Do It Yourself SPRAY Truck Bedliner - Anyone With Experience?

[Dan in Pasadena]

My very nice (to me!) '02 Dodge Ram Quadcab 4x4 has a crappy drop in non-factory bedliner that came with it when I bought the truck (barely) used. It fits so poorly I am concerned about occasional the occasional water that gets behind it and I have had to toss the tailgate liner as it fit crappy. I want to get rid of the whole thing and put in a spray on bedliner. I like the tight and almost shiny texture of the Line-X spray job but they want $700! Yikes, that strikes me as too much.

I've considered the DIY type you roll on but I suspect it would look like azz. Then it occurred to me that MAYBE the same spray guns from Harbor Freight I have heard used here on the board to repair/replace Wurth undercoating MIGHT be made to work? The material is available at Pep Boys (no clue what you'd thin it) but I imagine better stuff is available at an automotive paint supply shop?

Anyone with successful experience, your advice would be appreciated. Pix also if available. Thanks, Dan

[Rot 911]

Jeep guys use it all the time to coat the floors of their CJ's, TJ's etc. Here is an excellent post, with pictures of a guy that did it: DIY spray on bedliner

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks so much Kurt. I should have thought of that myself! I'll read it with interest.

[TWork]

Dan, I've used the DIY stuff. Rather than go through the trouble of getting a spray rig and thinning the material (the instructions say not to thin it), you can get the stuff in an aerosol can. Little more expensive, but easier. I've used both, but not on a truck bed. The problem is that it seems to flake off. $700 for a Linex seems high to me. I've had it sprayed in three different Dodge trucks and the most I've paid is $475. It's worth calling around and looking on their website for coupons.

[Jims5543]

I just used some paint in bed line called Durabak.

http://www.nonslipcoating.com/automotive.htm

Its a little pricey but it was easy to apply and seems really durable. I am using it on the rock rails on my FJ and its holdign up great.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Be sure to Google for 'herculiner on my hootus'.

[kmhemi]

I did the inside of a jeep tub with it. I was happy with the results but it did chip and scratch easier than I thought it should. The good thing is that is is real easy to fix when it does.

[scottmandue]

I know nothing of such things but have you checked on the price of a rhino spray liner?


Actually I lied... I had a friend who used to do spray in bed liners I don't know what brand he worked with but it was a thick goopy plastic stuff that had to be heated and put on under presser, it produced a really thick tough liner.


Tell them Scott sent you for a ten dollar discount

[dd74]

Can the same material discussed here be used on the inside of a 911?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Yeah, sure...it's heavy *****, though.

[Dan in Pasadena]

dd74 - You don't want it in your 911...unless you're doing the Dakar Rally, and probably not even then!

Thanks for the tips guys. I definitely don't want anything that chips off and I want it to look like a pro job...I'm just too cheap to pay that kind of money! Admittedly its been awhile since I priced around, maybe I should do that over. I like the Line-X the best as far as appearence. The rattle can sounds fine IF it wouldn't come off. Maybe it was surface prep that was bad?

[stevepaa]

My son did his first DIY, then he had the next one done commercially by line-x, IIRC. The second looked a whole lot better.

[kmhemi]

In my area the Rhino spray in liner is around 475-500. The do it yourself jobs do look nice when they're done but they are not nearly as tough as a rhino. I've had both

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yeah, well I was hoping to do it myself (with good results) for about $100. $500 suits me no better than the $700 quote. Maybe I should leave well enough alone.

[fastpat]

I had one of the professional applicators do the install when my F350 was new. They took out the bolts, all the panels off, and color matched the coating to the interior of the truck. The later was in case I installed a bed top, the interior would be much lighter than it would be if sprayed black.

They ultra clean the bed, not hard since mine was new, and they take something like a scotchgard pad and rough up the surface for the coating. That prevents it from peeling. Although it wasn't cheap, as long the company is in business, it gets repaired for free. Mine is a Perma-Tech brand, of course many are familiar with others.

[scottmandue]

I think perma tech was what my buddy was doing, requires a large special machine to apply, goes down allot thicker and heavier than anything you could get out of a can.

YMMV

[Dan in Pasadena]

I suppose if I end up paying for it I ought get the best available. Never heard ofthat Perma Tech before but I'll look into it. Thanks guys.

P.S. My truck is black already. I betthe color matched stuff would be nice...assuming they do a good job of matching the paint and it does'nt fade much. Pat, If you don't mind the nosiness, what did they charge you. My Ram 4x4 is a short bed quadcab model.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Dan in Pasadena
I suppose if I end up paying for it I ought get the best available. Never heard ofthat Perma Tech before but I'll look into it. Thanks guys.

P.S. My truck is black already. I betthe color matched stuff would be nice...assuming they do a good job of matching the paint and it does'nt fade much. Pat, If you don't mind the nosiness, what did they charge you. My Ram 4x4 is a short bed quadcab model.

I think it was $450.00 if memory serves. That's turn key, no probems encountered so far after three years. Keep in mind that black is much cheaper, maybe $100.00.

My liner is gray, the truck is dark blue.

[Brillo]

Originally posted by fastpat
I think it was $450.00 if memory serves. That's turn key, no probems encountered so far after three years. Keep in mind that black is much cheaper, maybe $100.00.

That's a really good price if it's good stuff.

I had my new F250 sprayed with Line-X several months ago. The black was about $450.00 with tax. Color was more $.