[Marc Bitler]

I am working on a 40 Chevy coupe; the original running boards are pretty solid, but are rough. I've sandblasted and coated them with POR-15. I have read several of the older posts about various types of covering. I really don't want to put rubber back on them but, due of the roughness, I can't just paint them. I've considered welding 18 ga. steel covers over them and painting that. I've looked into Rhino Lining and that would work, except I could buy new repro boards for the cost. Line-X offers colors, but I don't know about the cost or if it can be sprayed thick enough to hide the roughness. If any of you guys have used Line-X, were you happy with it, and how did it last? I've attached a couple of pics of my boards. Any other ideas? Thanks.
Marc

 

[poncho62]

On my 51 Pickup, I made a couple of pieces from aluminum diamond plate. It covers the ribbed portion of the running board and hides the rough parts. Mine were very rough.

You can see them in this picture.

 

[Marc Bitler]

Poncho62,
The plate looks great, but the edges of my boards are rough as well, and I need to cover them also. Did you bondo the edges of yours, or were they smooth? I didn't know if bondo would hold with flexing, etc. Also, did you weld the plate to the top of the board? My boards curve outward along the side, and I considered cutting them straight, then using a piece of 18 ga. , bending a 90 degree lip on it to cover the board edges and welding it to the topside of the board.
Marc

 

[poncho62]

I had some bad spots on the edges, but patches can be welded in there. I covered up the ribbed part, because that would be a real pain to form. I used countersunk screws to bolt them down, with nuts underneath. Yours do look like they would be harder to deal with, with that curved shape and all. Probably tough to find another pair.

 

[pasadenahotrod]

We had the runningboards of the 32 covered with spray-on bed liner. Be sure to specify the gloss finish as the dull finish collects dust, dirt, and soap mungus and ends up looking bad. Also specify you want the smooth finish rather than the "alligator" knubbly finish.

With an experienced sprayman the finish looks slightly rippled and quite nice both up close and at a distance. It washes nicely and so far has been resistant to scratches and uglies.(Superliner was the brand name we used)

 

[alittle1]

If the edges of your boards are that bad why don't you look for a new set or check out Hemmings for a better used set? A set of fibreglas may not be out of reach if your boards are that bad, or look for a set a the local swap meets. Ask yourself, do I need them now?

 

[Marc Bitler]

Chev's of the 40's sell flat steel boards for about $360/pr (glass runs about $10 cheaper), plus another $70 for brackets, and shipping. I ran across a used steel repro set but the owner wanted $250 plus $50 shipping, and I would have had about as much work finishing them as I do in mine. A guy in Florida will vulcanize your boards entirely in rubber. Runs about $800, but they are beautiful. Thanks for the ideas and comments.
Marc