So I removed my factory rack today because I'm planning on a gutter mount yak rack soonish and have no need in the meantime. I used a little Teflon tape on the threads to keep the water out.

Here's my concern.

After removing and replacing the screws I noticed the paint flaked off on the very top of the screw holes. What is the best way to rust proof this without it being an obvious touch up? Right now I'm leaning towards taping around the holes and spraying plasti dip over the whole thing, screws and all. Is this a bad idea? Is there a better way?

Edit: I should note, I removed the whole rack, not just the crossbars.

 

What bleepinjeep on his was cleaned up any rust around the holes,siliconed nickels over and painted....but you could probably get away with using silicone and those black plastic interior tabs

 

why use plastidip? Just rattle can paint it. It'll hold up better than plastidip

 

I'm not much of a painter so my logic with the plastidip was that it's REALLY easy to peel off and start over if you're not happy with the results.

 

I like the silicone ans nickel idea, mine are more dime size though. I'll look into that!

Also, I lost a couple of those interior trim tabs when I installed my console (I think we're talking about the same thing. Covers the screws on the a pilar?) Any idea what the part # is or where to find them? The local jy jeeps are all torn apart already.

 

If its your 97 they should be threaded, I think its 5mm. Most any decent hardware store should have stainless button head screws. Use a small rubber washers to make a seal.

For the paint, you can spray a little rustoleum in a plastic cup and dab it on with a small paint brush. Or use some enamel finger nail polish.

 

Yeah I think the screws are going to hold up, it rained all night and the headliner is dry as a bone. I do really like the fingernail enamel idea though, when I went to check it this morning I realized I kind of like the stainless 'riveted' look of the original torx heads sticking up.

 

Majority of all the Roof Racks doesn't require removal of the factory rack at all.


In fact one I went with on my custom built rack and aftermarket drip rail mounts. That makes for extra storage under the new rack using the factory rack.

 

I know most racks will go right on top of the factory one but I'm not planning on building a cage or anything. Just yak bars for kayaks/snowboards. Figured I'd sell the factory rack to help cover the cost of the yak.

 

Lots of luck selling the factory one, there are tons of them out there.


Good luck on your build.

 

Thanks!

I'm not really expecting to get a lot out of it, they're all over the scrapyards around here.

On another note, do you have any pictures of your swing out tire carrier? I'm not super impressed with the ones quadratec has and just can't shell out 400+ for something I'm not sure I'll be happy with.