Bedliners are something that can help transform the looks and durability of your truck bed. Most people understand how the classic plastic Pendaliner Bedliners are installed into the bed of a truck due to their simplicity; however, most people do not realize what it takes to do a Spray In Bedliner correctly. Spray In Bedliners are great because they can make your new truck bed look better and make your old truck bed look great! Many probably think that Spray In Bedliners are a fairly simple process when in reality there is much more to them than most people think. In this blog, I am going to go through all of the steps of doing a Spray In Bedliner.
Let’s Start off!
- Pull Truck In – First the trained spray tech pulls the truck into the booth that is designed specifically for doing Spray In Bedliners. This booth has upgraded ventilation along with an advanced pumping system that allows for the ISO and Resin to be sprayed through the nozzle of the spray gun at exact temperatures and pressures.
- Removal of Parts – The spray tech removes the tailgate from the truck and sets it on a stand that is designed specifically for spraying that piece of the truck. Along with this, all removable tie downs are removed from the truck bed so that they do not get spray on them. All of these will be reinstalled after the truck bed is sprayed so they maintain the clean look to them.
- Masking – The spray tech then starts masking the entire truck off. Generally, they start with line tape which will provide a nice clean line where the edge of the Bedliner is. They then do a couple of layers of masking tape alongside that, which is also accompanied by a full layer of plastic that covers the entire truck. This plastic is used to prevent overspray from getting anywhere not intended on the truck.
- Sanding and Cleaning – The spray tech then takes a sander and sands all surfaces of the truck bed that will receive the polyurea thermoplastic elastomer. This sanding creates a rough surface so that the spray will stick well to the truck bed in every part. After this, the tech sprays out the bed of the truck with air and wipes down all surfaces with denatured alcohol. This denatured alcohol eliminates anything that will interfere with the adhesion of the Bedliner.
- Spraying – The tech then puts on their full suit along with their breathing mask and they turn on the pump and hose heaters. The hose heaters heat the ISO and Resin to precise temperatures so that they are able to spray out of the gun in a liquid manner like paint would. When all temperatures and pressures are where they need to be the tech does a couple of practice sprays on a plastic piece in order to make any last minute adjustments to how the gun is spraying. The way the gun works is actually rather interesting, the ISO(the adhesive substance) and the resin (the black substance) are actually in separate hoses all the way to the gun. When they reach the gun they mix along with air in order to create a perfect mix for the truck bed. After the spray gun is working exactly how it should, the tech then starts spraying in a specific series. During the first coat, the tech is actually rather close to the surface of the truck with the gun being 2-3 feet away. Being this close allows a thick layer to be applied while being rather smooth. Once a think layer is done on the whole truck bed they then go back and make sure no areas need extra for protection. Lastly, the tech stands about 5-6 feet away from the surface and starts spraying with a specific technique. Standing this far away allows the Bedliner to dry a little bit in the air give it the textured surface when it sticks. The tech does this step until every part of the surface is textured according to company standards.
- Removal of tape and plastic – The tech pulls all of the line tape within 5 minutes of spray in order to create clean edges for the customer. At this point, all other tape and plastic is removed.
- Re-install – The tie downs are added back to the truck bed along with the tailgate.
Finally, the Spray In Bedliner is all finished up and dry to the touch. However, it is smart to leave the tailgate down for a day and not put anything in the truck bed for that period so that it cures to the truck bed well. Remember that we offer Spray In Bedliners at all of our stores, call or visit any of them in order to get your truck bed set up perfectly for any task!
