GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

A guy at work suggested that I powder coat the rails on the roof rack has anybody ever thought about having this done?he suggested blue like my overlays or salsa like the car. I will have to check it out see how much it would cost. it might look nice.

Well -- other than the grief sure to come with getting the things off (see other threads for that), and losing your vehicle while they're off (unless you're going to seal the holes with something) the finished product might look pretty interesting!But if you're willing to go through all that to add colour, then might I suggest having them anodized instead of power coating? They are aluminum after all, and anodizing would look better in the finished product.Powder coat is like a hard, durable plastic coating that gets baked onto the metal, but like a liquid it will flow out into the crevices and might fill areas that you don't want.Anodizing on the other hand, is an electro-chemical process that changes the colour of the aluminum itself (well, not really, but that's another discussion). It doesn't change the dimensions or details of the part at all.Good luck whatever you choose to do...

Also, the ends of the lateral bars are plastic so they will have to be removed before the powder coating can be baked on.

I believe I've seen an Abyss GT with the side bars of the rack either painted or powder-coated black. It looked pretty good. The photo, I believe was from one of the gatherings. Can't remember which one, though. I think I would steer clear of going another color other than the body color. My opinion is it would look quite cheesy.

Yes, it was at the Northeast Rally.See the attached pic.http://nicksimkins.com/vibe/ne-meet/DSCF0080.htm

thanks for the replies, i have already removes the covers once so thats no problem. think I'll call around and check the prices then i'll let everyone know. the picture helped. i am getting it done just don't know if powder coating or anodized.

Anodizing will give you a shiny, colourful finish in whatever colour you want -- just look at the various CAI's and you'll see what anodized looks like. The coating is also hard as rock so it's more resistant to scratches and other damage. Also never tarnishes, so never needs polishing or wax.HOWEVER - it WILL be more expensive. The rails would have to be polished first, then anodized so the labour cost is higher.Powder coat is more like regular paint, but tougher. Especially if you get a reasonably thick coat it'll be like armour. Care is pretty much like anything else painted, unless you get a matte finish and then you just don't bother with it Good luck, and let us know what kind of quotes you get!

while trying to remove the side rails I came upon a problem. after removing the 4 screws it seems like it is still attached between the mounting screws.can anyone that has a repair manual look up the removal of this for me? disney: I IMed you with this ?. I searched for it and found you had done this but it didn't mention anything about any clips in the center. was or is there a black sealer under there? Help!!!I want to take one in to see how much it will cost.

Please take some pics once you do that !I am sure it would look awesome!

Gun metal mags will look fantastic!I know I want those for next spring ( hint, hint for the wife )

Income tax refund is going towards those puppies....LOL

quote:Yes, it was at the Northeast Rally.See the attached pic.http://nicksimkins.com/vibe/ne-meet/DSCF0080.htmthats pretty sweet on the abyss!!!

Sorry AtWork but how much will this set you back?

How much of that is just the rims, out of curiosity...

Sorry my bad !I meant to get the rails painted....

Thanks!

Some dude was trying to sell the stock wheels on eBay one at a time, for $250 apiece. I can't remember how much that option cost but wasn't it right around that anyway? I don't know, I got the steel wheels because I wanted to be able to get some nice ones later, and get exactly what I wanted.

Those are cool. I like the 5-spoke look... Like the prototype was. I want something like this though. Reminds me of the Cavalier stock aluminum wheels, but I really really like the look of those.

Yeah the graphics on that car are awesome. I was wondering whose it was; I'd like to find out who did the graphics.I don't like bronze either. Or gold for that matter. I'm a definite silver person...thus why I LOVE the colors in the interior on the Vibe and wouldn't dream of changing them. The bronze I don't think would go well with the Vibe, but maybe that's just me. It might go better without the badges and with the interior colors changed though.

So, since he told Mike he could apply it himself, it's all vinyl graphics, right? His looked handpainted. Not that it matters, it's awesome either way, but I just assumed it was done by hand. Vinyl is even better because my uncle used to do vinyl graphics work, so I might be able to con him into helping me apply it. It'll be a while before I have the cash though, so I'll have to wait, as much as I want everything now-now-now. Where is George from?

quote:while trying to remove the side rails I came upon a problem. after removing the 4 screws it seems like it is still attached between the mounting screws.can anyone that has a repair manual look up the removal of this for me? disney: I IMed you with this ?. I searched for it and found you had done this but it didn't mention anything about any clips in the center. was or is there a black sealer under there? Help!!!I want to take one in to see how much it will cost.Looking in the service manual, it shows that each rail has three clips, or "retainers" that also hold the side rails to the car, in addition to the four screws. The procedure they give is "using a flat bladed tool, disengage the retainers" There are no useful pictures on how to do this. The manual makes no mention of any kind of adhesive or sealant, so I doubt if there is any.Once the entire siderail assembly is removed from the car, there should be four screws that hold each metal side rail to the side rail assembly.This is book knowledge only, never actually removed the side rails myself.

yea thats what i figured and talking to disneyjr he confirmed what you wrote. thanks. I'm gonna remove them wednesday and get some prices. LATER: well the good news: I got the left rail taken off. the bad news:there are 3 little clips that broke while i was lifting up gently any one attempting this, after removing the 4 screws push the rail forward or reverse and it should come off the 3 small clips and lift off.(gosh am i glad I'm the guinea pig in this deal )my poor vibe looks ugly with the rail and caps missing on 1 side

Could you take a picture of the rail removed and the clips holding the rail on? Sorta like a how to?

I'll take picks of removal of the rails thursday. spider-vibe is going in weds for its new body moldings I talked to the local shop and he will powder coat my rails for $20 a piece but the colors are limited. so I'm going with blue to match my overlays. I'm dropping them off weds to be done , so I guess I'll be posting lots of picks.

Can't wait to see the pics!

well the rails are powder coated but i don't have a vibe to attach them to. paint looks great.

Attached files

They look terrific! How thick is the paint? It might be a good idea to test fit a cross bar before remounting the rails...

that's sweet! can't wait to see them on the vibe!

quote:They look terrific! How thick is the paint? It might be a good idea to test fit a cross bar before remounting the rails... its not real thick but it is hard. cross bar i don't need no steenking cross bar no really i'm not using them but i will check so everyone will know

Thanks for the pic! They really look awesome! Can't wait either to see them on you Vibe!!

got my roof rack rails on. I'll post R and R pics later.

Attached files

Looks awesome man!

those look great! who did those for you again?

a local company "prostrip" they do powder coating.

Very nice job they look great!

Nice job, the roof rails look good power coated, I might have to do that also. It gives your Vibe a different look that sets it apart from the other Vibes out there. I bet it will make finding your car in a crowded parking lot easier too.

here is what I put together for R and R of roof rack rails http://home.comcast.net/~scherry2/r_and ... _rails.htm hope this helps

Nice job on the Do It Yourself instructions scherry!

thanks I try and help out

so how did your vibe look with the rack completely off? did it look tacky, or unfinished?

Oh yea ugly as sin unfinished, big threaded holes ect...

yet another 10 minute mod! i think i did more research on here than i spent time actually removing the crossbars on my roof rack... i just gently wiggled the black caps while pulling upwards with some force and they came off no problem... took out the screws loosened the crossbars, took off the antenna and slid the crossbars off... put everything back together and viola!this forum is great!-LuNCH

now get the roof rails ( the ones front to rear)color coated same as the car and you'll be in business

once i have the money i'd like to get the roof rails and mirrors painted to match (shadow) but right now im savin so everyone i love has a nice christmas... maybe in the spring.

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »now get the roof rails ( the ones front to rear)color coated same as the car and you'll be in businessThere's a Vibe roof rack on ebay, Ends Dec-18-03 17:59:05 PST could buy that and do whatever you wanted to try, and still have the original one in case you messed up the new one, or take your time modding the new one and still leave the original one on until the new one was ready. a thousand and one uses

currrent bid $24well worth the buy if someone buys them. the caps alone were around 20+ each