ARB Bar chipped n rusty. 1 month old, not been off-road yet!

[wengnuts Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wengnuts]

Powedercoatiing is standard, i.e. no extra charge.

ARB bars are only powercoated when you pay the extra for it to be colour coded. That was my experience when I purchased the bar 2 years ago. Did you purchase the bar from ARB store or from an non ARB outlet which retails their gear?

So ya can say,, have it powercoated in silver if ya want to pay for it Wengy ?

Cheers,

Yes mate. I was told that the bar will only be powdercoated if I pay for it to be colour coded. i'm aware that some non arb store order the std bars from ARB and applied the colour coating themselves. If that is the case, there is no guarantee if the the bars are properly powdercoated to ARB specifications.

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

I think you guys have powdercoating and colour coding mixed up.

ARB bars (and roof racks) come standard in grey powdercoat

Which has a very tough durable finish


You can option colour coding where the bar is sprayed in 2 pac to match the colour of your car.


2 pac is a baked enamel finish that while not at tough as powdercoat has a high, OEM quality finish.

Mick

[wengnuts Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wengnuts]

I think you guys have powdercoating and colour coding mixed up.ARB bars (and roof racks) come standard in grey powdercoat
Which has a very tough durable finish You can option colour coding where the bar is sprayed in 2 pac to match the colour of your car.2 pac is a baked enamel finish that while not at tough as powdercoat has a high, OEM quality finish.Mick

Mick, I believe you're right.

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

I believe you're right

1st time for everything.... my wife would never believe you though.....

Mick

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

The bar was bought through and fitted at an ARB store. I paid extra for the colour coding. I have never seen a bare Deluxe bar - all have been either powdercoated or colour matched. Powdercoating is included in the bar price, paint was (as I recall) $200,- extra. By that I mean, had I not opted to pay the extra for the paint job, the bar would've come powdercoated.

And yes, a damn shame I haven't been off-road for over a month... Grrr... :shock:

[BIG BRUCE Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BIG BRUCE]

You cannot reliably put a two pack (read enamel) or acrylic (it's a thermo plastic like the powder coat) over powder coat . There are blending primers but they are difficult to get right .
A good two pack finish will require bare metal , metal etch , under coat , then top coat . If you want a chip resistant two pack use a chip coat under the two pack (as the manufactuers do around wheel arches ) won't be as flash looking but you can't have everything .
Not a fan of powder coat either , just used because it gives a fast result ,will lift and rust underneath without being obvious.Nearly all of our work vehicles have rustly ARB bar's after 3 years . You will never see a car manufactuer powder coat external metal for that reason .
I'm not a spray painter but I have done a lot of it restoring cars and have also done a complete apprentice spray painting course, at night, compressed into 3 months just for the heck of it .

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

I think you guys have powdercoating and colour coding mixed up.

ARB bars (and roof racks) come standard in grey powdercoat

Which has a very tough durable finish


You can option colour coding where the bar is sprayed in 2 pac to match the colour of your car.


2 pac is a baked enamel finish that while not at tough as powdercoat has a high, OEM quality finish.

Mick

Umm that's what I said at the start of the thread :roll:

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

The current ARB catalogue says:

"To finish off the manufacturing process our bars are steel shot blasted, bathed in phosphate solution, then powder coated and oven baked to ensure a rich and durable finish. This doubles as an excellent base for painting, if colour matching is required."

So: a) Powder coating is standard.
b) It provides 'an excellent base' for colour matching.

[Bear Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear]

Deeptank, sounds like you have a genuine grievance, imho. One thought, prior to chatting to these guys, it might be a plan to have in mind the outcome you want. Do you want the bar re-sprayed, touched up, replaced ... ? Hope they come to the party with you in a peaceful manner. If not, a chat to Consumer Affairs (office of fair trading, or whatever its called in Vic) might prove helpful - just to confirm your legal standing.
Another thought, any chance of having the bar independently inspected prior to talking to ARB - just to clarify in your own mind?

Good luck mate.

Bear

[George_M Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close George_M]

I had the same issue with a colour coded winch bar - chipping paint and a few tiny rust spots on the welds. Took it back to ARB after about twelve months and they offered to replace it - no argument whatever.

Take it back and have a calm, reasoned discussion with them.

Good luck!!

George_M

[yetiboy01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close yetiboy01]

I had the same issue with a colour coded winch bar - chipping paint and a few tiny rust spots on the welds. Took it back to ARB after about twelve months and they offered to replace it - no argument whatever.

Take it back and have a calm, reasoned discussion with them.

Good luck!!

George_M

Works nine out of ten times

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

Many thanks for the feedback guys!

I called ARB today and the fella on the phone put up a few barriers immediately, which wasn't too appreciated at my end. He proceeded to tell me about having gotten his windshield chipped by a rock only four days out of the showroom. All very interesting, but with zero relevance to my issue...

In the end we agreed I would take it down for them to have a look at it this Saturday. However, when I asked him if they were taking any ownership of responsibility I was greeted with a, "No, not really..."

I shall most definitely keep it polite and hope they will fix the issue by whatever means it takes. It's the inevitable waste of my time, which is an extra irritant...

He also did say that the bar would definitely have been powdercoated under the paint.

George_M - Would you mind telling me which ARB you went to? I live within a stone's throw of the one in Brighton, but went to Dandenong as they gave me a much better price.

[George_M Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close George_M]

Hi Deeptank

I had my bar fitted and replaced at ARB Richmond. The guy who runs the place is Paul (I think); the guy who sold me the bar, and arranged its replacement, was also a Paul.

I think you'll stand a far better chance of getting a good result if you deal with the franchise where you bought your bar.

George

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

He also did say that the bar would definitely have been powdercoated under the paint.

No chance for all the reasons previously discussed

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

In Syd ARB Southern does colour coding free. Infact I ordered from ARB H/O in Moorebank, they had completed colour coding and refused to price match ARB Southern. I then asked the guy at the HO to transfer to ARB Southern, $200 less and all good.