Truck bed paint help

[EarlyPorsche]

So I just POR15 coated the bottom of my old trucks bed. Now I want to paint the inside of the box in a gloss black. I do not want any sort of rubbery liner. The key here is for the paint to be super tough. It's ok if I have to go back over it annually and touch up or whatever but it can't just scrape off every time I slide something in. I cannot spray so the paint has to be brush or roller friendly. Finally I understand that a two part paint may be the way to go for strength so feel free to suggest that so long as you explain your thoughts. Thanks.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Most paint stores will have a high solids 2 part urethane that will work for you.

Your local Sherwin Williams may not have it but they can get it for you from the likely nearby industrial store.

PM me if you need help, it's what I do.

[Dantilla]

I spilled some synthetic-based enamel in the back of my old truck, and ther stuff was tough!

Got tired of trying to clean/scrape/remove any way possible, and sprayed over the top of it with rattle cans to hide it.

It was a zylol based, quick drying paint made by a local paint company. Something similar may work well for you.

[Tim Hancock]

FWIW, we use Sherwin Williams "Polane" paint on the custom machinery we build and I use Dupont "Imron" on any of my DIY projects in my shop. Both hang in there pretty good once they are fully cured which can take a month (they both dry to the touch in a few hours, but maximum "hardness" takes quite a bit of time).

That said.... If it were me, I might just use cheap gloss black TSC brand tractor paint on a pickup truck because it is cheap and requires no hardener and would be easy to re-apply or touch up. I recently used it to paint my diamond plate steel decked trailer as I know it will get scraped by my BobCat bucket and snowmobile skis. I wanted the option of quick easy touchup that the cheap tractor paint provides.

No "paint" that I am aware of will keep from being scratched/scraped from sliding bricks or steel tools repeatedly being slid across it. OTOH, the professionally applied thick sprayed on "truck bed linings" do seem to hold up to rough abuse. My old Tacoma had absolutely no scrapes through its sprayed on bed liner after 100,000 miles and I had used steel shovels and rakes in it when hauling mulch and had hauled stone/bricks/scrap steel etc in it over the years.

Also..... POR15 is durable, but new paint does not stick to cured POR15 very well and is difficult to scuff sand to provide tooth for the top coat. IIRC, it should be topcoated while it is still tacky if you want new paint to bond well to it.

[Justin@Athens]

POR15 makes a topcoat in gloss black that is UV resistant:
POR15 & BLACKCOTE-POR-15 Inc.

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

That said.... If it were me, I might just use cheap gloss black TSC brand tractor paint on a pickup truck because it is cheap and requires no hardener and would be easy to re-apply or touch up.

Tim,

Thanks for the tip. This is exactly what I ended up doing. In my mind the two options were either the POR15 top coat or the Tractor Supply Alkyd Enamel Implement paint. Your suggestion was all I needed to go the TSC route and I am happy. I basically painted the bed 3 times - once only over any rust with POR, then cut corners with TSC paint, then finally paint everything I hadn't painted before along with everything I POR'd with a single coat. So essentially most of the bed only has 1 coat except some areas that had POR or were edges. I painted right over the smooth as glass POR but I figure if it scrapes off its just black over black so I'll never know it. Maybe after a hard year of work and scraping around this year I will then give it a solid coat of the really tough POR top coat next summer (doubt it)!

[id10t]

Just for giggles look at duracoat or oen of the other "at home" spray on finishes for firearms.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by Justin@Athens

POR15 makes a topcoat in gloss black that is UV resistant:
POR15 & BLACKCOTE-POR-15 Inc.

That's probably your best bet.

Whatever you get, you may need to etch the POR15 rust inhibitor as the paint may not adhere to it properly, since it is kinda like teflon. POR15 does make a self-etching paint, BTW.

-Z

[EarlyPorsche]

Z,

Thats good to know. I think just using the bed will scratch it up enough that the POR will be thirsty for new paint at some point. Right now the TSC paint stuck just fine to the POR but who knows for how long. Either way I am just so glad I dont have any Rhino or Linex in my bed.