[jgarza2213]

Hey guys I took off my rocker panels with the intention of sanding them down and then painting them. I started sanding one side down, then had secind thoughts and just figured Id have a body shop paint them so that it would be a good quality, since that part of the truck takes some abuse. well, the body shop said they would paint them because I roughed them up! So I guess now its back to square one!
So..
What is the best way to sand them down? By hand?
Also, what grit should I start with and finish with?
Just trying to talk to someone else who has done this so that I can possibly save a headache or two!
Thanks for any help guys!

 

[trout]

try a different body shop?

Not sure what you do with your truck, but if you're giving them a lot of abuse, I coated the rockers on my last truck with bed liner.

Just sand by hand for the best control.

 

[tb26s]

i used an air sander. with i think 180 grit paper. then primed it with a flexible primer and then wet sanded them again and them painted them. they look like the rest of my truck. i also did the same to everything if you take a look at my pics you will see.

 

[MrSmithsTB]

Definitely use a power sander. 180 to start, 320, and then 600. Throw some primer on them sumbitches, 2 or three coats. Sand with 1000grit between coats. They will be smooth and prepped and no body shop should have a problem painting them. You need to remember to sand them down enough, because unpainted automotive plastics are moisture resistant to avoid mold.

 

[bagged00]

im not going to deal with the hassle of sanding all the texture out. im going to scotch bright with warm soapy water to get contaminents off, the spray with a plastic cleaner to open up the pores in the plastic and then spray adhesion promotor on then paint. since theres some texture in them the texture will serve as the purpose of sand scratches. maybe not all but some of the texture will get filled in by the clear coat. its just to much of a hassle getting textured plastic smooth.

 

[brendanthemac]

been thinking about line-xing or rhino linings those panels for a while now, going to rip off the trim molding and emblems first, but eventually i hope to spray those rocker panels, thanks for the vote of confidence! :iagree:

 

[jaylind]

i used an air sander. with i think 180 grit paper. then primed it with a flexible primer and then wet sanded them again and them painted them. they look like the rest of my truck. i also did the same to everything if you take a look at my pics you will see.

I have seen a few posts with "flexible primer" but do you also use flexible paint and clear coat? Never seen them. I sanded mine down (not perfectly smooth), primed, painted and after a couple months of the kids climbing in and out the paint was not lasting. So the second round I went with bedliner and the nerf bars seems to be holding up much better.

Jay

 

[Tiimewave Zero]

i took mine to a bodyshop today and was basically told not to bother sanding/painting them because it wont last...what is the best (cheapest) option? im putting nerf bars on next week and wanna get these done soon

 

[05 bTlRaAzIeLr]

well depends on how much your willing to pay im pretty sur the 06 and up LT's have smooth rockers. i scuffed mine up with a red scotch bright pad and primed them. sanded them smooth, painted and cleared them. i do it every day since i work in a body shop and mine have held up fine.

 

[ibidu1]

What I would do first thing is grab a rag and lacquer thinner all the parts you plan on painting. Just to remove any armor oil or oils that are soaked in the plastic.

Grab 120 grit by hand sand all the parts, then go to walmart they sell a primer that is called High Build Primer, its gray in color. If you want a smooth surface spray the primer on thick, what you want to do is have the primer fill in all the little texture in the plastics.

Sand again with 120 grit, spray another layer of primer, and now sand to 400 grit and then take it to a body shop and tell them to shoot them for you.