Painted OEM bed extender.

I bought myself a used OEM bed extender of a local classified for $80 without mounting brackets. One of the straps was missing the screw and barrel to hook into the tailgate so I shopped around and got these two kits from Bell Offroad.

AMP Research 74605-01A Bed X-Tender/Moto X-Tender mounting kit.
http://belloffroad.com/search.html?q=74605-01A&go=Search

Amp Research 74603-01A Bed X-Tender/Moto X-Tender strap latch kit.
http://belloffroad.com/search.html?q=74603-01A&go=Search

Since it was a bit banged up and to work with my no chrome black/white theme of my truck, I decided to paint it flat black. Decided on one of the truck bed coatings instead of spray paint as I thought it would be more durable that way, while better looking.

Used:
1x 80 grit 3m sanding pad/sponge.
1x 150 grit 3m sanding pad/sponge.
Tremclad Grey Primer http://www.rustoleum.ca/CBGProduct.asp?pid=203
Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=367

Took it apart, taped parts I did not want to be painted. Cleaned and scuffed it up pretty good with both sanding pads. Cleaned thoroughly again. First I sprayed several coats of grey Tremclad Primer. After that I sprayed several coats of Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating.

Here are some pics of the progress:

1) Tremclad Grey Primer sprayed on.



2) Rustoleum Truck bed coating sprayed on.



As of right now I have the extender fully assembled again. I'm quite happy how it turned out. The texture looks very nice, but I'm not too sure about the durability of this yet. While assembling it, I had to slide in the plastic stanchions and I managed to scratch the finish in few places. I touched up wherever needed, but I'm still debating how to make it more durable.

Would a clear coat be a good idea for this?

Once this is done I will proceed to mount the bracket kit on my truck and will post more pictures of the finished product on the truck itself.

Stand by for updates.

Updates:

3) Finished painting and assembled again.



4) Rustoleum texture:



5) Added pipe insulation for transporting kayaks so they don't scratch. Not the prettiest, but will do the job I hope.



6) Closeup:

 

Some more pics of the progress. Touched up a few spots that got scratched while being assembled again.



Here is the texture. Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating.

 

Looks great, OP! Nice job!

 

Awesome job kryten. I bought mine used also and it was scratched, and had house paint spilled on it. Let us know how the finish holds up. I rest lumber and whatever else on it and it gets scratched up a lot.

 

Thanks, I like how it turned out, just not convinced on the durability part. I think it will chip a lot.

I'm planning to rest my kayaks on top of the extender, overhanging the truck. I was thinking of putting cheap pipe insulation from Home Depot at least on the top tubes, to prevent scratching. Good/bad (ugly) idea? Clear coat maybe?

Edit: The left most stanchion looks crooked on the pic. It is actually straight, just the way the photo turned out.

 

Good job. I have been thinking about painting mine also, but I was concerned about scratching it when I put it back together, since the pieces have to slide over each other. How did the thickness of the paint and the texture affect the pieces sliding together, or is that how you got the scratches?

 

Clear coat is supposed to be good to protect paint, but I don't know how it will work on the bed liner. If you go that route, I would suggest testing it on a small piece first. I sprayed clear coat on a part on a work truck, for the same reason of adding protection, and it made the paint underneath schrivel up big time.

 

Thanks, Boerseun. That is exactly how I got a few small scratches I had to touch up. I'm pretty sure it will chip and scratch some more while being used, but at least it is easy and cheap to touch up once it happens. I will update this thread in a few months to report how it holds up. It will be out of the elements for most of its life, underneath the toneau cover.

I don't have any experience with this, that is why I'm asking. Looks like I should have done more research on the truck coating as well. I've read here on TW that the EZ Liner Bed coating holds up better.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/AutoBodyRepair1/AutoBodyPaintProtectants/PRD~0475608P/EZ+Liner+Aerosol+Coating.jsp?locale=en

 

Is this going to turn into another Plasti-dip thread? Just playin - (or maybe not).

 

No, but I already have a can of plasti dip ready at home. I will plasti dip my badges and make sure to create a new thread. Good enough?

 

Cool project I've been needing to do the same thing. Mine has some white overspray on it from the previous owner.

 

Finished....

 

Added pipe insulation to the top tube for transporting kayaks so they don't scratch. Kinda ugly but function over form I guess. Could be worse.

 

Looks good, I just bought mine from Amp Research directly already black.

 

Nice! I was going to place an order for the black AMP Moto X-Tender and discovered I waited too long and is discontinued and unavailable now.

Did you get the new revised Bedextender HD?

 

I bought it like 2 years ago, it was the same one that Toyota sells but it had Amp Research logos and was black instead of grey.

I didn't even realize they had a new version

The HD looks nice, but I don't use it enough to consider upgrading.

I ordered it through Street Side Auto I think and paid $180ish shipped to my door so was happy at the time.

 

Oh I see. That was a great price too. They go for $250-$270 up here.

I consider the new HD a downgrade really. Looks nice, but the shape of it results in too much wasted space compared to the old one.

 

Here is mine:

 

Kryten,

I'm a kayaker, too and want to operate it similarly. How did the pipe insulation hold up for you. Seems to me it might be a little flimsy for repeatedly dragging kayaks over. Wish they made black pool noodle...

 

Good job man! Now I want one!