Has anyone here changed the color of the aluminum rails that come with the OEM expedition rack? If you have done so, how did you do it and what did you use? Thank you and happy new year everyone!

 

I originally painted (two coats of flash primer followed by 3 top coats……waste of time….in the end had them powder coated…..lasted much better!

 

I prefer them silver slatted as stock, but there are vendors selling knockoffs that are black (look on Ebay etc).

But yes otherwise I'd remove silver aluminum slats and have them powder coated matte black by a pro. There's a powerful uk video on "Thule roof box mounting brackets" (google it) that shows how to remove the slats (simple, remove rubber strip, unbolt them, remove... not sure about the back portion by the shark fin tho, may be the same?).

Anyway, I recommend powder coating as I've had little success spraypainting / self-painting aluminum roof racks over the years. Ends up chipping off/flaking in temperature swings.