Of course you all know this spray / material has gotten pretty popular for spraying parts of a truck other than the inside of beds.... Such as, the rock panels, bumpers, etc.

Well, 2 years after getting my bumpers satin black powder coated, they now only look good after a coat of wax (read: PITA) Otherwise, they look pretty flat, dark gray, but worse yet, they look streaky, or blotchy. The wax trick works for about 1 washing

The other problem I have is my grille, and surround. I rattle canned it with satin spray, 2 years ago. Chip wise, it has held up decently. Only a few chips here and there which I touch up on occasion.
But now, it's gotten something on it, which has made it look all blotchy (patches of satin, and other spots, flatter, and dark gray)

So, I'm considering having both of my bumpers, as well as my grille and surround, painted with black, bed liner.

But my concerns are, with such a rough texture, will it catch bugs, and be REALLY hard to clean ?

Also, I heard that once it gets older and weathered, it will turn gray too, and if you start using any kind of protectant (amorall, ice, etc) you will be stuck having to use that every time you wash it, just like I am now, with needing wax on my powder coat ?

I just want to make things easier again. As far as looks go, I think the bed liner spray will look just about as good as it did powder coated, anyway.

Your thoughts, experiences, and advice please,

Thank you,
Fish

 

i dunno, i have seen many line'xd beds..they look shiney, at least for awhile anyways.
I assume bugs are bugs, and they will be hard to get off anything. I mean if they are cement on a flat glass window...do any other coatings stand a chance?

I pland on having both of my bumpers done in Black Line-x as soon as i can.

BTW- Line-X has an additive which is guaranteed (so they say) to block UV fading.
Check it out!

 

You want Line-X with Xtra... The Xtra coating provides a UV protected finish that makes cleaning a breeze. Check out some of Truckgasm's posts. He'll probably chime in here before too long.

- NCSU

 

Okay, cool.

So now, can this stuff only be put on with certain pro spraying equipment ? ...or to ask another way, will you probably have to have it done by a place who does truck beds on a regular basis ?

BTW, I saw a big, bad-a$$ Dodge truck a couple weeks ago, who had "only" his rocker panels done... but was planning to do his chrome bumpers soon. It looked about as flawless as it could be {btw, it had a deisel engine that was rediculously pumped up.... the guy said just shy of 500hp's, but more importantly, over 1000 ft/lbs of torque. His motor has all kinds of extreme stuff mounted all over it}. So I asked the guy where he had it done, and how much $ ? $500 for two rocker panels !!! Holy $#!+ ! It had better look perfect for that price !

Hmmmm,
Sucks to be poor....

What's the best value for a project like this ?

Peace,
Fish

 

Line-X and Xtra are a specific product that is only applied by Line-X dealers.

Check out http://www.linex.com/

- NCSU

 

X2 on the line-x with xtra. The suff wears like iron. I think they can adjust how rough the texture is if you ask them to?

 

I just called an authorized Line-X place, and they quoted me $100-$150 per bumper if removed from the vehicle....
But just for anybody who hasn't ever tried to remove the bumpers from an F150, and then strip all the braces, plastic pieces, etc. from them.... Let me just put it this way; My personal mechanic (friend) is really good, and he has air tools, but even with my help, it took us more than 3 hours to get them off, and completely stripped ! I swear their were litterally, 100+ screws, bolts, nuts, and clips ! Just rediculous !

I sure hoped I'd never have to do that again !

Fish

PS, sgerry, that kid in your avatar looks just like me, at 3 years old..... and I tried the same stupid thing ! First blew the circuit, showered me with sparks, and scared the $#!+ out of myself, then got whipped by my Mom ! 42 years ago, and I still remember it ! Kids ! LOL

 

I haven't cleaned mine yet, but I haven't noticed it catching anymore bugs. Guess we'll be finding out about the same time how well it cleans. :P

I had the line-x guy do all of the removal/prep. He was telling me what a PITA it was to do the black part of my bumber .

https://www.f150online.com/forums/be...ce-line-x.html

 

I have now and in the past a herculiner on my bed. When you get dirt an mud on it, that can be a pain to clean. I bet if you used a scrub brush you'd be fine cleaning it. I know it will tear up a sponge.

 

Wait untill you have to put it all back together and put them back on! It took me forever to do it there is so many plastic pieces that have insanly hard pieces to put on - P.S. when you put the plastic piece in the back bumper make sure you use a screwdriver and open up those little arrow things otherwise it won't stay. The longest part is trying to make them level again that took at least an hour and a half by itself.


2005 XLT Scab-18' lariat rims,2.5 leveling kit,True dual exhaust with 4" MagnaFlow Tips,FX4 grille swap for my old Honeycomb one,Custom Sub and Amp,Black Westin Ultimate bull bar,Recon Smoked cab lights (Dodge),Swapped out Chrome Bumpers for Red ones,Gott's Mod,Recon Fire and Ice lightbar,Chrome OEM Running boards,Custom Trailer,AVS Rain Deflectors,Chrome toolbox. (Lot more to come)

 

Well hey JackedUp, being the mechanically de-clined kind of guy that I am, I don't think I could have even finished the job on my own... especially without air tools.

But like I said, with my ace mechanic / buddies help, it was doable, albeit still a PITA !

Basically I just want anyone who's considering removing there bumpers, for whatever kind of mods, to know that this is one of those jobs that might seem easy but leave you bitching and screaming !

Peace,
Fish

 

You are spot on on that!

 

I had line x on a 98 gmc all the way around the truck about 8" up the sides (like two tone). I could NEVER get it clean.. It was a royal pita. I wouldnt even consider doing it unless you get the X-tra as well.