Type of bed liner for camper shell

Hey everyone so I pulled the trigger and got a camper shell for my truck to make for more bed space. My DCLB is impulse red pearl and I want to do a bed liner coating on the topper and was wondering what would be the most efficient liner for the topper. I know there are several different kinds let me know your thoughts.

 

what do you mean by 'most efficient'?

best gas mileage, cheapest price, longest lasting, best color?

 

I guess what I am trying to say as far as efficient would be the longest lasting. I have seen some trucks fully done in that raptor liner but that seems expensive. I am wanting to do the project myself.

 

any 2-part(main spray and hardener) liner is going to outlast any other option. that means raptor liner two part system or similar, or having it professionally done at a shop that does line-x or similar.

any single-product roll-on/spray-in-a-can liner is about one step above throwing sand in between wet coats of regular spray paint. i've tried the spray-can stuff, and it wire-wheeled off faster than spray paint primer, on a fully sanded bare metal surface. i was irritated at the extra money i spent on the 'bed liner' product that didn't really bond or finish off the surface better than the primer surface right next to it.
this was the stuff i tried. i've priced out a few different kits since, and the raptor liner is still quite cost-competitive.

there's 2-part cans like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-2-Part-Liner-Spray-White/dp/B09LK824TP?th=1

but you'd need 10 cans to almost-equal the gallon of product others include, which works out to $185.

there's the herculiner kit at $130 for 1 gallon, but you need a compressor with a pretty good CFM to do it. not any different than spraying paint.
https://www.amazon.com/Herculiner-S...adg_193B6D8283062AB4C792F95AE22DCCAF_afap_abs

the raptor liner is $140, also for 1 gallon, same compressor requirement.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074KQLKMH?th=1

personally, if i had the compressor, i'd easily spend the extra $10 for the raptor liner simply because of it's proven track record for durability.

but that said-- i've got an entire project trailer frame i'll need to finish off in the future, and i don't have the space or other needs for a really big air compressor. while i admit that i had that raptor liner link saved to my cart specifically for the purpose(and a planned large compressor purchase for it), in typing this out i've realized that for my use, the samurai spray cans are likely my best option, despite the cost being almost $50 more per gallon of product.

the main thing to be aware of is the 2-component mixture. it's sort of like bondo. the 2nd activator component is what makes for a harder and more durable final product, and no standard air-dry aerosol/paint-can roll-on product can come close to that, no matter what the box says.


that said, working through this discussion i started thinking about bringing my trailer project to a line-x or similar dealer to have them spray it in their booth, so i don't need to deal with the setup, takedown, pre and post paint prep--which is of course the main work in painting any large project.

line-x's website quotes a rough price of around $600-800 for a standard truck bed. and honestly, for no-muss-no-fuss option that i can just drop off, and pick up a finished product later without needing to pay for tons of plastic sheeting, ventilation masks, masking off important parts, or even having to worry about overspray on any part of my property, it's something i'll very likely entertain some quotes for later, and consider it money well spent instead of the risk of screwing up my or any of my neighbors property if the wind blows the wrong way across my makeshift spray booth (seriously-- i have a coworker that resprayed a friends project car in his garage in his younger days. wind changed direction on him, and his neighbors house ended up Chevrolet Blue across the entire back)...

 

I sprayed a off-colored topper I got used about 3 years ago and it's holding up fine. I just put down a bunch of cardboard on the driveway and sat the topper on two sawhorses. Masked off all the windows, scuffed up the paint, and applied an adhesion promoter before spraying with the 2-part raptor liner stuff. I did 3 coats and only ended up using 3 of the 4 quarts that came in the kit.