I have the original running boards on my truck, as near as i can tell. Decades of being stepped on has taken it's toll and bowed/distorted them. In my view, this detracts from an otherwise straight appearing truck. Other than that, they are in tremendous shape for their age. I was considering replacing them, then thought " I wonder if I can straighten them?" Has anyone done this? Did the paint crack and/or pop off?

 

I've only had one job where the paint "fell-off"..that was because I didn't use a sealer between the epoxy and base coat. That was a learning experience...the paint stayed until the metal was flexed..Sometimes hard-knocks is the only way I learn..

In your case,..before I purchased new boards, I would attempt to build an inner board with say ..10ga steel,and wrap the inside(build an inner running board).It would take some thought,and you may have to clamp the two pieces between some heavier tubing to do any straightening to the original boards before welding..but I'm willing to bet it would stiffen things up.Once you have the perimeter tacked together,some additional re-inforcing and boxing should help....Then you can work on a new set of running board brkts to carry all that extra weight....LoL! I think No-limit offers a set of bent tube running board brkts..give them a look. Good Luck!

 

Have any pics?

A bow isn't hard to fix, you just slowly bend it back the other way till you're a little bit farther than you want it to end up (you have to over correct to fix the memory of the steel). As far as the paint staying put, that would depend on A LOT of things. Even if the paint didn't pop, I would think after being first bowed down one way and then bowed the other that it would at least be weakened and not last too long.

 

What condition is the paint in? That is the real question. Of course, when you bend metal in the opposite directions the paint will want to flake and peel. If the paint is solid, than I would go for it.

Also, if it does flake or peel off, then you have another reason to mod it ;-)