I need to remove and repaint the rails as they are chipped. What is the easiest way to remove them? Is it possible to remove only one end and slide the rail out?

 

Nope, you can't slide it out, it is bolted on the underside in two or three locations, which requires one of those star bits to remove. I repainted my roof rack but it was more complicated than I thought. If I had to do it again, I would just lay cardboard under the bars and have a go at it. I used airplane paint stripper to remove the grey/silver paint and used rustoleum hammered paint to finish it off. It has held well so far.