easiest way to remove paint from cross bars?

[vbstng]

my roof cross bars are all peeling so im trying to repaint them, i tried using a power sander, but that didnt work at all. the paint is kind of thick and flaky. what would be the easiest way to get the paint off?
also what is a good paint to use??

 

[Joe Dirt]

I just removed and repainted my entire rack. I didn't strip them, I just sanded them very well- I used my orbital sander, seemed to work fine. I used an 80 grit, then a 150 grit, then finally a 320 grit to get the sanding lines out. Probably took I'm guessing about 30 minutes total? I didn't take everything to metal if that's what you're trying to do, that really isn't necessary... I sanded then sprayed with an etching primer:

I then painted with Krylon 'Rust Tough' Semi-Flat black. (Taped off the rubber wear strips on top)

(The rack below is the old one- I replaced it with the more 'streamlined' endcaps, and just replaced the whole thing side rails and all since the junkyard was going to charge me the same price for just the crossbars)

It might look a little shinier in the pics than normal, but looks very close to factory new pics I've seen.

 

[vbstng]

you painted the cross bars while they looked like that? half paint/half stripped?

 

[Joe Dirt]

No- the ones I painted are resting on top of those- they looked the same, I 3-stage sanded them, then etch primed and topcoated. I see no visible lines or waves.

I had 2 racks, I took the end caps off and painted the cross bars separate, which is what is resting on top of the old rack.

 

[2TimingTom]

Looks good Joe.