I have the colormatched bumpers (sport pkg) and I had an issue with major rock chips on the lower front bumper. It got so bad that it looked like a checkerboard!

I finally got around to removing both the front and rear bumpers and then I lined them with Rhino Linings Extreme (100% Polyurea) in black.

I ended up removing the plastic trim on the bumper hich mount and lining it as well. Nice improvement IMO. I also painted the sensor mounts so their would be less contrast.

I was concerned initially that the black base would shift the white topcoat noticebly but with a few coats of Z1 Oxford white over the top and you can't even tell the difference.

Next its on to the rockers!

 

First it looks great! I was thinkng of doing the same, although I have the XL grey bumpers.
How did you prep the rear bumper? did you Rhino it yourself with a rattle can? Or have a shop spray it?

 

looks good! what fender flares are those?

 

I did the Rhino myself, not the crap in a can! I sanded the rust off and primed them.

I removed everything so I could encapsulate and seal the bumpers from corrosion. Should last longer then the truck now!

riggz -They are bushwacker "pocket style" flares.

 

That really looks awesome. Does that stuff spray out of a spray gun? I may have to do something along those lines. I want to do something with my chrome bumpers, I like the painted look much better than chrome, but I don't want it to chip. How much would you say it cost you to do this?

 

So is it legit Rhino Lining brand coating? If not, what did you use? It looks real good.

 

That looks really good. LineX Xtra looks really good as well. I had my Warn bumper sprayed with LineX Xtra and I am very pleased. I read that the difference between Rhino Liner and LineX is that LineX is sprayed on hot and hardens within 1 minute. Rhino Liner is sprayed on cold and has to dry like paint. The LineX Xtra coating is sprayed on top of the LineX and has to dry like paint.

 

The liner is legit Rhino Lining and it uses some pretty specialized processing equipment(read expensive). I have a few friends who have shops, so on a day when the shop was closed I took my stuff in (along with some friends stuff) and coated a few items. I probably used about 3-4 gallons on the bumpers. Retail would probably be around $300. you can save yourself money by prepping the part before hand. Take everything off, remove any rust and just hand over the items you want coated.

FreekyFX4 - A few years back Line-X was one of the few hot/hi pressure process but now Rhino has quite a few dealers who also spray using this method. Some spray in bedliners use low pressure equipment and that is considerd "cold".
The Line-X Xtra is the same principle as what I did, the only difference is that the X-tra has Kevlar additives which I think are mostly a gimmick. Both top coat paints are specially formulated to be more flexible which helps prevent chipping and cracking when the liner potentially flexes.

 

I thought I would chime in.

LINE-X was one of the first companies to offer high pressure hybrid (polyurea and polyurethane) bedliners as well as 100% polyurea coatings. Now, other companies have sort of followed in LINE-X's footsteps. Realizing this, LINE-X has started to patent their products when possible. For example, the LINE-X ReNew process, which won a SEMA award last year, is patented.

Keep in mind that even though the products may have the same base components, the technical specs can vary. For example, LINE-X XS-100 (hybrid) has a 31% higher tear strength than Rhino Tuff Grip and Hardline (both hybrids). Another example is LINE-X XS-350 (100% polyurea) has a 58% higher tear strength than Rhino Extreme 90 (100% polyurea).

LINE-X Xtra was developed over a two to three year period by DuPont and LINE-X. Xtra contains a DuPont Kevlar micro pulp. Kevlar is five times stronger than steel and increases the durability significantly. Xtra also contains ingredients that make the fibers sort of "line up". It's certainly not a gimmick and I'm sure that anyone in the military/police will who wear bullet proof plates will attest to that. There are other benefits of Xtra over automotive paints: Xtra, when applied to a freshly sprayed LINE-X bedliner, actually migrates into the upper portion of the bedliner achieving mechanical bonding. So, it does not simply sit on top of the bedliner.

A LINE-X dealer would not use a black base with a white topcoat. The base would be pigmented to white and of course the Xtra would contain the same pigments (and metallic flakes) as the truck's paint per the factory paint code formula. LINE-X Xtra is way more durable than urethane based automotive paint which is what many other companies use.

This is what happens when you use a typical urethane based automotive paint topcoat. It very easy to wear through it.




Here's some pics of white LINE-X Xtra. Again, the product is white all the way through.

 

The Xtra is for U.V. protection, since standard Line-X is prone to fading and looks chalky after a while.

 

Your summary is %100 accurate. Line-X was one of the first to offer the heated hi-pressure application on a national franchise scale. I used the Rhino Extreme 55D which is different then the 90A.
IMO the use of pigmented material is an unnecessary added cost. The only reason to do so would be to insure that when the topcoat chips the result does not stick out like a sore thumb.
The costs involved with trying to flusha machine of black resin to get clean white is a waste of time and money.
Being on my bumpers, I do not forsee any issues with the topcoat chipping now that it is covering an elstomeric coating. You may consider the black base "a hack job" but it is considerably cheaper yeilding the same results.

In a truck bed, YES a UV is just like having Paint in your bed. The X-tra probably does provide more resilliance but an UV stable Aliphatic chemistry would be the only real "maintenece free" solution. Enter Rhino's SolarMax - I have it in my bed and almost three years later I haven't lost but %20 gloss. There is no comparison to a UV top coat when it comes to the Aliphatic Chemistry.


I think that the comparisons of chemicals is not a good better best scenario. The chemistry is varied industry wide and there are certain properties that should be used for certain applications (industrial applications). A smart applicator does not use one product for all applications (industrial / mobile), they use the most closely matched product. Generally speaking the %100 polyureas are the most superior but they are still available with different physicals for desired performance.

The name brands (Line-x, Rhino) are just that. The chemistry and formulations all follow the same principles.

BTW - the biggest issue with UV topcoat (X-tra or otherwise) is that you change the physicals of your truckbed. A 90A which would provide anit-skid now becomes slick as ice with a topcoat.

 

I thought I would add that Solarmax is not really a Rhino product. It's a Bayer product and Rhino buys it from them. Anyone can buy it from Bayer.

High pressure hybrid aliphatic bedliner products are fine, but expensive, that's why most Rhino dealers don't sell it. Another problem with aliphatic bedliners is the inability to color match. You may get close to some colors but generally speaking, it's very difficult to get a color match. You are restricted to about a 30% max pigment infusion.

Most Rhino and LINE-X products will fade without UV protection.

 

So I have to ask - are you a dealer for Line-X?

Back to the chemistry - Rhino Blends ALL of their products.

Yes Bayer sells an Aliphatic, so doesn't ICI / Hunstman and Sherwin Williams. Its a general Chemistry Issue, the name is just a badge on the chemistry.

Last I checked Line-X had their material blended for them by Bayer. I have nothing against Bayer blending, in fact I prefer a big name blender for Quality control purposes.

Please correct me if I am wrong, because Rhino definitely blends their chemicals. Thanks for the intelligent discussion, it is always a welcomed event!

 

Rhino purchases Solarmax from Bayer. As far as I know, Rhino does mix their other products.

LINE-X used to blend their own product, but now contracts with BASF. There are many reasons for this including the ability to obtain the raw materials. BASF mixes it but with LINE-X's direction and control. Obtaining raw materials was an issue with many bedliner companies a few years ago including Rhino. It's my understanding that for a time, Rhino had to add a "filler" product and Rhino Corp. was sued by some of their dealers. I also heard that Xtreme had a problem also.

I found a very good example of Solarmax not colormatching the truck. The bedliner is not even close. See here: http://toyotatruckworld.tenmagazines...ticle&aid=3715

Changing the subject, I heard that Ford's Tough Bed is now on hold indefinitely due to bad adhesion problems. So, for now, you can't order a Tough Bed for a F-250. Ford's tough bed is actually a product from PPG who also provides the Nissan Titan's factory bedliner.

 

Rhino buys Solarmax from Bayer. But, I believe they mix their other products.

LINE-X used to mix their own, but now contracts with BASF. But, LINE-X has control and direction and BASF can't sell it to anyone else. LINE-X has never used any outside company other than BASF.

Changing the subject: Ford's Tough Bed has been put on hold indefinitly due to adhesion problems.