Sealing The Deal With A Spray-On Truck BedLiner

Protecting the bed of your truck, whether it is brand new or many years old, is pretty easy. The old slide in plastic bed liners was a good idea but never really did the job. But with the newer sprayed in bed liner substance, you can seal the bed, protecting it from damage, and the liner is much more durable.

Preparing Your Truck Bed

Before you can consider a sprayed in bed liner for your truck, you need to take a few minutes and make sure it is going to adhere to the metal properly. Clean everything out of bed and wash it down with soap and water. Allow it to dry completely then check the bed for loose or peeling paint, grease, or oil. If there is any peeling paint, you will need to remove it, and any grease or oil in the bed will need to be cleaned off with a degreaser. The bed can then be washed out again and rechecked for debris or contaminates. Most dealers will ask that you remove any accessories from the truck bed as well but check with the dealer you are using for specifics.

Picking Your Color

When bed liners first appeared, the only color you could get was black. If you decide to have your bed liner sprayed in now, you can pick a color to have the material tinted or have the tech match the body color, so the liner blends into the truck and isn't as noticeable. Take a few minutes to talk to the tech about what color is possible and just how close to the body color you can get if you decide to go that way. Color matching is great if it comes out close but if the truck is too faded or the color match is not right, it could detract from the look of the vehicle.

Spraying The Bedliners

The truck will need to be clean, and the technician will mask off the entire vehicle so that the liner substance does not get on any other surface before the bed is sprayed. Overspray of the bed liner material is extremely hard to remove so care must be taken during this step or the windows, body, and trim can be destroyed. Once the bed has been sprayed, it takes about 24 hours to cure fully, though it can be used for light duty almost immediately in most cases. If you are concerned about the cure time, ask the dealer where you have the bed sprayed for their direction.