I made a discovery of sorts.....stock roof rails

So I have been working on my spare set of roof rails....forever it seems

I was close to being done. In fact I was on my last coat of 2K clear coat when I got too excited and went too heavy on my very last piece I was spraying. It left a run, a white streak, and since it was a satin clear as I soon found out there is no real way to patch it like you can a gloss clear.

So the guy at the paint store said I could sand it all down or I could try some lacquer thinner and take everything off that way. Yep...had to basically start all over on this one piece.

Anyhoo....as I stripped off the clear coat, then the base coat and got back down to the stock silver coat. I found the lacquer even ate through that too.

So what's under that matte silver coating? Well it appears to be a black primer coating? Then under that it's the shiny aluminum.

Unless this is how anodizing works.

Anyway...this is what I found......If by chance you were curious.

 

Berry intalesting.

 

Yeah I am finding I am super obsessive about doing things a certain way. If I did it all over I wouldn't even clear it, I'd scuff it use the SEM Trim Black and be done. By itself that stuff is super strong, self leveling (no orange peal), and matches perfect the OEM trim on the rest of the vehicle. Just thought a 2K clear would offer a little bit more protection from fading, plus since I bought factory matched paint that required a clear coat to cover my badge overlays I figured what the hell since I already had it....but at $30 a can for that Spraymax 2K stuff a screw up is very costly. Plus there is only one place in the metro that stocks the satin finish and it's like an hour round trip to drive there and back.

 

So years ago I was building a custom Harley. Had it completely torn apart and was detailing and molding the frame. Primer went great. Fresh gloss black when great. First coat of clear went great. I totally screwed the pooch on the second coat of clear. MAJOR runs. Aaaa, good times.

 

Oh...if you only knew how many sand down and resprays I've had to do on all my paint projects I've got going on. Most of it due to poor technique and cheap junk paint from the auto part stores. I let that stuff cure for a week after spraying and could still leave a scratch on it with just my fingernail. If I would have done more research before blindly jumping into these projects I would of spent more money up front going to an auto paint supplier but saved a bunch more money and time in the long run.

 

The silver is just painted aluminum?

 

It sure appears that way. It through me for a loop. I don't know how anodizing works but I assumed that's what the stock was it was before I painted over it. When I hit first hit that black under coating I thought it was the black I painted at first until the thinner went right through that to aluminum under it. In retrospect though it wouldn't be very cost effective for Toyota to anodize those things.

 

hmmm.... it's a metal roof rail right? so didn't you expect to see metal after the paint/primer is all removed?

 

Priming

I thought, and I know others thought as well, that it was anodized aluminum. Which would not involve a primer since it's a chemical dipping and bonding process similar to chrome. So I didn't expect to see primer, but I also found it funny that under the silver was black. Didn't mean to make it seem like I was reporting on finding holes in the ground after digging in my backyard.

 

lol... sorry i didnt meant it like that. i guess im not familar with anodized aluminum not requiring primer. i've seen all kinds of metals use primer before paint, even aluminum.

 

I don't think it would be very cost effective for mass production anyway with all that's involved. As I found out when inquiring around town with local places that offered it didn't even have tanks big enough to accommodate anything longer than 18 inches. The only place in town that did was the type of place that did huge pieces that you'd see outside of store fronts. On top of that they didn't even offer black only bronze.

To each their own though. I was turned on to the SEM Trim Black paint by the gentleman I bought my spare rails and end caps from. He raved enough about it that I decided to give it a try. He was right, the stuff is absolutely amazing and the difference really is night and day between that and Rustoleum or Duplicolor. It's forgiving if you make a pass that's a little too wet, it self levels, and no orange peal. It literally matches the color, finish, and durability of the windshield wiper arms and the the trim around your windows. A place here in town sells an 15oz can for $10.24, but at $15 a can the stuff is still worth it. Most of all it doesn't need a clear coat. I just put a clear on it because I had it and was clearing other paint that required it. In fact when I swap out the set of rails I painted with what's on there now I'll just use this by itself and then sell those.

 

I know you weren't recommending.

Just giving a longer ramble on how I came about deciding on what I decided to decide on.