Bedliner Paint Job: Complete Guide - How to paint your car with bedliner.
The guide is intended to be a guideline for your project.The guide is based on my own experiences so you can find a better way.This guide is not an all inclusive resource, so use your common sense when painting your own car, truck, van, boat, or whatever.
1.Get your supplies together.It's time to set some time aside.Make sure the conditions are right.Make sure the vehicle is prepared thoroughly.The bedliners should be applied for the paint job.Let the bedliners cure.There are mistakes to avoid.
You don't want to get halfway through your bed liner paint job and have to stop for supplies.Every bedliner paint job is different, so take the time to think through and make a good list of things you will need.It can take a few weeks to get everything together.
You need enough material to paint your car.You should get more than you think you need to cover yourself.If you run out, you may end up with an inconsistent finish.If you will be spraying it on, I recommend The Dupli-color Bedliner as a roll-on.Don't forget the rollers!You will need at least one painting tray.The roll-on bedliner kit on Amazon is a good deal.
You will want to hide anything that isn't covered in bedliners.To make sure you don't make a mess, you might want to tape off the surrounding areas with a drop cloth.It is important to use painter's tape because it will come up easily and not leave a sticky mess.Blue painter's tape is cheap at Harbor Freight.
You can get plastic sheeting at the hardware store to cover large areas.Some newspapers are free and they work great.You will need a lot of it so stock up.
To make sure the bed liner sticks to the surface, you will want to clean and prep the surfaces well.A good start is soap and water, but you may want to use a de-greaser on the surface as well.A final wipe with paint thinner or acetone will help the bedliners adhere.Even though it's a bedliner paint job and not a high dollar affair, you still want to prep the surface as good as you can for a great final result.
It's a good idea to have these things on hand when painting your car.It is a good idea to spray a primer on bare metal before coating it.The material sticks better with this.I like to use semi-gloss black paint to spray areas I can't use bedliners on.This could include wheel wells, trim pieces, emblems or whatever.If you want to get in the cracks and crevices, you can use an aerosol spray-on bedliner.If you only choose one thing, I would paint it black.It can serve as a primer and also coat the areas you can't get to with bedliners.It won't last that long if exposed to the elements.
It will probably take more time than you think.Whether you are painting a small car, a truck, van, or even a boat, chances are it will take you longer than expected to prep, mask, paint the bedliner, and clean up.I recommend setting aside an entire weekend for the project.You can knock it all out in half a day, but what if something happens?If the weather turns bad, what should you do?
You won't be as fast as you think, and there is a learning curve to everything.If you are painting a truck or van with bedliner, the cleaning and prep alone can take up half a day.
Don't rush the job and set plenty of time to do it right.Break the vehicle into separate sections if you can't finish in one day.Just paint the front half of the car to the trim line, or the back half to where the doors meet the fender.Doing it this way will reduce the chance for a messy finish.
Plan ahead and schedule plenty of time to paint your car.The whole process will go a lot better if you do that.
It is worth mentioning because it could easily get overlooked.It is possible that you have been planning your bedliner paint job for weeks and have everything ready, but it is going to rain that weekend.You can only get half way through painting your car when there is a storm.If things look bad, you have to change it.Even if you aren't directly in the paint, the rain causes it to cure much slower.The bed liner will blow right off the roller if there is high winds.Your masking materials will blow away as well.When the weather cooperates, you will have more time to complete your bedliner paint job without rushing or stopping.You will have a better finished product and less mess on your hands.
Bedliner is a type of paint.The same process can be used to prepare a car for a spray-on bedliner paint job.The surface doesn't need to be sanded smooth.Small flaws, door dents, and paint chips don't matter.The bedliners will adhere properly if the vehicle is clean.Before you paint your vehicle, there are some things you can do to make it as clean as possible.
If you can find a wax and grease removal product, use it.I recommend washing your vehicle twice before applying bedliner, and using a sponge or scrub brush each time.Give your vehicle lots of time to try and wash all the crevices after washing.If you have an air compressor, blow it out with it.Allow the vehicle to air dry for a couple of hours.You might want to let it dry overnight if the weather is good.If you are painting your car with bedliner and some water drips out from under your trim, that area may not adhere and you might have peeling later.
This is important.It allows the bedliners to adhere better by removing the grease and wax from the paint.Some people use different things for this step, such as paint thinner or Xylene, but I have found acetone works the best.You can wipe a section of the vehicle with a rag.Just do a section about the size of a fender because it will evaporate quickly.Make sure to wipe down all the surfaces of the car that will be painted with bedliners.It is important to keep acetone out of your eyes and skin.This stuff is strong so don't inhale it.
If you have a good paint job on your car, why are you painting it again?The bed liner needs a good surface to adhere to.You may have areas where the clearcoat is intact even if your paint job isn't great.If you want to get a light shine on these areas, you can use a Scotch-Brite pad.It's better to have a rough surface for your bedliner paint job.If you want to coat parts with bedliner, be careful and not mess them up.To make sure the surfaces are clean, wipe them down with acetone.
The fun part is here.It is easy to paint your car with bedliners once you have cleaned and prepared it.Even if you roll a truck bed, boat hull, or anything else, these tips will still apply.I recommend a few tips to make your bedliner paint job turn out great.
I had to add this step in because it is so easy to mess up your bedliner paint job by touching it too soon.If you follow the guidelines on the product you are using, don't get in and out of the car or drive it around for a while.The bedliner is hard to touch so this will allow it to cure completely.You can open the doors, the hood, and do whatever you need to do without putting your paint job at risk.
There is no way to list all the things that could go wrong when painting your car with bedliners.Here they are.
I am sure you will be happy to give your vehicle a new look and complete your bedliner paint job.Don't rush it, that's understandable.Even if you don't have all the supplies, you might want to try and finish the job before it rains.It was a big mistake.You can get a result if you take the time to prepare and do the job right.The bedliner paint job may turn in to an irreversible OOPS if you rush it.
If you think you can just remove it if you don't like it, it's not a bedliner paint job.Wait and see if you want to paint your vehicle with bedliners.Although technically it is possible to remove bedliner, it would be so much work and take so long that it probably wouldn't be worth it.If you are concerned about the re-sale value, don't paint your car with bedliners.Jeeps will have the same or even higher re-sale value if they have a bedliner paint job.The re-sale vale will go down for the majority of vehicles.If your vehicle has a bedliner paint job, you may not be able to sell it.If you have to sell your car because you are worried about the money you will get for it, consider other options.