Looks can be deceiving... (Picture Heavy!)

[KodiakTrawl]

Well; it looked great yesterday after picking it up from the local body shop... Not so much the next day...

Had rockers, flares and bed lined with "Full Metal Jacket" spray on bedliner.

Coming back from hunting this morning, noticed that my bed was "bubbling", lilke someone spit in it. Started looking closely, entire areas of the bed have lifted and bubbled up. Started peeling (lightly); and it came off in sheets.

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Frame wasn't masked. Exhaust is coated in this stuff now. Driveshaft/transmission too. Just got done oiling the frame (Fluid Film) before sending it in to get done also.

No visible sanding whatsoever on the bedsides, or tailgate. Rust painted right over on the tailgate area, I was assuming that it would be at least primed before the liner was sprayed on. There were other areas of rust on the bedside tops also; I had further assumed that they'd be sanded and spot primed prior to the liner going in.

No all I have is a layer of crap that's going to encapsulate water and rot my bed.

Struggling to find a balance between being overly picky and getting a fair deal... Seeking advice.

Brought it back to the shop today, and they're going to respray the trouble areas. As soon as I rescheduled for the respray, it started coming off in sheets when I got home.

I'm beyond shocked at the utter lack of workmanship from an otherwise reputable operation. Wasn't cheap either, at $1400.

Advice on what to do next? The owner is out of town apparently, and is known as a good guy around town. I'm sure he'll make it right. But what to do?

If the prep was this poor on the bed; I'm sure the rockers weren't sanded at all, and it's a matter of time before they fail also.

 

[Timd32]

IMO run away, do not have them do any more, you are 100% correct in encapsulating the rust. Even with the best prep there is always the chance to cover weep holes and the sort so needs some attention to detail. With poor or no prep you dont have a chance.

I think 2nd gens were designed to rot in 72 deg f, with 75% humidity on a sunny day some how....but thats whole other story.

Alwasy get a written estimate and read the items on it, odd are if its not on there or is already incorrect bad start.

I would just try to claw back as much money as you can and fix it somewhere else. Might not get it all back but try to get a large chunk if possible.

The fluid film should help get it off the areas underbody.

As tempting as that product is, the original design of all vehicles is never great for wet / salty environments, that product typically has the reverse effect and causes more damage to areas by trapping rust and water.

With any repair procedure, wood, concrete, metal, paint, powdercoat, its about whats underneath and what you are covering up, throw a new piece of aluminum over rotted soffets that have water damage might look good for a while but wont hold up. Same principal here cover up bad stuff, or not prep the surface properly and not follow the install instructions no coating is going to hold up.

 

[mwilson]

Sloth and lack of prep for sure......it's almost like there was a film of some kind and it didn't stick......may not have mixed it right either....regardless you have a mess now.

That's terrible.

 

[TFucili]

Vacation or not, I would request the owner call you ASAP. His response and attitude would determine if I would even allow them to make it right. What happened there is so sloppy and poorly done it goes way beyond "an honest mistake". Only you can judge if it is a case of the boss is away, or if it is SOP. Unless the owner goes out of his way to personally remove 100% and re-do properly I would seek a refund, and go to a shop that knows what they are doing.

 

[KodiakTrawl]

Yeah; I'm just still blown away by the lack of workmanship...

Had one scratch that had surface rust above the left tail light - should've been a red flag when I asked the tech if he sanded/primered it before painting over it.. "Nah, I just painted right over it - you said you were going to repaint the truck anyways..."

 

[Timd32]

I found what seemed to be the Full Metal Jacket website? Submitted a Contact us of this post.

https://fmjbedliners.com/bedliners

If I hear anything will let you know, or you can contact them direct and see whats up, the product specs on the site, sure are not represented in your the photos.

Says lifetime warranty did you get any documents with your package, read the fine print you might have more recorse then I first thought.

 

[Timd32]

http://specialty-products.com/spi_products/full-metal-jacket-plus/

The spec pdf and warranty info is on that link.

This is no small operation and it has some serious specs and directions with this stuff, which again helps you out in this case.

I attached the pdf, have not tried that before.

Apply FULL METAL JACKET™ PLUS only to clean, dry, sound
surfaces free of loose particles or other foreign matter. FULL
METAL JACKET™ PLUS can be sprayed over a broad range of
ambient and substrate temperatures. It is recommended that
FULL METAL JACKET™ PLUS be sprayed in multi-directional
(north/south-east-west)passes to ensure uniform thickness.
BED LINER SURFACE PREPARATION: Clean and dry surface;
Remove the majority of the clear coat exposing the painted surface
so the material will bond to the paint. Proper surface preparation
is evidenced by removal of gloss and generation of a light powder
on the surface. (use following or equivalent: DA air sander with 60-
80 grit paper; Electric 4” grinder with 36 grit alum oxide pad; There
are stiff bristled plastic pads also that attach to 4” grinder that are
available in the industry.
Perimeter near Fiber Line tape - Hand sand to edge of filament
line with 120-180 grit paper. THIS AREA IS IMPORTANT AS
INADEQUATE PREP WILL BE THE FIRST LOSS OF ADHESION ON
THE LINER. Using compressed air, blow OFF all prepped surface
areas. See SPI ‘FMJ/FMJ Plus Prep & Installation Guidelines’ for
additional details.

 

[KodiakTrawl]

@Timd32

Thanks so much for your work; this is a great community from what I have seen so far.

The owner is going to be back in town on the 27th; we’re going to sit down and determine the correct solution. The shop has a really good reputation in town, however from asking around - workmanship has a reputation of decreasing when the owner leaves.

I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to reach the proper conclusion, just not sure how we’re going to get there.

I’m fortunate, in that the truck’s body panels are literally 100% rust free (I have no idea how that’s possible in Alaska)... so the worries of encapsulating rust there is minimal. That being said; I’m only assuming that the prep and sanding was as shoddy on the rockers as it was on the bed.

Spoke with FMJ corporate yesterday, and they were amazed at the lack of prep. Urged me to call back and work out a solution with them if the local shop fails to.

I’m sure we’ll get things concluded, just more dissapointed that people can be so lazy.

 

[Timd32]

No problem, figured was worth a shot passing on the info, it reads like a really good product when properly applied.

Keep us posted of your results and after pics.

Quote from a friends email signature (no clue where he got it from)

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."