Alternative to rubber mats for cab steps

[Plasticman]

how well do you want to do them and other stuff
mm
Oh and ref the holes for locating the step mats, well silicone has no place on these vans,even when ive scratch built new steps and fitted genuine mats im still not happy, you wont seal them and the holes are to locate the mat and have nothing to do with drainage, quite the opposite , poorly fitted allow water to come through from underside of step when driving ,
then all the crap of your feet works it way round and under the mat and then the action of treading on them rubs it in and exacerbates the problem as it wears away first the paint then the rust that follows and metal soon rots out.
i have my way of doing stuff and whilst its not everyones cup of tea i can send you a link to a couple, especially showing the step areas
http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=110336" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=114490" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
this took a bit of digging back but decent step info for you. they are a bit lengthy sorry
http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=106511" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
mm

[fairwynds]

You could use the Halfords Truck Bed Spray.... I used it for my bumpers, its early days yet but goes on well, is heavy duty, textured so covers chips etc and is no slip....
I'm going to try my steps with it and see.
Incidentally, i got rid of my plastic treads years ago, and covered the holes with aircraft aluminium tape, round discs of it, painted over it and have had no issues with rust or water getting in....

[thecyrusvirus]

Thanks mm

So...looks like I am going down the no holes route.

I guess how well it works out depends on how much help I get from my welder friend!

If I end up doing it myself it will probably end up looking like this:

[thecyrusvirus]

Thanks fairwynds, will take a look at that spray.

[Plasticman]

i dont think that halfords spray is up to the wear level required on a step
mm

[Oldiebut goodie]

You could always use something like I use for the boat decks - epoxy paint and non slip aggregate, you can get various types of grip, fine like flour up to very coarse carbide grit. I have used epoxy paint with the fine non-slip for my wet room in the house and it is fine. The boat is done with a mixture of medium and coarse grits in different areas. 5 or 6 coats should do the job.

[discipleofsketch]

Actually - maybe I should address the cause of water getting in - after leaving my bus parked on a camber on the side of the road, if it has rained, my driver-side step is always full of water. Presumably a good door seal should prevent this, or do they all do that?

[lloydy]

More likely to be the windscreen

[thecyrusvirus]

Hi Oldiebutgoodie

It was polyester resin based non-slip flowcoat that I was asking about. I have some left over from doing our cabin cruiser.

I just wasn't sure about how it would bond over the top of the rustoleum combicolour

Any thoughts? What sort of boat have you got (our is a 28ft cabin cruiser on the mob&brec canal)

Cheers
Cyrus

[Oldiebut goodie]

22 ft fishing boat on the North Sea!

I am not sure how that would take on Rustoleum - as it is styrene based I feel that it would remove it or at least bubble it. That styrene is powerful stuff!
Try putting some Rustoleum on a scrap piece of metal and put a splodge of Flowcoat on to test it, the epoxy is pretty inert compared to the fibreglass stuff.

[thecyrusvirus]

The styrene was my concern as I know that cellulose under styrene ends up flaking off completely.

A small test is a good idea! I shall try it next weekend and report back with findings if anyone else is interested?