Jun 16 2010
Truck Bed Coating — How To Do It Yourself
An inexpensive truck bed coating can make an old truck look far better. Not as durable as a much more expensive professional spray in liner, it may still be plenty good enough for the way you use your truck. Get these tips for installation that we learned while putting a coating on ourselves.
Cleaning is key but it means more than just washing. See, grease, oil and old wax team up to cause paint to fly away. If you put paint over any of those, it will not stick. That just means you use an automotive solvent cleaner to get the bed clean before doing anything else.
Acetone may be what's at your auto parts store and that's what you look for to get rid of the grime that prevents sticking. Skip that step and it's goodbye paint coating.
Aggressive sanding also helps paint stick. But you must clean before sanding, otherwise the sanding drives the grime into the paint and again the coating won't stay put either. No fine sanded is required.
On the contrary, what works best is a really scratched surface instead of a fine sanded one. That means you use really coarse abrasive materials and stop with that. Don't even try to produce a fine finish.
As part of preparation, you have the chance to repair rust spots and other major problem areas. That may mean more sanding and may be some filling as well. That may be a place for chemical rust converters at the same time. Getting rid of rust makes it less likely that the coating comes off in the future.
After careful cleaning, including rinsing, and aggressive sanding, you get to paint on the truck bed paint. The liquid includes rubber texture material and the paint possesses a gel-like texture as well. That means it covers defects perfectly and goes on very easily too. Then as the paint dries it settles and becomes smooth in texture. It actually as it cures looks just as if it was sprayed on.
You can roll it on or brush it on or spray it on and get the same finished look.
Putting on a truck bed coating yourself is one way to make your pickup look better without spending a pile of money. For about one tenth the cost of a professional liner you get a bed coat that looks good and provides a level of bed protection too. Careful preparation for painting is key to a coating that looks good and stays on for a long time. Get more details for installing a do it yourself truck bed coating at our lens.
Learn about the best bed liner paint for installing a roll on bed liner also.
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