Really awful spray-on liner

[SquareDave]

Bought a new 2004 with a spray-on bedliner that had been applied so poorly that the dealer gave me a really good price break on the truck. Now, I'm at a point where I want to by hook or crook get that awful liner off and replaced with one more professionally applied. I recognize this isn't going to be cheap or easy, but I'm tired of looking at the peeling, bubbling, separating bedliner.



Has anybody out there successfully removed a spray-on bedliner or had it done? Is it better to remove it mechanically or chemically? (Excuse me while I brace myself for some bad news):{



Luv the truck anyway.



Dave



(parked in Vacaville, CA now, but probably leaving soon)

 

[mediccummin]

Have you tried an installer to ask them the best way to remove this stuff or if they can repair it. I know I had to remove a small strip on my tailgate to put my tailgate cap on and it wasn't easy. Good luck.

 

[SquareDave]

I did check with the local Linex dealer when I arrived in town in early June. They weren't particularly interested in taking on the task. Probably should have left them my phone number just in case they suddenly and unexpectedly developed an interest in making a few bucks. Next prospect is the local Rhino.

 

[CougFan]

put a drop in over it.

 

[SquareDave]

The drop-in is an option that I am considering if my first choice can't pan out. I really do prefer the look and performance of a good spray-on that is done properly. My old Chevy had a Rhino liner that I liked a lot, and given my druthers, I'd like something similar on this one. The search continues.....

 

[thejeepdude]

If it's already bubbling, why couldn't you just scrape off the loose stuff with a sharp scraper like those used to remove vinyl flooring, then grind off the rest with a 60 grit sanding disc? It doesn't matter how scratched up the metal is, because the new spray-in will cover it up anyways. Just get it as smooth as you can and you should be good to go.

 

[1empire1]

Most spray-in liners out there won't stick to another companies product, that is probably why the line-x dealer wasn't interested. Most of these liners are also designed to withstand most chemicals, so that leaves sanding or grinding it out. I have sprayed a few companies liners and would suggest to see if there is a Superliner dealer in your area. This product I know will stick to other liners since I used to repair alot of other companies liners with this product when I was in that line of business. This way you only have to remove the peeling and loose areas as suggested earlier. They can then fill those areas before re-spraying the entire bed. Hope this helps... Andrew

 

[PHeadings]

Use aeronautical stripper, it will remove anything. Paint it on and let it sit, the liner will start to bubble before your eyes. Give your local automotive paint supply a call.

 

[nickleinonen]

angle grinder and a synthetic wire cup wheel. it should grind through the liner [and paint] but shouldn't eat into the metal too much

 

[Dane]

I would try a professional sandblaster.

 

[Forrest]

There was a Rhino guy in Sac ... maybe give him a buzz & see. Maybe if the surface can be roughed up enough, it'll work.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

It sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Scot]

If it really is blistering, take it to a good high pressure car wash. Spray close and at a low angle. Worked on a Sheib job on an Jeep I had.

 

[cyborg]

I like the idea of a service box

 

[SquareDave]

Got a new spray-on bedliner from Arma-Coatings. What I wound up doing was contacting 4 outlets of various brands in this area in hopes that at least one of them would be up to the challenge of stripping out the old liner. Might could have done it myself if given enough time, but the RV park here frowns on that kind of thing, so I was stuck with having to find someone who had both the facilities and the inclination to do the job. I got one response and jumped on it before he changed his mind. Ninety percent of the old liner was unsalvageable and had to be stripped off. But he did the job and did it very well.



The lesson I get from this is that while most brands of spray-on bedliners are of good quality, there is one unknown (by me) outlet in Texas that did a really sorry job of applying the one that came with my truck, and of a certainty there are other lousy outlets lying in wait for their next victim. If you want one of these on your truck, check out the credentials of whoever is going to do the application. Get references, and avoid rookies.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I hope the price break on the truck was significant enough so that it covered what you had to go through to have a new spray-in liner 'installed'...



Matt

 

[Bob Wagner]

I've had great service with my arma coatings bedliner. Installed since 2001 with zero problem and it cleans up like new

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I vote for a flatbed. And then X-line the bed.

 

[Turbo Thom]

What happened to you is my real complant about our trucks. Our trucks come in good shape. What we have done after we recieve it often ends up as bad workmanhsip. I've installed 5 trannys in 300K miles. It's not the truck nor Dodges fault. Just bad, human workmanship. And it's getting worse. Even at the dealerships, as most know.

. . Preston. .

 

[SquareDave]

Turbo Thom,



The fact is that I did go into this deal with my eyes open. There were other similarly equipped trucks on the dealer's lot that did not have the cosmetic issues that came with this one, and I could have bought any one of those. The dealer knocked off a couple of grand, and I took it. In retrospect, although after all is said and done I've come out a few bucks ahead, I don't know that I would make the same choice again. But all that stuff is behind me now, and the truck looks really good with the black arma coating in the bed.