The BIG LINE-X HOAX: SPRAY-LINING EDUCATES US ALL ON THEIR MISREPRESENTATIONS: I work at and own part of Spray-Lining and Coatings. My name is James Bell. Before Spray-Lining I sprayed Line-X standard for 3 Line-X dealers after getting trained through Graco and PPG on polyuria applications. The Line-X rep told me that Body Armor and Paxcon were "special" and strongest in the world. NOT TRUE, they are both good polyuria. But through Graco and PPG I learned a company known as, "Spray-Lining" utilized the exact raw materials and process as, "the private label manufacturers that make Line-X". Upon learning that Spray-Lining originally supplied a few bedliner dealership vendors as them, I contacted Spray-Lining. I spoke with Ben Dexter there; over time I joined the Spray-Lining's Team. The bottom line is that no single brand of "bedliner" is "the best"! The applicator's technique, preparation, and mostly the AMOUNT OF POLYURIA APPLIED matters more than a bed liner brand name.

 

A Spray-Lining "certified dealer" resprayed the crappy Rhino on my F-250 crew Cab. Price was $675 because the dealer called Rhino Line-X Alternative (Corpus Christi) had to sand blast and re-prime it. My bud has same truck, same year with same spray-on lining (by same Rhino) crook. At the Line-X dealer he got same stuff as the Spray-Lining guy used; it looked identical: $425. I asked Todd Kalb who did the Spray-Lining, his dad is owner and he said its the same stuff as Line-X but they guaranty it forever in writing. They do unconditional but if the job I doubt it'll matter if the liner stays in place. Its like paying extra for bedliner insurance.

 

Pure rubbish from the uninformed.

 

Reached out to my local Line-X dealer asking about his products. He recommended Line-X standard over Line-X premium, but I had heard that premium can improve the color & life of the spray.

I'm still not clear on why I wouldn't just get Line-X Platinum. Sounds like it's the best liner. Is it that much more expensive?

 

I'm getting my truck Line-X'd today, and, I'm going with the "standard" coating. It will be under a bed cap (when the bed cap arrives) so I don't have to worry about sun damage.

I may well be wrong, but I think premium has UV inhibitors. If your truck lives outside, you would want that. Your Line-X dealer should be able to explain the differences and advantages of each.

- Jack

 

Spoke with a super honest dealer here in the PacNW. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm more floored by his honesty or by the fact you cannot get Platinum here.

Why not Premium?
For people that really use the back of the truck I recommend the Basic, the premium while it does have the UV stability it will leave scratch marks over time after it wears down past the 7mil topcoat. Currently no stores in Washington spray Pro or Platinum.

Why not Platinum?
It's a market thing. I don't get enough leads for that service to justify buying another 50k machine to spray the liner. Since it is a completely different product all the old bedliner material must be pushed out to change over to the new material. The northwest Unlike other regions has not seen a big push for the pro or platinum so until that time happens were sticking with what we have been spraying for 20 years.

 

Interesting! I like honest people in dealerships. Makes me want to buy from them.

My truck was Line-X'd and the bed looks beautiful now. I'll get a picture of it tomorrow and post it in this thread. I had to drive about 120 miles to get it done, so with that and a side trip to Costco, I didn't get back until early evening. Too late for a good picture now, and, the skies are cloudy too.

One thing you COULD do, to protect standard Line-X from sun damage is to place a rubber mat in the bed on top of the Line-X. It makes crawling in to the bed easier on the knees too. I doubt the sides of the bed would be damaged much by the sun since it would not shine on them directly.

It may sound stupid to add a rubber mat to the Line-X, but if you put boulders, concrete blocks, and firewood into the bed as I tend to do, it adds an extra layer of protection.

- Jack

 

Firewood, brush, and rocks from clearing several acres will be the first test of the Line-X warranty

 

OK, here's a couple pictures of my truck bed. The Line-X is actually black, but the camera exposure made it look greyish. You can see it was a quality job. They masked off the areas that were not to be sprayed and the cutoff lines are very sharp. Notice in the second picture the front top of the bed is coated, and, they took off the side top trim and coated that area too.





They also don't coat the holddown bolts so that you can remove the bed easily if wanted. The tiedowns were not coated either. They took them off before sanding and coating.

- Jack

 

Line-X, sprayed it and forgot it 16 years ago. Mother Nature has done all the cleaning. Cost $320 me in 1999.

 

Love the wooden separator

 

First time I got home from the store I had to chase a can of beans all the way up to the cab. I said, To heck with this. So, yeah those 2x6s are 16 years old too.

 

LINE-X Premium is my number one seller. It's a few extra dollars, but it's probably the best "bang for your buck" you can get with a bedliner. It looks GREAT, it's a darker black, and very durable. Unless you have a tonneau cover over the bed, you're crazy not to get it!

Platinum is not for everyone, it's formulated for extreme duty. If you don't use your truck bed in that way, then Premium is fine.

 

I wanted Platinum, but my dealers in WA state say they don't carry it.

 

Correct- Line-X is the "bed liner" BRAND to beat. For $250K + for that dealership franchise they need national exposure to pump that specialized quality. That's OK, and as you can use Ibuprofen as opposed to paying extra for Advil, Spray-Lining Coatings are similar, if not duplicated to supersede popular brands at lower prices. Line-X and Spray-Lining Coatings have their places and both are for real in any case. Applicators, usually small businesses can make their vendors like gods or say rotten lies about competing applicators. Using their vendor names, like Line-X vs Spray-Lining Coatings is just another comparison tactic used mainly to advertise.
HEY, WHAT ABOUT CLEAR BEDLINER???
The polyurea hybrid tint-able coating of Spray-Lining Coating "is" clear. Its UV stable like clear coat but much stronger and thicker. SLC manufactured this for Saab Scania. See http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/ar.../t-253304.html - This was prior to whats now titled PPF or Paint Protection Film. SLC sold rights licensing DuPont which now leads the PPF industry. But the actual "Spray-on" Lining Coating was always available through the vendor called Spray-Lining & Coatings (SLC). You all are correct that "Clear Sprayed Bedliner" never succeeded as an industry, but PPF did. In any case I work for SLC so I know that if you want a completely clear spray on truck bedliner, just buy it at www.spray-lining.com. Be warned however that its more expensive than normal polyurea hybrid; that's mainly why its popular as PPF. Its only 8 mils as PPF, not over 65 mils as bedliner requires. For PPF it was sprayed onto mold release sheeting at DuPont, backed with a 3M adhesive and the cured film was created. Some fakes exist who copied Spray-Lining Coatings but Clear bedliner wasn't so important to SLC to apprehend every Tom, **** and Harry under different company names, crooks, criminals or vindictive applicators. Jealousy got them nowhere.