I am planning to have a bedliner sprayed in this week. Since this is my first spray-in bedliner I am not sure what specific areas to exclude from the spray. I am hoping that some forum members can share their experiences with me. Here are the specific questions:

1. Should the following items be removed prior to spraying or be sprayed over?
a. tie down brackets
b. rubber plugs
c. bed bolts
2. Should the plastic cover on the tailgate be removed and the exposed portion around the edge of the tailgate sprayed?
3. Should the surface with the attachment points for the bed extender be sprayed?
4. Should any of the seams be caulked prior to spraying?
5. Should the top of the front rail be sprayed?
6. Should spray continue into tailgate pocket?

I know the bedliner installer will have an opinion on these but I would like to get the viewpoint of actual users.

Thanks in advance!

 

The companys will remove the plugs in their prep. work, and they will spray up to your plastic, personally I would remove the plastic caps and spray the liner instead. you will have less rusting issues, and you can reinstall the plastic if you want afterwards.Wouldn't worry about the bolts or tie downs it again will keep things from rusting.. You will be very happy with your liner guaranteed..At least with the Line-x or rhino...By the way great pics.

 

I just got the 6.5' bed on my 2009 150 CC done with Line-x. I got it sprayed 'under the rails' (left plastic caps on) and they removed all the bolts, tie downs, etc; but not the rubber plugs. My tailgate has the 'man step' so I did not get it sprayed at all.

 

I was also looking at the spray in liners, and spoke to a small company here and found some interesting details i will share. This man who is only one of a few in this area that did the spray in liners locally, shared this information for me. He stated that when the liners first came out that the cost for the installer was minimal and the cost to put them in to the consumer was also that. As time went on the cost of the materials sky rocketed. the manufacturer was passing this cost along to the dealers who were installing them, which inflated the prices around here. The manufacturer told the dealers to spray lighter coats in the rear of the beds and where you would check spray extra coats so that it appeared to be thicker than it actually was. the inspection points you would see would be okay, yet the liner is much thinner to the rear. This ex dealer was kind enough to share with me about this so the thought to me is buyer beware as with anyone you don't know doing work for you.
Great photos as well, still undecided here for the spray in or drop in liner on this end.
Share photos when completed.

 

[quote=Troutinator;7741874]I was also looking at the spray in liners, and spoke to a small company here and found some interesting details i will share. This man who is only one of a few in this area that did the spray in liners locally, shared this information for me. He stated that when the liners first came out that the cost for the installer was minimal and the cost to put them in to the consumer was also that. As time went on the cost of the materials sky rocketed. the manufacturer was passing this cost along to the dealers who were installing them, which inflated the prices around here. The manufacturer told the dealers to spray lighter coats in the rear of the beds and where you would ch

 

I can answer your questions. "Yes" below means that the dealer should spray the area or item.

1a. - Optional, but I recommend yes.
1b. - Yes
1c. - Optional, but I recommend yes.
2. - No
3. - Yes
4. - Yes
5. - Yes
6. - See pic below.

The rail caps should not be removed. The dealer will just mask them off. You cannot apply a bedliner underneath them.

This truck has a colormatched bedliner in it. The arrows point to the edge of the bedliner. #1: If you choose a brand that is high pressure, then the bedliner should extend down about 1/4". If you choose a low pressure brand, most dealers use a knife and just cut the bedliner straight across, so the bedliner will not extend down at all.


Not a Ford, but here's a low pressure bedliner at the bed/tailgate.


Same type truck as above, but with a high pressure bedliner. The edge looks a lot nicer.

 

If you spray the bed extender mounting surface here is one thing to consider. When I had mine done the guy removed the four plastic grommets (above and below the mounting bolt on both sides) where the locking pin enters from the bed extender. When I tried to re-install them afterwards they wouldn't fit, because the hole was a little smaller and the mounting surface was a little thicker becuase of the liner. Now I 'm stuck with either not using the grommets (which would be okay because the inside of the holes are sprayed with liner) however the locking pin isn't as tight then and there is some movement in the bed extender. The other option is to take a dremel tool or some other grinder to the back of the plastic grommets to make them fit in, but doing that removes the little tabs that hold the grommets in place so I would need to glue them in with some type of epoxy, glue, etc. Not sure which way I am going to do it. If I could do it again I would have left the grommets in and had him completely seal of the inside of the grommet (so that the locking pin would still fit in). Just my advice from me experience.

 

All good advice above.

FYI, they sprayed my rubber plugs. Later when I needed to use the plugs (for the Bakflip drain hoses), they came right off with a little bit of scoring with a razor blade. I actually like this because they fit back in tight (as opposed to having to force them back in on top of line-x around the edges).

They did NOT spray my tailgate (I have the man step), although I wish they did. Not sure if you they even can do it, but I think I've read on here that people have had it done.

My Bakflip post from a few months back has some pics of my liner: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...with-pics.html

Good luck, and great photos and detail with the numbers man!

 

Thanks to all for the great input!

Flamebuster: Thanks for the compliments on the pics. Photoshop rules!

Jeep puller: Thanks! Any idea what the plugs are for?

Troutinator: Good point on the thickness issue. I plan on having the installer provide the minimum thickness in writing before starting the job. He has an electronic thickness measuring device to confirm that the liner thickness is as promised. Thanks for the compliment on the pics. I will post pics when completed.

Truckdaddy: Thanks for the detailed response & great pics! I know it can be very time consuming. Any idea what the plugs are for? Will the liner material block the drainage gap, item #4? I was noticing that there are two "buttons" on the backside of each bed extender that fit very tightly to the bed. Did you have any issues with this area binding when the extender shoulder bolts were re-installed?





Scottsherrifs: Great feedback! I will look into this area further. Any binding of the extender due to the liner thickness?

Newblueguy: Thanks! It's funny you mention the bakflip drain hoses, because the next mod will be the addition of a bakflip cover. What do you think about using a hole saw to drill through the liner & plug for installing the drain hoses?

I am thinking of having the tailgate sprayed in the exposed area below the plastic panel (I have the man step also).

Great pics on the bakflip install! I will be returning to that post for reference when I install my bakflip. Any issue with the bakflip & the liner on the top of the front rail?

Thanks again for all the great responses!!

 

The bed extender works great with the liner, no binding or any other problems.

 

Truckdaddy: Thanks for the detailed response & great pics! I know it can be very time consuming. Any idea what the plugs are for? Will the liner material block the drainage gap, item #4? I was noticing that there are two "buttons" on the backside of each bed extender that fit very tightly to the bed. Did you have any issues with this area binding when the extender shoulder bolts were re-installed?

The plugs cover a hole that's used in the manufacturing process. High pressure bedliners products (like LINE-X) tend to "stack", not flow, so the gaps may get a little smaller but they don't generally close. Drainage has never been an issue on any brand of truck. The bed extender, in my experience, has always functioned properly with the bedliner. Note that the bedliner on the sides will be a little thinner than the bedliner that's on the floor. Sides should be at least 90 mil, floor should be at least 125 mil.

Most LINE-X dealers have an Elcometer, which can read the thickess of the bedliner. (125 mil equals 1/8")

 

WOW! thats a huge thickness difference between the Rhino and Line-X. Is that a poorly applied Rhino or is that the normal thickness?

 

All I know is that it's Rhino Tuff Stuff (low pressure).



Rhino-Floor


LINE-X-Floor


Rhino-Tailgate


LINE-X-Tailgate


Rhino-Top of wheel well


LINE-X-Top of wheel well

 

You must have hunted far and wide to find that ancient Rhino Liner...Even the Rhino Plate on the side is the ancient one. (since they are the Original spray in liner) Look at the bolt in the tailgate...lol You just never stop. I find you hilarious now.

 

That is a very OLD, poorly applied Rhino...