Spray In Bed Liner in Composite bed 2007??

The bed can be sprayed with Line-X. Line-X will adhere to the composite bed with a little extra preparation. My local Line-X has done it to several Tacomas. It looks sweet. But I'm probably never gonna do it. There are other ways I can spend $400.

I am getting my bull bar and nerf steps Line-X'd though. I'll pick them up tomorrow.

 

Say PB,
When I got my grill guard Line-X'd the installer said they can do the bed of our trucks, but hadn't done one and didn't have any pictures.
IF you happen to spot one and can snap a picture, that would be much appreciated.

 

To add to this, some of the Line-X and Rhino lining shops will spray the bed, but will not warranty it. The reason being, Toyota used a release agent on the bed when the bed it self was formed, as a result the release agent will cause the sprayed in liner to not adhere as well as if it were a metal bed.
Last time I talked to Line-x (12 months ago) they said they were working on proper prep techniques to spray the bed and still warranty it, but I could not find anybody locally that would do it. Not to mention the $400 they wanted to do it was a bit steep

 

Glass work, something I know a little about from working on boats!
To get almost any coating to stick to resin or epoxy layups it takes a bit of prep. First the surface has to be roughed up. A wire wheel on a drill will do the job nicely in most cases where the surface isn't flat. After that the surface needs to be washed down with a solvent. Acetone will usually work but Interlux and West Systems make products that are specially designed for this. Then prime and paint. I know the stuff is expensive but I highly recommend using marine grade materials. In the long run if you cut corners and the coating doesn't stick the 20 bucks a pint solvent and 35 a quart primer is cheap compared to having to start over.

 

A word of caution when applying any type of coating to plastic! Know what your working with and know how to prep it. Some plastics, polyethylene, polypropylene, and acrylic immediately come to mind, are very difficult to coat. I would recommend a good quality primer specifically intended for plastic such as STIX waterbourn bonding primer. It's an interior/exterior urethane acrylic that bonds very well to MOST plastics and even glass. Bulldog is another primer intended to be used on MOST plastics. It is a clear primer used specifically for plastic car bumpers prior to paint. If I were doing it, I'd go with the STIX. I'm not 100% sure what the composit bed is made of, so I'm reluctant to say how well paint or some other type of coating would stick to it. The surface should be abraded but sanding that bed would be a bitch. That material is hard as a whores heart. I think simply cleaning it well with either alcohol or acetone would be enough. Start with a small area and check for adhesion before commiting the entire bed. I have seen some horrible results from people trying to paint plastic

 

An overall Thanks.
I appreciate all your input and idea's.
I will keep you informed as to which way I finally go and post pics.
Thanks again.

 

My thought would be if it is truly going to be a show truck, then you wouldn't be throwing stuff in the back that would scratch it, so painting the bed may be a good idea. However, if you aren't sure that would work, paint the truck Black

 

I am doing it for looks as well. Go with Herculiner and do it yourself if you are handy. The stuff is onsale at carquest this week and it is made in a few colors too. Just make sure your scuff the surface very well using an orbital sander and a wire rotary tool on the drill and clean the debris in the liner with a cleaner like acetone so everything adheres properly. My bed is scratched up from the last owner, so I want it to look nice.

It is more of a resurfacing for looks than for function, and most may not bother, but it is a matter of preference.

 

Ewwwww, that's gonna look terrible. Just put a tonneau cover over it.

 

BEDRUG

 

I think he might be past this "brilliant" idea by now seeing as though this post is 3 years old!

I was really hoping as I was reading this thread that I was going to see this awesome show truck at the end

 

yup! what you see on top is what you'll see underneath. there is no metal bed under the composite bed.

 

I love it when a noob revives a 3 year old thread

 

But...but....*looks at watch* I'm still waiting for him to post his pics of the color bedliner here!!!!

 

lol.....talk about a let down.....I wonder if the OP got an email saying someone replied to his thread? He must be going "WTF??" I give the newbs credit at least they used the search function

 

Good thing I was never a Newb!

 

No problem. Anything this "noob" can do to accommodate you.
It may be a old thread, but a new interest to others.

 

Sub'd for future reference...