Bed Liner Regrets?

[ryoungbronco]

Anyone regret using bed liner inside your bronco? If you used color matching, does it match the original color?

 

[nvrstuk]

I regret it now....

Course "now" is 24 yrs later and let me say this, grinding it off so I could build new wheel wells, lower the floors etc back in 2016 was a royal pita.

I like it but since I keep the same Bronco forever there is no such thing as "this will never cause me problems down the road" as I am always modifying or upgrading- and I don't mean bolt on stuff.

So keep that in mind. If this a totally stock mall crawler/beautiful rig than go for it. Otherwise I'd say it can be a real nuisance when you need to make changes down the road.

We've sprayed some colored bed liners on show trucks and it makes for a beautiful bed.

 

[Yeller]

Love mine, its on the inside and the underside from the dash inside and the cowl outside to the tailgate. Really makes a difference in interior noise and heat. but when you need to work on it, yes it is a PITA. I would do it again though.

 

[BronCowie]

10 years later... no regrets.

 

[DirtDonk]

Some are rougher in texture than others. If left exposed it's hard on the knees and skin.
Don't put it on the tops of the doors if you rest your arms there. Rough on the skinny bits.
Don't put it on the top of the bed rails if you plan to ever run with the top off. Same reason as the tops of the doors.
Leave a border around the inside of the tailgate to keep room for the seals. Some tailgates have big gaps that won't care. Others are very tight and the thickness of the bedliner gets in the way of a good seal.

Can't say for color matching. If you're doing it yourself the match is only as good as you and/or the people mixing the paints.
When 904Bronco here did the color matched Raptor Liner in my '68 it came out fantastic. Quite a good match for the Peacock Blue original paint.
But your results may vary...

Paul

 

[Timmy390]

Herculiner from 20 plus years ago....It needs replacing. UV killed it. I plan to go back with Raptor liner.

Tim

 

[Yeller]

I should plug a good friend's business..... been using this stuff for 20 years, phenomenal product. It is his proprietary product and has worked with PPG for the OEM bed coatings.
gatorhyde

 

[duffymahoney]

I have high end Linex on the inside, it's a pain to clean. I probably regret it. I would go smooth, if I did it again.

 

[phred]

No regrets. I used a smooth glossy low texture urethane. Is was installed in 1999 and still looks as good today as it did new.

 

[nvrstuk]

Tim- I used Herculiner. TOUGH stuff, rougher than fresh rock chip seal coating though! Peel your skin right off! lol

Tough to clean for sure- Good point Duffy, keep it as smooooth as you can.

I should add this. I am planning on spraying inside and out on my Shorty build.

 

[904Bronco]

Had a bad experience with Linex applied locally. Price change when I went to pick up the rig, with no phone call to advise of the change. Much discussion there... But I stuck to my Guns and threatened to BBB. They relented.
After I sold the rig to someone who was going to do a color change, he sent pictures of how it peeled right off. And their special self etching primer that they tried to charge me for did not seem to be present???

Done a few Raptor liners, black and color matched. Those seem to have held up well...

 

[nvrstuk]

Me again... lol

Here's another thing that is a good upgrade. Do the inside of the frt fenders with a double coat so when rocks fly off the tires you don't end up with dents in the tops of the fenders. Mine are terrible but my fenders are decades old and I drive over a mile of gravel several times a day.

 

[ryoungbronco]

Thanks for all of the replies. Fortunately, I don't need to worry about rust. I have a fiberglass body and the bronco will be used to cruise the shore and car shows. I'm just thinking about the long term choices especially if I want to do a color change.

 

[Glass Pony]

No regrets here. I used white Herculiner when I was finishing my fiberglass Bronco in 2013. I used the foam roller and brush from the kit and it turned out great.
The first picture is March 2013, the rest are this morning. After 9 years maybe a little wear on the driver's floor and the back where my cooler sits. (there were never floor mats in it)

 

[bronkenn]

I used the Raptor Liner with color tint and also added the Hytech insulating beads. I sprayed it with a light texture and it cleans up good. It has been a couple years and it still looks good but I don't abuse it. I also sprayed the inside of the front and rear wheel tubs and they are holding up well. Glad I did that as I had a set of TSL Swampers on it that threw some big ole rocks under it. I have no regets.

 

[DirtDonk]

Both look great! I think the insulating beads is a good idea. On it's own you still feel a lot of heat coming through the floor.
I ended up undercoating my tub with standard rubberized stuff in a spray can. If I had a bare tub I'd probably go bit with Lizard Skin or similar products, but felt I could not justify it with the fully assembled truck.

Paul

 

[hyghlndr]

Cheapie black parts store with bad prep, you will hate it. Spent tons of hours removing some one else's mess. Too rough a finish isn't good and some cause dirt to stick.

Nicely done, quality kit, well taped off, put old bolts in to protect wholes or use plugs, ideally color match or painted can look really good. No regrets when I have done it this way.

 

[69_Sport]

I've said this before, and I'm sure others will disagree, but I personally wouldn't buy a Bronco that had this stuff sprayed all over it. It just yells "coverup" to me of hidden rust and bad stuff that's hidden by the liner.

 

[bronkenn]

I've said this before, and I'm sure others will disagree, but I personally wouldn't buy a Bronco that had this stuff sprayed all over it. It just yells "coverup" to me of hidden rust and bad stuff that's hidden by the liner.

I don't know what brand you are referring to, but the Raptor Liner doesn't really hide anything. You can still see spot welds and any dents. It looks like a texured paint job.

 

[DirtDonk]

But it's still a good reason for anyone contemplating using a liner to take copius pictures of the "before" project aspects of the Bronco. After all, there are a LOT of people who feel the same way about a vehicle with bedliner all over it.
It's become quite the red flag around here with prospective buyers.

So no matter the condition of the floors and body panels, take pictures before!

Paul