Hi guys, I posted this in the bedliner forum, but posted here too for better coverage.

if you have been following my posts, two weeks ago I bought my BRAND NEW BEAUTIFUL F150!!! It is a 2000 SC short box, 26,000 miles on it.

It came with a plastic bedliner (tuffliner). But, the bed underneath is pretty scratched up. There is a little surface rust on it, too. I dont do a lot of hauling (but want to have that option). The most I haul right now is just my bike (bicycle, that is!) But this fall I plan on laying some sod and getting some lava rock or something to keep the cats from using my shrub beds as litter boxes.

I live in a semi-arid desert, we get only 6 inch of precip (incl snow). I am looking at the following options for the bedliner:

1) leave it like it is.

2) Repaint the bed and put the plastic bedliner back in.

3) Have a sprayed bedliner installed.

If I choose #3, would that stop any further rust from developing? Roughly what is the cost of a sprayed bedliner, like a Line-X?

--karl

 

Hey Karl, glad to hear you're happy with your new truck. I just bought a new truck this week myself. Dealer gave me a coupon for a bedliner but its not the ford brand, maybe something like panda, but i am not too familiar with them. Anyway, did your bed get scatched up before liner was installed? Or, was it the liner that damaged it? I think i will go with vinyl liner and use a rubber mat on top of it to keep things from sliding around. But, the idea of a spray-in sounds temping. I just don't know if the color is available in white to match color of truck. Andy, the texture is so rough that it looks difficult to keep clean. I think you could also spray your own bed if you have a decent compressor and the 3M gun that is used for undercoating. Most any automotive paint supplier has the paint used for liners, but I can't give you any details because I haven't researched info.

 

What ever you do DO NOT get the sprayed on liner. I have seen more than one that was peeling !! It may look good now but for how long?

I have a Ford duraliner since the truck was new and have seen many others and I think this one is the best (my opinion)

But whatever you do don't get the sprayed on one, trust me you will regret it

 

I have to disagree with F150 STX on this matter. I put a rhino lining in the bed of my old 97. It was absolutely great. It is a very sticky material so if you want to be sliding things in and out I wouldn't go for it. The best part is that there is no place that water can get under neath it. The Ford Duraliner I have in my truck now is a piece of crap IMO. Yes there are drains under the bedliner but a ton of moisture gets underneath the bedliner, leading to rust a hell of a lot quicker. Also, with the sprayed in liner, the bed can not be scratched. I lifted the bedliner in my truck now and there is a lot of damage from the bedliner sliding against the paint. IMO, there is nothing better than a sprayed in bedliner. If I recall, I think I paid about $450 for my bedliner installed. That also comes with a lifetime waranty. I was putting a couch in my bed and one of the legs caught one of the connecting bolts and ripped off some of the bedliner. I took it in to the rhino dealer and they fixed it on the spot with no questions asked.

I did just realize one downside of the spray in. I just put in a body lift. That probably would not have been possible with the sprayed in bedliner since you need access to the connecting bolts. I guess you win some and you lose some.

 

Thanks, but when I talk about sprayed-in liners I am talking about rhino liner, line-x, etc. Most in the forum greatly prefer them.

What my dilema is, should I repaint my bed and put the plastic drop-in liner back or have a rhino liner, etc, installed?

--karl

 

Karl,

It sounds like you're in a fairly arid area so rust isn't such a big issue. Here's what I would do. I'd just take the liner out and give the bed a good wax job then put the liner back.

I've had liners in my trucks for close to 20 years and have not had a problem with the bed getting rusted. I've always gotten the dealer installed "Ford" liner. I have no complaints.

 

Thanks, Dennis and all. The bed is REALLY scratched up, looks like from use of the previous owner. The plastic bedliner in it now fits pretty good, slips back-n-forth only a half inch or so.

The bed is really ugly, which is why I am thinking of painting it. I dont want water to get underneath and rust it. There is some surface rust on it now.

I am sure the cost of painting it is at least as much as getting a spray-in liner like a rhino liner. I think it will protect the bed from rusting or getting damaged.

--karl

 

I suppose you can go through all that cost to get it painted and then turn right around and cover it up with the liner again. The reason I suggested the wax job is to keep cost down. The wax will protect the bare metal. It just doesn't make sense to me to paint the bed and then cover it up.

I've had liners in my trucks since 1987 and rust under the liner has been a non-issue. In fact, the liner in my '99 sits so far up under the lip that it would take a deluge for any significant amount of water to get under the liner. I removed the liner of the '87 for the first time when it was around 6 years old after it got smashed in an accident and other than a lot of dust and a bit of rubbed off paint, the bed was in great shape. No rust.

 

I know for liners such as Herculiner, you actually scuff up all of the paint so that the goo will stick better to it. They will not paint the bed and if fact should remove all of the paint to ensure proper adhesion.

 

I haven't used it but I remember reading about a product called PaintSaver. It's put in before a drop in liner to protect the bed. I believe it was around $30 so it's not too expensive.
Look at their site - www.paintsaver.com for more info. I have the Ford Duraliner & I never used this product as I'd never heard about it but I'm considering pulling the liner out & putting the Paint Saver in then reinstalling the liner. Hope this helps!
Congrats on the new truck too!

 

Personaly I would go with the sprayed in bed liner. You can't go wrong with a lifetime warrenty, and it looks a lot nicer then the plastic liners. just one thing with either that you go with, make sure that it is name brand, you will be much happier.

 

Srayed in liners are the way to go. Your bed worries will be over. Mine still works(nonslip) and looks great after two years. Mine is an Ultimate Linings(Line-X?) and is nearly 1/4" thick on the floor of the bed and tailgate.
No sign of scratches,peeling,or fading. Of course I have a hard cover,but I load and unload it constantly. I have not liked the hard spray-in liners that I've seen,they seem to be VERY slick,,,,98

 

I'd just paint the bed with primer and reinstall the plastic bed liner myself.

My bed is the same way. The dealer I bought the truck from must have installed it because you can tell that there are lots of scratches on the tailgate.

Mine is actually screwed in with about 6 stainless sheet metal screws along the bottom edge of the liner. It does not move at all. I've been debating if I wanted to pull it out to see how badly scratched the bed is, and just primer it up and put the liner back in. Just lazy and don't really want to mess it up. There is no rust on the scratches I can see, so don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

In order of cost

a) do nothing
b) paint or whatever and put the slip in liner in again. Guaranteed that you will get lots more rust because the slip in liner keeps the moisture that gets it (and it will get in) from evaporating.
c) do a spray in - I've never seen one peel - if it does it is because of misapplication

As a final thought - you're looking at three nearly identical used PU's trying to decide which one to buy. The first has no liner, and the bed is rusty, scratched, and slightly dented here and there. The second has a slip in and you wonder how much water and rust damage there is under it. The third has a spray in - its clean, the bed is protected - definitely a value added accessory on a used truck.

 

So what I am hearing is that if you have a sprayed in liner that it won't ever peel? Well I have seen one peel and It was a Rhino liner. The truck place in my town Used to spray in the rhino liners all the time until they had some come back peeled. They had to warranty them. They said eventualy it wasn't cost effective. Maybe at $450 per application the cost of repair is rolled in? Am I anti-srayed liner- no But from what I have seen I wouldn't buy one, especially for $450.

Protect your bed without painting it and put the liner back in. Some places will even rust proof your bed before putting the liner in without charge (if rust is an issue)

Basically you have to do what is best for you, sprayed in liners look cool but how are thay if you haul dirt and have to shovel it out?

After I started reading some of these posts I decided to take a peek under my liner. I tried but couldn't without removing it, it is a tight fit, but I didn't see even a hint of rust, and I live in Michigan, capitol of rusted vehicles!!