automotive 248915 32-Ounce Truck Bed Coating Quarts, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070S7U4Y/ using a foam brush. I paint the inside with an oil-based enamel from Home Depot. I usually do a couple of thick coats.

Let it dry for a week. Seriously. Handling after a day even will have more chance of damage.





Touch-up is trivial, just open the bedliner paint again and dab it on there. I usually touch up every year.

 

Typically, you don't paint over self etching primer and would do a filler or sandable primer before top coat. Epoxy primers don't require that though so you can go right to a top coat with those but they're more expensive.

As long as you prep, prime and top coat (follow coat instructions) and let it cure before full use, you should be got to go.

 

I assume I'll be touching up every oil change, at least the front plate.

Definitely appreciate the responses so far, Steel-It is something I never knew existed until I posted this lol.

 

I did not use primer of any sort - one of the fun things about Steel-It is that you can weld through it. Can't do that if you use primer though. I prepped with a wire wheel and some 60 grit sandpaper. Cleaned everything with acetone. Sprayed away. Gotta be sure to keep the nozzle clean or it begins blowing chunks. Overall I'm pretty stoked on this stuff though.

For my sliders I used about three cans for the set, 3 coats each.

 

I see they sell the cans in a 3-can set, but I refuse to do math right now so I have no idea if there's any cost savings. Appreciate the feedback, this seems very, very intriguing.