making non-stainless step bars last.

[racsan]

8 years ago when i got my used truck i went with a set of westin black-painted std steel step bars. i noticed the insides were unpainted and knowing that most rotten step bars id seen seem to rust from the inside out, i thought id try painting the insides. i poured 1/2 a qt of black rustoleum paint inside each one, turned them, tilted them back and forth, trying my best to coat the inside of a 3" pipe that i couldnt see. put them on and kept up with the outside as best as i could, waxing in the summer, painting any rusty spots, running huge front mud flaps to try and keep gravel damage at bay. took them off this week because i had noticed the step pads were loose and under the drivers side one there was a rust hole, knocked on them with a shot hammer and poured all sorts of rusty wet crap out. found a few pinholes i was unaware of. im going to completely sand the outside and im wondering what i could pour inside. liquid bedliner? construction expanding foam? or should i just let be and be glad ive gotton 8 years out of a non-stainless step bar set? im not sure what the normal service life for a product like this is, my truck is driven daily, year round, and they seem to salt 1/2" for every 1/4" of snow we get around here. im thinking construction foam would just hold water like a sponge, dont know how well bedliner would stick, i cant prep the inside like you can a truck bed. if it wouldnt take so much to do, id almost consider putting a grease fitting on and fill them with grease, i considered used motor oil if i could indeed completely seal it up. anyone tried anything that worked? or by the time they rotted through it was time to get another truck anyhow? i doubt i'l have it another 8 years, so im thinking of trying to make what i have go a few more years.

 

[Iron Ranger]

They will and do rust out with time and it seems like there's nothing one can do about it. I like your idea of trying to coat the inside with paint, but that road salt has a way of getting into the tightest of spaces.

Some of the problems with steel step tubes are that they aren't the thickest of material, so it'll rust right through in spots over time. ANd another spot where rust would start at is where the braces are welded since the inside of the tube has heated up to red-orange from the weld heat, which leaves a gray "coating" more or less over it. That gray coating is a form of oxidation, which turns to rust in a very short time unless it's delt with. Even lower grades of stainless steel will rust out in time.

I'd say to fight rust on a steel side step tube, make it airtight, or at least cap off the ends to keep water/salt/moisture out of the tube. Then keep maintaining the outside spots that may show up.

Or go to a larger gauge tube and make one yourself. A tube that has 10ga (about 1/8") thick wall is going to waaaaaaaaay outlast the vehicle it's installed on.

That's what I would do on steel steps.

Hope this helps!

 

[straycat]

I have had my ss nerf bars since 2001, and they still look brand new. The mounting hardware is still in perfect condition. No signs of any corroding at all. Not bad for an Ebay item that I paid $139 for with free shipping included. They are still on Ebay for about the same price. I see them once in awhile when I look at nerf bars for some buddies who are looking for stuff for birthdays and graduation days for their family.

 

[racsan]

just had a thought while at the store getting some primer and sandpaper. suppose you used a "pull wire" to drag several strips of fiberglass cloth through the entire length of the tubes, then filled the tubes with fiberglass resin? yeah, it would weigh alot, cost alot. ive even thought of putting a grease fitting on and pressureizing them with grease. once again though, it would take quite a bit, then imagine when you did get a pinhole from the outside and its hot out, that would be a mess. but with fiberglass resin, you would only have a issue with the bars being heavy when you put them back on and the cost of material, im guessing it would take at least 2 gallon per side. once i get the outsides redone, i'll have to fill one with water, then dump it out into a 5 gallon bucket and see how much it took, that would also let me know how heavy i could expect it to become. hhhmmmnn..

 

[Iron Ranger]

You can try, but I think that making your own out of a thicker tube would be much easier, cheaper, and last longer.

Just my $.02

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have had my ss nerf bars since 2001, and they still look brand new. The mounting hardware is still in perfect condition. No signs of any corroding at all. Not bad for an Ebay item that I paid $139 for with free shipping included. They are still on Ebay for about the same price. I see them once in awhile when I look at nerf bars for some buddies who are looking for stuff for birthdays and graduation days for their family.

+1

My 2002 F-150 has had chrome or SS Lavurne bars on it since I got it in '05 (probably OEM) and they still look new.

Not surprisingly for me the powdercoated brackets are getting rusty though. I wish they would forget that crap and just paint them, that way when they rust (and everything powdercoated I have gotten has) it is easier to strip and paint. What has rust under it flakes off, what is actually still stuck good paint remover won't touch, plugs sandpaper, sandblaster just dents and a wire wheel on a angle grinder will rip off. Which is all and great, but a angle grinder is kind of bulky to get in places on some projects.

 

[strvger]

fill the tubes with the better expanding foam to help get the moisture out and keep it out. seal the ends as well as you can. after they are all mounted up, a couple coats of POR15 or similar stuff. then cover it all with some herculiner. then just have to wait and see.
overall, i haven't been too impressed with powder coatings. seem like those pieces rust just as fast as ones covered with good primer and paint.
and forget the cheap 'stainless steel' pieces we are getting from china. junk!
good luck for sure.

 

[straycat]

+1

My 2002 F-150 has had chrome or SS Lavurne bars on it since I got it in '05 (probably OEM) and they still look new.

Not surprisingly for me the powdercoated brackets are getting rusty though. I wish they would forget that crap and just paint them, that way when they rust (and everything powdercoated I have gotten has) it is easier to strip and paint. What has rust under it flakes off, what is actually still stuck good paint remover won't touch, plugs sandpaper, sandblaster just dents and a wire wheel on a angle grinder will rip off. Which is all and great, but a angle grinder is kind of bulky to get in places on some projects.

Now, where you live you get snow. I go to the beach several times a month and I can park on the beach and I think that with being near the salt water so much these have lasted so good. The brackets still look like new with no signs of rust. I think we both got our money's worth, Bro!!!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Now, where you live you get snow. I go to the beach several times a month and I can park on the beach and I think that with being near the salt water so much these have lasted so good. The brackets still look like new with no signs of rust. I think we both got our money's worth, Bro!!!

I think a large part of it is I drive thru sand and gravel roads at a fairly decent speed, so my tires kick it up. The bars and brackets being right behind the front tires catch the brunt of it.

Then winter sets in and coats all the little nicks with salt...

I have no complaints with mine, the only guy that will see the brackets is the guy I run over, and who will he tell? My grille guard is probably where most of my pent up anti powder coat feelings stem from, gawd that powdercoat was hard to get off...

 

[racsan]

dad has had some real good stuff from a company called luverne. must be stainless, he never washes anything and the '96 bronco looks as good as the day it was accesoried.

 

[shane96ranger]

fill the tubes with the better expanding foam to help get the moisture out and keep it out. seal the ends as well as you can. after they are all mounted up, a couple coats of POR15 or similar stuff. then cover it all with some herculiner. then just have to wait and see.
overall, i haven't been too impressed with powder coatings. seem like those pieces rust just as fast as ones covered with good primer and paint.
and forget the cheap 'stainless steel' pieces we are getting from china. junk!
good luck for sure.

I think this is solid advice here. Great idea! Rep for you.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If you try the foam trick, get closed cell, open cell will soak up water.