I have a 2019 F150 with an aluminum bed that I sometimes use to haul landscaping crap, like mulch, sand, rocks. Etc. Not professionally, but often enough since I work on multiple properties between GA and FL. Old plastic drop-in bedliner now has a few holes, and small rips. Pretty sure there is dirt accumulating under it, etc. I am planning to keep using this truck for a while, and it will eventually be retired to be a beater backup truck. Question is, is it worth doing a spray-on bedliner DIY? Or pay a shop, or just leave the old drop-it plastic and not mess with it?
The plastic bed liner will do a better job of preventing holes being punctured in the aluminum bed. But spray in is easier to keep stuff from sliding everywhere.
I paid Line X to put one in 2 trucks ago. Now I can't live without a good spray in. I can't guide on the DIY, my current truck came with a factory spray in and the two before that were line X.
I'm kind of in the same position. I want to put something in my new truck. I've always used drop-ins because they were easy to find in SoCal, cheap and the place that installs them does it in 15 minutes. Always had good luck with them, but stuff does slide around. Shied away from spray in because I've seen too many truck beds with nasty brown old spray liners. Do they still age poorly? I'm sure the tech has progressed.
OK. I will pontificate as this is actually an area I have expertise in. Drop in liners can cause a steel bed to rust if they get water/dirt trapped under them in a normal steel bed. For an AL bed shouldnt matter. Spray in vs DIY is an all day matter though. When you say DIY do you mean Home Depot or Raptor liner? I wouldnt do HD, Parts store, etc...Raptor Liner is the real deal. That stuff is industrial grade, real chemistry. Spray in is in my opinion best due to the nature of the chemicals and mainly...the thickness (thats what she said). A good spray in liner should be 60-80+ mils thick as a minimum on the bottom of the bed. .125 mils (1/8) is common and I have seen close to 1/4 of inch before. Most places spray a polyurethane or hybrid polyurethane/polyurea 'hybrid' coating rather than a pure polyurea coating. The polyurea is tougher and more importantly it isnt affected by moisture when its applied like the urethane can be. Polyurea is more money, maybe 15-25% more. The hybrid is a nice compromise. The place installing a spray in is a big deal. The installer and prep is a big deal. It's a paint process. If the prep is bad it will fail. If the machine is "off" the coating will be shit and weak and could fail. If someone pours left over brand X chemical into Brand Y drums so it doesnt get wasted...it can ruin a whole drum kit. Also lots of times a place installing "Rhino" or "LineX" may also buy kits from a generic manufacturer so make sure what you are getting if you want a name brand system. DIY- Raptor liner. Unless its a beater dont use the HD or parts store Herculiner, Rustoleum, etc kits. Raptor is good. The thickness a lot thinner than the spray in guys. Its also harder than the more elastomeric spray in liners from the machines. Follow the prep instructions. Get a wire or nylon brush wheel form the net and do the whole bed. If its shiny it wont stick. Wear PPE. An organic cartridge respirator, yes even if you spray outdoors. Atomized Aliphatic Isocyanates are not good for your lungs. As to the color fade...these days any decent black bed liner should be black for decades. It will loose gloss in a few weeks or months without an aliphatic topcoat. No way around that. But it shouldnt chalk or go gray. Alex..are you still in the ATL area??? I will be there in a couple weeks to see some manufacturers...I can see if they have any local installers to recommend.
Ordered my '22 truck with a factory sprayed in liner. I was shopping for 3" receiver's and taking note of one on an older, well used Dodge one ton in H.D. parking lot, when the owner walked up and we talked a bit about truck accessories. He said the best thing he ever bought for his truck was a BedRug liner. He said he pressure washes it on occasion. I ordered one and love it also. I have this one: https://realtruck.com/p/bedrug-impact-bed-liner/ Easy to keep clean and much easier on the knees. His Dodge was an open bed and you could see he used it to work out of, but I have a tonneau cover on mine.
had the ford dealer do my f150 and f250 when i bought these trucks (2013 f150 years ago, and 2020 f250 new), was about $600 to do spray in bedliner each time, worth every penny. they take lights, some bolts, brackets, etc. out that otherwise would get sprayed over.. can this be done DIY ? yea.. but will it look good? is it worth your time ? will it be done right in enough thickness/not too thick ?
I have a Rhino Liner in my Silverado. I had it done, from new. About 6yrs in, I got into full-service, property maintenance. There constantly was clippings, mulch, rock, stone, etc, in the bed. After 4yrs, I threw in the towel. The constant clippings being left on the liner gave it a stench that couldn’t be gotten rid of. Of course, it was stained and sliced from using a pitchfork on it. I took it back to the shop who originally applied the liner, they addressed all the liner damage, and applied a “top coat”. That sealed the stench and the bed looks like new, minus the dents. I put on a topper and installed a Bed Rug and there’s still no smells. If I was doing another spray-in on a new truck, I’d probably look at a Line-X liner. Their material seems to be more thinner and a lot harder. Rhino is thicker but softer, which seems to be more susceptible to being sliced by sharp stuff. But, it’s seems more grippy. @ChemGuy might be more of an authority versus my perception, here. For sure, I’d always do a spray-in from a reputable applicator and not a DIY kit. I’ve never seen a DIY that looked good or was durable.
Yes, I am still in Atlanta, about half the time. Please hit me up with any info, and thank for a detailed post.
@ducnut I do think LineX normally has a higher durometer...aka harder...coating than Rhino. But the formulas do change over the years. Some people like the softer material to absorb. some like the harder coating for "toughness". The Raptor liner isnt your normal DIY kit. I have seen it used in professional settings and they sell it for DIY as well. It should be done by a skilled DIY person though....its not for some one who can barely swing a wrench. It is not a high build, thick coating like a normal spray in liner...but it is very hard and will give your bed good protection for what 99% of you clowns throw in there. I dont know what spray in places are charging now...but with inflation the last few years..I dont want to know....its got to be getting close to $800 or so. And the chemicals are at some very low prices. IF/When they go back to 'normal' I think you could retail spray in liners nudging closer to a 1K in some markets...unless they cheapen them up and reduce performance or thickness. One last thing...one of the big companies spraying OEM bedliners...not sure if this is still true as I havent dealt with them in a couple years...but they used to have to 'buy' the truck from the car company for XXXXX dollars...spray it and then sell it back for XXXX+$YYY. This was in case they effed one up while spraying...then they already owned it. and the YYY dollars was the fee they charged for the bed liner. Crazy way to do business.
As Chem guy said, they have found ways to keep them from turning colors. Last truck I paid for Line X they had a 50 dollar UVA/UVB adder if I wanted it to stay black, which I did, and it never faded before I changed that truck out. 5+ years of San Diego sunlight. My current F250 with Ford factory liner is aging well, but, it has also had a tonneau cover on it pretty close to when I got the truck, maybe 6 months of ownership before I put the cover on.
+1 on the Raptor liner. I got quoted over 1k to spray a Gladiator bed. Said “F that” and shot it with Raptor liner. Prep work is key! Stuff is very tough and you can control the finish you get by your final coat spray technique. Getting ready to paint my airport car with it.
Also the thing about the raptor liner is..its aliphatic..which is fancy chemist/coatings speak for it wont yellow in the sun. It normally uses the same isocyanate as oem automotive paint. And you cna even get it colored or "color matched" to your bed or whatever you want to spray. I dont have no part in it...it's just a pretty good product form what I've seen. Damn....we used to add that in to the base coating...effing cheap skates. I said Goddamn...thats a lot of money. For a jeep gladiator??..that bed is like the size of a malibu barbie jeep power wheels.
the drop in liners are awesome... and they can be removed. I cant stand a spray in bed liner because it doesnt prevent dents and most jobs look like ass because the applicators dont remove bed bolts or other components.
I have factory spray in on my 17 gmc, and have had LineX spray running boards on it, and my 19 Tacoma. I did the boards on the 17 because, they were chrome, and was blacking out the truck. I did the boards on the Tacoma because, the GMC looked so good, with the LineX on the boards. No slip when wet, is the biggest bonus. No fade on the boards, the bedliner is covered with a tonneau. You have the option when using LineX for a UV protective topcoat. I did roll on Herculiner, inside my 16' enclosed trailer, used two coats. It has held up great, with sleds, bikes, tractors, zero turn etc... in and out millions of times. I did the trail from new, in 2008. as Chemguy stated... it is all about the prep. Ski
Find your local privately owned Line X dude and tell him what you want done and give the dude his money. Prep is everything. The guy here.... if it's an old truck bumper will request it be sandblasted before he even touches it.
I had Line-X in my oldest truck, and have put Rhino Liner in my last two trucks. The Rhino "seems" to not be as slick when wet from rain.
Last two trucks were Line-X'd when new. 11 years on the current truck and still in great condition. Will do the same on the next truck, if and when.
I was reading about businesses for sale last night. Evidently Line-X increased their royalty fees, so a lot of owners were dropping them.
my ford dealer removed all the bed bolts, lights, tie down brackets, etc.. they did a great job on 2 trucks, about 5 yrs apart. I agree that it won't prevent dents, but dang.. you gotta be dropping some heavy stuff in there to dent the bed. and the plastic drop in liners aren't immune from cracks, fading, or holes either
