Should I apply a bed liner or not? Pros and Cons

[Blue Turd]

Hey all,

Just purchased my 95 k1500 a couple of months ago, and I keep going back and forth about putting some kind of bed liner on it.

The previous owner had a cap on the truck its entire life, so therefore the bed is stock bare painted metal. He wanted to keep the cap, so I ended up with a bare metal bed that has not been exposed to elements in 20 years.

It has been like this for a couple of months now, and surface rust is starting to show up on areas of high use were paint has been scratched up.

Should I get some kind of spray on liner to keep the bed from rusting? I don't care what it looks like, as the rest of the truck is a bit rusty and beat up. I just want to keep rust holes from eventually forming and ruining the bed structurally. Or should I not worry about the rust, presuming it will take decades for any sort of major damage to occur?

The bed liners I was considering were the DIY type you can pick up at Walmart or online such as the Rustoleum or Herculiner kit. Line-x and other professionally applied products are unfortunately out of the question due to budget constraints. Which one of the DIY kits is best in your opinion if I chose to apply one?

Thanks!

 

[Jrgunn5150]

The DIY kit's tend to fade or flake. The flaking is probably from improper prep, but the fade, is what it is.

If you have a compressor, Upol makes a product called Raptor liner, that is tintable, and does not fade, at least not while I still own the trucks I've used it it. It's about 100 bucks, so comparable price.

What's more likely than it rusting from the top down, is that it will rust from the supports up, and wheel wells out. So make sure you are cleaning those areas and caring for them.

 

[Blue Turd]

I own a compressor, and wouldn't mind "professionally" spraying down my own liner. Regardless of whatever product gets applied, no short cuts will be taken on the prep work. I learned that lesson a long time ago .

Otherwise I'm not too concerned about the look of the liner (fading and what not) as about the protection it offers my bed if I chose to apply one.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I've never had it flake, and I've used Herculiner and the Duplicolor bed armor. So I have to assume other people who say it flaked did crappy prep work.

Herculiner faded to ashy in a very short time, like maybe a few weeks. Duplicolor, held color well, but seemed to go on thin and seemed like it wasn't going to take a hit without chipping.

Raptor, went on just like Rhino. I Raptor lined an Fj40 frame thats been sitting outside for four years now and it still looks fine, a little chalky, but nothing like Herculiner did.

 

[ZachT]

I just did this bout a month ago. I used the rustoleum Kit that you mix yourself and it looks great has good texture. I did this for the actual bed and bed rail cap area. I used rustoleum premixed for the tailgate. The premixed is thicker but not as textured, and it takes about two hours between coats to apply a second or third coat. It also takes significantly longer to completely set and to take the tape off. The key to all of this is prep though. I didn't sand blast it to metal, but I spent 6 hours scuffing it up. Any rust spots I brushed off then primed then scuffed. I taped very extensively and made sure I protected anything I didn't want painted. The other thing is to get corners first and apply two coats before you do any other spots. Then do the sides, again two coats before you move on. But all in all I liked how both turned out and thought it looked nicely. There are some pics below, ask any questions if you have em.

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Sent from my 454

 

[dmr22]

I used Monstaliner on the rocker panels of my truck and absolutely love how it turned out. It is a roll on application and has been super durable and looks just as good now as it did when I put it on a year and a half ago. The biggest key to all of it is preparation.

 

[joshman]

hello.
i am going through same questions, for the same truck, a 95 K15...

i cant speak to your spot, based on what you wrote your leaning on doing it. i cant comment on the products out there, other than to say my body guy suggested using plastidip as a bedliner. He showed me an example that looked much more rugged than the DIY spray bedliners. but in fairness that was a body guy doing pro stuff. but it was nice...

my truck has no rust & is original so i dont want to put a layer of something on the bed i cant remove. my solution was a tonneau cover, with a removable hard plastic GM duraliner when i need to haul stuff. keeps the original bed well protected, yet still original if i sell her.

which will be never.

 

[Blue Turd]

Thanks for all the ideas on the bed liners. Lots of brands I have not heard of or considered! Still not sure if I want to spray or roll on the liner, as you folks seem to have good luck and results with either.

Now I was also considering just spraying some rust reformer and some kind of protective paint on the little spots (after scraping them away), then putting down a bed mat of some type. I do not fill the truck with gravel or anything like that where the sides are prone to any real damage. I usually just haul large items such as tools, furniture, toys , etc.. Would that even be something to possibly consider?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Thanks for all the ideas on the bed liners. Lots of brands I have not heard of or considered! Still not sure if I want to spray or roll on the liner, as you folks seem to have good luck and results with either.

Now I was also considering just spraying some rust reformer and some kind of protective paint on the little spots (after scraping them away), then putting down a bed mat of some type. I do not fill the truck with gravel or anything like that where the sides are prone to any real damage. I usually just haul large items such as tools, furniture, toys , etc.. Would that even be something to possibly consider?

I have found, after spending alot of money on magic paints, that Rustoleum Heavy Rust primer works just as well as anything else.

Get it clean and bare, get it degreased, and Rustoleum followed by your paint of choice will do it.

 

[Blue Turd]

So its been a while since I started this thread, but I have finally gotten around to apply a bedliner (before winter).

I ended up going with the Herculiner kit, as I could get it from my Lowes and apply a employee discount from a bud of mine.

I am impressed with the outcome of the kit, looks very close to a Line-X application. Time will tell how well it holds up. Going to let it dry a few days before reinstalling my truck box and cargo tie down hooks. I used up the whole 1 gallon kit plus one additional quart.

Before (after scuffing up for application):

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After (only after a few hours of curing):

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