DIY Bed Liner & Rust Fix

Hey All,

Just picked up an '02 without a bed liner. The truck does have some rust spots that I need to address, not sure how extensive or if I will have to weld in some patches.

I wanted to get some wisdom on DIY bed liner because I have never done it myself. What products do you use? Should I remove the factory bed caps and line the rails instead? What can I expect for drying times and is there a certain time of year/weather I need to do it in? (I don't have a garage and it is winter up here in Montana).

Any tips/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

You may have to wait until warmer weather as most products require certain temps above 50°.

You’ll get all kinds of answers here so mine is just one opinion. Remove entire bed liner. Fix the rust. Spray liner in with big box rattle cans (5-6 for about $42). Re-install plastic bed liner. This is my plan in the spring. I’ve used the spray liner from big box on my trailer with great results. I like the idea of reinstalling plastic bed liner as it provides an extra level of protection.

 

I don't have the plastic bed liner, not sure if the original owner tossed it out or never had one in the first place. I mostly want to line the bed to prevent the rust from spreading and causing me a problem in the future. I am okay with spending a little more to make sure the job is done right. (I'm not a big fan of having to redo work).

 

Things like Ospho will neutralize your rust. Prep is the key. Your other alternative is roll on type liners.

 

Ospho, never heard of it, thanks! After doing some research on the roll on stuff it looks like I will have to wait until spring to do it.

 

If you do go the roll on way, I used Herculiner on my VW pan. It was really easy to work with and came out great.

 

I've noticed a lot of members here report good results with Herculiner but when I check elsewhere on the internet the reviews are not very good. I wonder if the prep work is the key? My 17 year old truck has no bed liner. I want to do LineX but it's hard to justify $600 on a truck this old...

 

Prep is always the key to any good finish. Most people do not do the proper procedures to achieve the proper results.

Rust needs to be neutralized first. Sanding and Dust wiped down. Proper temps etc.

That Roll on liner looks decent. The reviews were shotty on some, but overall pretty good. The world is full of people not listening or following direction or doing proper homework up front. Its prevelant these days which makes one have to be even more cautious and analysing between the lines.

 

Just so you know where this is coming from, I am in the protective coatings/corrosion business and am liscensed as a coatings inspector. I can’t speak to a lot of automotive topics very intelligently but this one I can provide some solid info.

The previous post about temperature is correct, you need to make sure air and surface temps are 50 degrees or higher and 5 degrees above the dew point and rising although I doubt you’ll have much trouble with humidity in MT.

As far as prep goes, if you have an angle grinder, get a wire cup, or flapper wheel and abrade the whole area you want to coat. Especially focus on the areas of corrosion and remove as much of the corrosion as you can. Blow it down when you’re done and then apply the ospho which is phosphoric acid based. Follow the instructions but after it reacts you will need to wash down or solvent wipe the whole treated area to remove the phosphate layer and remove any unreacted product.

After it has been cleaned, and it’s dry, apply the coating per instructions. One note, if there is original paint remaining, I would remove as much of it as possible or at the very least, thoroughly abrade it to ensure strong adhesion.

As far as products go, I don’t have a recommendation for you but anything multi-component (A&B) will be more durable than single component but will be more difficult to use. Hope this helps.

 

Now that I think of it. I had my VW pan sandblasted and then I used Eastwood Extreme Chassis paint first. So yeah, prep must be the key.

 

I would love to do a LineX spray in, but I agree the cost is hard to justify on an old truck.

 

This is exactly what I was looking for. I will have to pick up a wire cup/flapper wheel before I take the job on. I think I will end up having to patch two, maybe three areas in the bed that have significant rust. I will probably take the whole bed off so I can make sure I get all the rust in one go.

Thanks.

 

No problem. If you have the means to sandblast that is truly the best way to prep but the method I described is going to be more realistic for a home shop/diy’er as most people don’t have a blast pit and big compressor hanging around.

 

No access to a sandblaster unfortunately, but I plan on doing a good amount of prep work just to make sure I get all the rust.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

No problem. You’ll be fine. Seems like you’re pretty thorough so you’ll no doubt, get your desired outcome.

 

i have one for sale 5.6' i believe on my 2011.

 

Aww how cute. Remember when you were afraid to spend $600 on this thing?

 

just selective with what I spend it on now.

But the list is always evolving.

 

Here's a quick review that covers the similarities and differences between Herculiner and Rustoleum DIY bed coatings.

https://4wdlife.com/rust-oleum-bedliner-vs-herculiner