What have you done to your 1st gen Tundra today?

I gotta say - they are legit and look really nice. I consider White Knuckle the benchmark after my research. I think these are likely as good - you can lift half the truck using them, and I opted for welded on with bolted tabs which is actually stronger. They can be unbolted for finish if one likes. Billy also doesn't charge enough, so if you can handle the wait...

 

I’d love a pair of those sliders as well. Other side of the country however.

 

Shipping to me would have been $200 for 8 footers. I paid that much in gas, but I realized without a lift and rad weld skills, I wanted those guys to install them.

 

I gotta say - those grilles do look pretty rad.

 

I've lifted my truck from the sliders before just for kicks. I will say, I think you should have had them powder coated first. Are you taking them off to get that done? Also, I think Billy's prices are a lot more reasonable. White Knuckle raised their prices and they are a bit outrageous now.

 

I don't plan to powder coat them. I know that's the go-to, but I'm more of a spray shit on there and touch up or respray as needed kinda guy for this. I'll probably POR-15/and rattle something else.

 

Took the Taco to the new property. Sequoia did the hard work here though, Tundra got a weekend off from moving.

 

I have been leaning towards these for awhile, nice to know they are good quality and of course the price tag on these things are great! definitely want to get some soon. how long did you wait?

 

A lot longer than the advertised 20 weeks. I think it was late November when I made the order. Some things go faster than others, but nothing is fast - they can't keep up. However, from the 805, no better deal. So...

 

Here's the weld tabs / bolt setup. +130 currently, but I like it a lot.

 

That was my plan too. I followed the steps White Knuckle recommend and had horrible results when I spray painted my sliders. The paint just scraped right off with my fingernail.

Discussed here and here.

If you move forward with painting, don't do what I did. It ended up costing me more in the long run than if I had just powder coated them to begin with because I had to pay them to sandblast them.

Also, when this was happening @Casper421 told me he ended up dealing with similar headaches with painting his sliders on his 4Runner(I think).

 

I'm 100% with you - Powder Coat is the gold standard. My current plan is POR-15 everywhere. I need to do the frame anyway and it's a really good base and rust killer. It does not like UV, so it's not a sun side finish for looks anyway. After that, I was going to Raptor spray the top/visible parts. I have that on both bumpers and it's awesome. It better be at $30-45 a can. However, after I fuck this all up, I will admit it and triple my expense by doing PC after the fact.

I know for sure I can't rattle a decent paint finish - I won't try. A textured finish is another story. And the durability I've seen. But, it's also a preference thing. If my plan was a semi or gloss painted look - powder coat is the only choice, IMO.

 

Powder coat is great if you live somewhere without salt. Even then it's great until it isn't. Once it gets a scrape the rust grows under the coating and it just flakes off in big sheets.

 

Yup. Powdercoat is a bad idea, you're just encapsulating the steel with a coating. Any perforation, scratch, or similar, and you've got a water entry point, and that water can never get out. Powdercoat doesn't bond to metal, it just encapsulates it. Actually, POR-15 is similar, but closer to a hybrid between paint and powdercoat.

A good self-etching primer will physically bond with metal, then applying paint topcoat that bonds with the primer, you've got a great seal. Have issues, dent, scratch? Sand, re-etch prime, re-paint. No problemo. If it's chunky, debride, treat, prime, paint, or fill.

OTOH, hit a rock on your trip, and flake off the coating? It's not like you can just powdercoat over the spot. Nope, gotta remove the PC, which isn't totally difficult with acetone, but not as easy as paint.

I'll never understand how powdercoat got such a high durability reputation, it's too damn fallible. I get it, it's a fraction of the cost of a proper paint job when measured pro vs. pro application, but it's nowhere near as bulletproof.

Quick edit: Looks like Fester and I posted at the same time basically saying the same thing

 

Can't say that I agree with much of this. In my case, the self etching primer and paint literally came off with my fingernail. I'll never try to paint bare metal again. Maybe it's like doing a garage floor in that it has to be scuffed first?
My powder coat has held up great for two years now. When it's gotten a chip I've touched up with a rattle can. Certainly no need to remove the PC like you said.

I would have been perfectly fine using spray paint or truck bed in a can but it just wasn't bonding to the metal.

 

I guess my thinking has been, if the sliders ever get used, and they will, a proper chroming would be fuct. So, go with protecting the metal and touch it up as needed. For aesthetics and functionality, and touch-up, That raptor stuff is pretty hard to beat. As long as you are good with orange-peel texture.

 

It comes down to abrasion resistance, IMO. And I agree, PC is more resistant than any other semi-gloss finish you can put on a part, except maybe? factory car paint? That has it's whole process and it's not coming out of a can either. IMO, do whatever works for you in the areas that are visible, used as steps, etc. The bottoms could be raw for the most part, on some dude's trucks they get that way every trip, to a point...I haven't done anything to them yet or tested the results, so don't hold me to anything. I'm going for looks good and easy to touch up.

 

The key to a bulletproof paintjob is prep, prep, prep. Yes, mechanical etching is probably critical, or at least chemically etching with steel/concrete prep, you can't just lay paint on bare steel that's had seen even 24-48 hours of humidity we have here on the east coast. Edit: And I know some guys who'll hit their bare steel w/WD40 for example, just to keep humidity rust at bay, and paint won't stick to it. Unless you know the person who did it, their steel source, or their practices, you always need to treat. I recommend steel/concrete prep in a spray bottle, followed by a paint prep spray.

Outside of that, the most difficult concepts for me to get through my thick ass skull were recoat windows and, more importantly, cure time. Your average enamel, if not baked, typically takes weeks and can take months to fully cure depending on the ambient temperature. My experience has been, I get the best paint if I follow the full cure time on the self-etch primer can after laying down necessary recoats, then sand as needed, then topcoat assuming your primer calls for it. Some primers I've used give you specific topcoat instructions for the final paint, to ensure bond between topcoat and primer, and primer to substrate.

But at the end of the day, it's all about prep. Seriously. If you were scraping shit off with your nail, you either didn't surface prep, or didn't allow enough bond/cure time.

I wouldn't chrome, but it's more durable than PC because chrome is a forcibly-bonded coating. Unfortunately, it's porous. And it flakes if water gets under it.

I also have beef with bedcoatings I've aired here, but I can't tell you the last time I saw someone with a raptor-lined truck with panels rotting off, or the liner chipping. I've seen plenty of rhino-liner balding, and had issues with line-x flaking off an aluminum tank I installed in one of my LS-swaps, and seen shit jobs with other brands. I don't have a gauge with raptor products.

 

Shameless plug: This is my favorite stuff to use on surface rust, bare metal, kinda like what you'd have gotten with your sliders. You can buy it all day long at your favorite big-box hardware store. This in a spray bottle, sprayed on and brushed in every nook and cranny with a little bronze wool or steel wool for more chunky surface rust will get your steel gleaming and ready to go again.

 

I got no time for that stinking cure! Lol. Without a doubt, cures and bakes when indicated are essential.

As a newly trained listener - here's what I got without listing the lessons:

The last several posts offered options that are based on knowledge and experience. Any dude off the street could read back an hour and weigh the pros and cons of most available options, including chrome dip (you're welcome) and make an informed choice. Pretty cool.

 

Yea, but it's harmful if swallowed

 

Any idea how this compares to acetone? That's what I used to clean the metal before applying primer when I attempted to paint mine. Pretty sure I got that suggestion from a video on YouTube from FristGenOffroad.

 

I can tell you from my knife making days, acetone leaves a film. I bought it by the gallon and chased it after dry with denatured alcohol. I learned that from some pretty critical dudes. Now, I was using that as prep for 2 part structural adhesive, but, acetone leaves a film.

 

Yup, but I've seen people recommend it or mineral spirits as a prep. Acetone will dissolve PC though, that's a plus. It's good for cleaning/thinning/sealing edges of PC.

But yeah, denatured alcohol. That's basically what's in the paint prep spray cans aka 'wax and grease remover'.

Acetone will dissolve contaminants and remove old paint. It won't do shit to surface rust. It can leave a film behind. Clean panels with paint prep spray. But always, always always use an etch like I posted when working with bare steel unless you sand it first, then rinse, blow off, and use heat to dry. Then follow with paint prep spray, then self-etch primer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sumb3GYuAT8

 

Just a friendly reminder: I'm not a pro. But I've painted a shitload of bike frames in my lifetime and learned the hard way far too many times.

 

Now, with the technical stuff out of the way - Orchard Supply Hardware used to have some professional enamel rattle can that beat the shit out of anything out there. I guess Lowe's closed them. But I had a 77 Jimmy and used it on the tie-rod (long bar connecting both hubs). No real prep but a hand sand, that thing took all road crap, and the paint pretty much said "no problem". Definitely an undercarriage use, but I miss that stuff.

 

I found out that you tube is pretty easy so I'm trying to use it more. Here's a sense of the BFF sliders from the rear.
https://youtu.be/CdHgK_yhmZA

 

Got the other tires and wheels in the garage in preparation for selling them (Let me know if you know anyone that is interested in the Raleigh area!). Sitting nice now this morning.

 

Still "making it my own"

Noises and rattles

Purchased a body fastener/bolt kit and started "chasing loose/worn" parts

Both front inner fenders needed attention , WTF Tundra is 20 years old...should be built better and the fender flares needed upgrades to the bolts.

Local Auto Store said 3M double side tape was on national back order;Amazon delivered the next day Now the Window shades are quiet

And being in Florida , the latest addition, SunPass installed....

Next upgrade will be window tint for the front doors ; Factory keeps back cool BUT now to decide between Good film or Ceramic...