If you are a truck owner, we are willing to bet you take great pride in your ride. Truck ownership is about more than just getting you from point A to point B. It’s about working hard. It’s about getting dirty. Owning a truck is a representation of the American Dream. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to, just like your truck does every day.
If you give your truck a run for its money, you’ll probably take on some bumps and dents over time. Wear it proudly. You aren’t one of those truck owners who just drives a truck for show. However, those scrapes and dents in the bed of the truck can leave chinks in the armor. When the bare metal of the bed of your truck is exposed, it can cause rust. Rust spreads and grows, and can turn into a serious issue.
For this reason, if you are a truck owner, you might want to consider applying a spray bedliner. Spray on bedliners is a protective coating that goes on the bed of your truck, and prevents the wear and tear that your four-wheeled friend incurs from daily work from harming the structure of it. It’s inexpensive, easy to apply, and gives you an extra insurance policy that your truck will be by your side for years to come.
Spray on truck bedliners are permanent, so if you do it poorly, you’ll have to live with it for years to come. Before applying a spray on bedliner, read our list and make sure you don’t commit any of these huge mistakes.
Four Big Mistakes People Make While Spraying On a Truck Bedliner
- MISTAKE: Not sanding the truck bed properly.
Sanding your truck bed before applying the spray on bedliner is super important, because it gives the spray on liner something to grip onto. The spray on liner will hold onto any surface, but sanding it first will ensure you don’t get little bubble and holes that peel away over time, which will allow water to seep through and defeat the purpose of applying the bed liner to begin with. - MISTAKE: Slacking on the wash job before application.
It is incredibly important to give your truck the cleaning of her life before applying the spray on liner. We aren’t just talking about mud and dirt you’ve accumulated through the regular daily grind. If you followed the first step, your baby is freshly sanded. The sanding process produces millions — nay, zillions — of tiny dust particles. One little particle that is left over when the spray is applied will create an air bubble that will frustrate you for years to come. Clean thoroughly after sanding but before spraying, to ensure the smoothest application. - MISTAKE: Substituting vinyl wrap cutting tape with masking tape
You might assume that masking tape will get the job done while taping off your truck bed to apply a spray on bed liner. Well, you assumed wrong.
Like we said, the thick plastic goo that will be your future truck bed liner is permanent. There is nothing more unsightly than when you get that goo on the exterior of the truck. Masking tape is weaker than the vinyl the liner is made of, and it rips when you take it off. This is where vinyl wrap cutting tape comes in. As the name suggests, vinyl wrap cutting tape has a metal wire on the edge that cuts through the excess spray, leaving you a beautiful clean edge on your bed liner. When you are looking for ways to save cashola while applying a spray on bed liner, using masking tape instead of vinyl wrap cutting tape is not a good way to do it. - MISTAKE: Skimming over the manufacturer directions.
You do not want to make a small mistake that will be there forever, as a constant reminder of that time you made a bonehead move and didn’t thoroughly read the instructions before applying a spray on bed liner. It takes a few minutes to sit down and make sure you know precisely what to do before you begin. Do it.
Do you have any other tips for applying a spray on bed liner? Please share below!