I purchased a 50-inch Rigid Industries light bar along with the Poison Spyder A-pillar mounts for Christmas. These mounts come as bare metal so now I need to either paint or powder coat the them. The mounts will be black and I'm leaning toward painting them so that I can easily touch them up later if they get scratched up on the trail. I've never painted metal before so I want to make sure I do this right.

Any suggestions on what primer / paint to use?

 

Self etching primer and whatever paint you would like. If you want the satin look I would suggest john Deere blitz black as it's super durable and easily touched up.


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I tried painting them myself first but ended up going with a durable powdercoat finish. I should have powdercoated originally because it has been the best.

 

I did mine, along with redoing the rubi rails. If you take your time and paint at 70-80 degrees in the shade they will come out nice.



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JcrOffroad, Inc. JK Wrangler Rear Tire Carrier Bumper - Deluxe

There is a paint tutorial in this link from JCR Offroad.

 

I really like the rustoleum satin pro enamel. It's about 1.00 more a can than the regular rustoleum, but the cans are larger. It covers well and is really durable.

 

It costs,,, but I also recommend the powder coat.

 

I'm a professional painter, so here's my list with the priority being corrosion resistance.

Bare metal prep;

It's absolutely critical that the metal be clean before you coat it. This can easily be accomplished with a scotch brite pad and acetone or lacquer thinner.

Bare metal coating options;

1) powder coat (by far the most durable option, home appliances are powder coated)
2) electro coat (you probably won't find anyone to do this, but it's what factory part and cars are dunked in at the factory)
3) epoxy primer. (Epoxy primer is the best solution that's somewhat easy to apply, but since it's a two part component, you will need a spray gun)
4) etch primer (this comes two ways, two part mixable in need of a spray gun, and rattle can)

Top coating;

This is not necessary with powder coat, but is with the other three. In my case, I'm applying sealer, paint and cleat coat because it's the best method (next to powder coat) and I can do it for free. In your case, Rusoleum is just fine.

Caveats;

Etch primer in a rattle can is going to be your most accessible option. On a professional level, it's not recommended to be used on any area larger than a quarter. There is very little acid in rattle can etch primer so it's only moderately effective. It also, by itself, is not corrosion resistant. It will need to be painted over with another product. Again, Rustoleum should be suitable.

Also, UV resistance is fairly poor with most 1 part rattle can paints. They tend to fade more quickly than more durable options. But it's also very easy to just recoat them every few years. Scuff with scotch brite and soapy water and reshoot. Never clean a singe part component with a solvent, you'll wipe it off and have to start over.

If your options are between powder coating and rattle can painting, your two choices are almost literally the best and worst options. But even the worst option is pretty good given care to application and maintenance over time.

 

I just reviewed that link. That's a good little instruction manual. The tack rag is helpful, you can even get them at your local big box hardware store.

 

Thanks for all the feedback! I'll post some pics when done to show how everything turned out.