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Doing some reading on Raptor Liner. It sounds pretty promising. It can be applied in various levels of texture. By default, the black has a satin finish, but there is an additive that can be used to make it more of a mat finish. There is also another additive that can be added for grip.

They claim that 1 gallon is enough to do a standard truck bed, so that should be plenty for the running boards. One gallon is about $170.

I’ll need to see if I can get a small amount to do some testing with….texture, satin vs mat, and with/without the grip additive.

If you can get it dialed in, then you may have a side business doing boards!

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I’m going to do my best! Another one I want to look at is Mil+Spec Liner. There is a dealer near me. It has lifetime warranty and they claim that if it is damaged, it can normally be repaired without re-doing everything.

I may need to go to the dealer and take a look at the texture first hand. It’s another one that is often used to coat entire vehicles.

I went to a place nearby that uses Mil+Spec spray liner. What I’ve learned is that the level of texture from one brand to another is really the same and depends on the pressure used when spraying. Low pressure results in more aggressive (and inconsistent) texture, while high pressure results in a finer and quite consistent texture.

Prep work that has to be done is this:
1. There are lot of small holes in the tops of the boards. These are original and were presumably there either as grip points for the rubber when it was vulcanized to the boards or as drainage if any moisture got under the rubber. For the spray liner, these must be filled so that they aren’t seen.
2. Along with the holes being filled, the boards need to have bodywork done (bondo etc..) so that all surfaces are smooth.
3. The boards need to be primed with an etch primer, preferably black.

After that, $500 for the pair.

I found a one picture online of a board someone had done and was happy with. The other pictures are of a modern Ford grill that was on display at the spray liner shop. It shows the level of texture I would have. It maintains good detail in some tight areas. For my boards, he recommended about a 1/8 in thickness be applied.

Several of the products, Rhino, Line-X, and Mil-Spec advertise a nationwide lifetime warranty. However, what I’ve learned is that all of them only provide that warranty to truck beds. My local dealer said they would warranty it locally, but I wouldn’t get the nationwide warranty.













I also got a call back from Metro Molded Parts to discuss the possibility of splicing to sets for 120 mats. They are going to provide some detailed measurements for me. In order for this to have a chance, the area toward the rear of the car where the boards narrow down must have a section that is rectangular (no more curve) for at least 18 inches. They also offered my a discount if I bought to sets. I still think the spray liner may be my best option. I just think the seam of splicing two sets would be very noticeable. And the cost would be $2800 for the mats plus the time of getting them spliced and glued to the boards.

Anyway, as of right now, I’m strongly leaning toward the spray liner as I think the level of texture will look good. Not original, but still good.

I head back from Metro Molded Parts. I have to say, their customer service is terrific. I was working with Sofia and she was very helpful and responsive. As it turns out, my decision on how to handle my running boards just got a little easier as we were able to determine that the idea of splicing two sets of mats from Metro won't work.

From the end of the ribs (rear of board), the boards are only straight for about 13 inches. In order for splicing to work, I would need that to be at least 18 inches. In the photo provided by Metro, you can see the main issue is the border of the mat starts to curve out around the 13 inch point.






With this, I am going to try the spray liner. If it doesn't work out, I'll back track and try to figure out how to best make the rubber from Restoration Specialities work. That route would involve filling in between the ribs of the boards so that the boards are flat. Then, figuring out what to use for the border. Hopefully, it won't come to that. After seeing the spray liner in person, I'm pretty confident that we can get a result that I'll be happy with.

I posted pictures of my car a couple days ago after it had been primed and after they had done a lot of sanding. The shop has google photos site that I have access to with all the photos they are taking along the way.

Today, they upload some pictures of my car after the first round of primer and before they started sanding. It's a nice glimpse into what my car is going to look like.

I have a question regarding my steering column.

I know that the CDs would have come with nickel plated steering columns. For the entire time my dad has had the car, the steering column has been black.

When I had my car to Allen being worked on, he mentioned that he thought my column was nickel plated and had been painted over.

As part of the interior work to be done, I’m planning to strip off the black paint and see what is underneath. If it is nickel plated and the plating is in decent shape, I’ll shine it up the best I can and be done.

But, if it is not nickel plated or the plating is in poor condition, I’ll repaint the column. So, here is the question. Would the non-nickel plated columns have been black or the same dark brown as the area around the dash panels?

My ‘40 column is taupe, dark gray brown

Yes, on the non-CD cars, it would have been the same S.D.B. (Super Dark Brown) color as the dash structure, from the steering wheel to the steering box.

Great. Thanks. That’s what I thought. When I’m done, mine will either be nickel or dark brown.