Going to build a back rack in the summer next year. I've seen both types- I see everyone has the black painted ones, but I kinda like the look of it painted red. What does everyone like better - gloss black paint or a paint matched rack???

 

Biased because my truck has a black rack, white would look goofy I think.

 

Black Linex!

 

Black looks good against red I've always found - I think paint matched would look goofy, but it's all in the eye of the beholder

 

I don't like the "over-matched" look when accessories match the main color of the truck. Black and red are perfect contrasts for each other.

I'm biased because I like Texas Tech's Scarlet and Black motif, but others teams like Houston, Nebraska, UNLV, Chicago Blackhawks, etc use black and red together and it always looks good to me. If the main secondary color on the truck is chrome (bumpers, polished wheels, running boards), I don't think adding black is a problem because the chrome is neutral for an auto.

If you had something like a red/tan two-tone paint scheme black would be a fourth color and too much, so then you should match the secondary tone color for the rack and bumpers. But red+chrome+black should look great.

 

I think that in rare cases a paint to match rack can work, but I don't think that a red rack would work especially well with your truck. I looked at your build thread and it strikes me that have already have vast expanses of red and IMHO adding a red headache rack would eliminate the little bit of breaking up that the back window provides, making it a sea of red. I think that the black will provide just the right level of contrast for your situation.

That being said, it might work well to have the main hoop and bedrails of your rack painted red and anything that goes behind the window painted black.

 

I vote black as well. And it will be easier to touch up when you scratch it. And you will scratch it. That's why I went with gloss black on my rack.

 

I'm going with body color. Black will look expected, and very generic.

 

I too vote black

 

Very good points. Especially since I am in chicago!!!

 

Actually I do plan on paint matching my bed rails, most likely going with the tint-able raptor bed liner in red. But, know that I think about it, I agree it would look kind of weird with a black window and a red back rack.

What do you mean the main hoop?

 

My opinion depends on the truck....sometimes the same color is great, but other times black works good. I've made a couple and each one was a little different based on the needs. (2) were painted the same color as the truck, but the black tonnue cover broke it up. On my 09, I went with the same color...don't think black would have looked right. Heres a picture or two. And I didn't realize how much $$ pearl blue would cost

 

Sorry I wasn't clear on what I meant by the main hoop. I meant basically the portion that would frame the rear window, meaning the two uprights on the sides that are angled to follow the cab lines and the top and bottom cross bars that parallel the top of the bed and the roofline. By painting the sections that actually go behind the glass black, you still get that contrast that you have with the stock rear window, but the outside portion of the rack would still be color matched to the body of the truck giving you a look similar to stock from a contrast perspective.

 

I like the monochromatic look of certain accessories being body color. They present a more "matched" scheme. I don't think a body colored rack will be overboard.

 

flat black