Added some door sill decoration.

[snowman]

yea, anodizing can scrath easily but becasue it is a chemical reation is actuall extends a few mills below the surface -- so a light scrath would not be noticable. powder coat is great for abrasion resitance not impact resistance becasue it is essentially a heavy paint

[5S Dude]

Originally Posted by snowman

I have some sugestions about the finish of the door sill plates. You might consider getting them re-anodized (with a whole lot of color options) and of course powder coat is an option. But, becasue these are going to be recieveing a lot of impact type wear i believe that the powder coat will not last very long.
Some other options would be a polyester based clear coat, or make them out of stainless, this of course would increase the price and machine time -- but they would be essentailly bullet proof.

Of course since the current sills are aluminum they should hold up well to wear and tear -- except if they get wet -- if they begin to turn chalky or get little spots of white just take a little bit of sand paper to them, finish it up with steel wool and they will be good as new.

How do i know this? I am the production mamager at an aluminum foundry where we make all kinds of boring industrial stuff plus sculpture for artists so we have a lot of experience dealing with this finish issue.
(www.carrlanecastings.com)
one more idea -- you could plate them -- then they could come in all sorts of kick ass finishes ... and nickel is impossible to tarnish

Good morning SnowMan,

Thank you so much for your input! In reviewing the process options with the rest of the engineering group here at work a lot of discussion revolved around “Chem-Film”, Powder coating, Chrome plating, and anodizing. To anodize we would require the current parts to be striped of its hard coat finish (Very Costly) and some of our customers preferred not to have Chrome-Plated parts on their Ridgelines. Also anodizing in colors looks bitchen, however we have found that the colors fade in sunlight. Our consensus was to clear powder-coat them because of the cost factor. If any ROC members know of a cost-effective way of protecting these and other machined aluminum parts from the road salt please step forward. I do currently machine a number of stainless parts for the Hot-Rod industry, which are engine turned and had thought of utilizing this material for the doorsill project. However costs reared it ugly head and we went with aluminum, Big Mistake?.
Thanks guys. Maybe we could include a small jar of “Mothers aluminum polish” I’ll be all over this dilemma until it is resolved. Thank you again.

Ron

[snowman]

what about manganise bronze? it is sliver colored but bronze in chemical make up (i am sure i spelled managinse wrong)

[rtboy1961]

I am a respiratory therapist and would trade my medical skills of ventilateing people and running ventilators if I could have the know-how and equipment to make those door seals. They are awesome.

[5S Dude]

Originally Posted by rtboy1961

I am a respiratory therapist and would trade my medical skills of ventilateing people and running ventilators if I could have the know-how and equipment to make those door seals. They are awesome.

Hi rtboy1961,
Man! I may need your expertise if I don’t find a solution to combat good ole road salt!!

Snowman, my sources tell me the manganese bronze chem. film process would discolor the aluminum plus I can’t afford the costs. But thank you so much for your valued input.

Ron

[5S Dude]

Hello fellow ROC-Heads,

We have found a powder coating supplier who does aluminum sailboat parts. He has stated that these parts spend all their time in salt water so we are in the process of having a few billet parts clear coated.

At this point in time, I would like to know from our members, if any of you would prefer Chrome-plated sills as the costs are about the same? I’m just partial to the raw billet look but I will produce what you the customer like best. Thank you all for your patience in this matter. I’ll post a photo of a “Chrome” example I saw at the Off-Road Expo last weekend.

Ron

[ridgeln]

personally, I like the billet look. clear coat powder. The chrome is nice, but not as nice as the billet. Any ideas as to the "life expectancy" of both/either?

-ridgeln

[JOZ RIDG]

Originally Posted by 5S Dude

Hello fellow ROC-Heads,

We have found a powder coating supplier who does aluminum sailboat parts. He has stated that these parts spend all their time in salt water so we are in the process of having a few billet parts clear coated.

At this point in time, I would like to know from our members, if any of you would prefer Chrome-plated sills as the costs are about the same? I’m just partial to the raw billet look but I will produce what you the customer like best. Thank you all for your patience in this matter. I’ll post a photo of a “Chrome” example I saw at the Off-Road Expo last weekend.

Ron

I see screws on this set. Are they CNC'd in for appearance or are they functional? Either way that is a real nice look.

[5S Dude]

To be honest, I do not know how long either process will last. I do know that the Chrome can be scratched very easily. When entering and exiting you’ll notice that you rarely actually step on them anyway. At least I don’t.

Yes, the Philips-Heads were used to secure these examples to the plastic on this truck.

The reason I did not use the screw method to secure the Ridgeline sill plates is I did not want owners to be forced to drill holes in their new trucks. Believe me; the 3M adhesive is much stronger than you might think and is removable should you decide to yank them and reinstall the plastic ones.

Cheers,

Ron

[H20MAN]

I too prefer the billet look. Let me know how things are coming and when they will be available. Thanks.