What should I do guys?

[1987 Shortwide]

OK, I've been working on my bed a little bit, and I'm getting close to re-assembling it. Originally I was going to do all the body work in there and paint it to match the rest of the truck. Getting into it, it appears that I'll have many hours of work to make it look good under finish paint. There will be a permanent (screwed down) tonneau cover over it, and NOTHING will be hauled in the back. What should I do?

1. Bedliner such as Rhinoliner or Line-X? (I fear the fact of not being able to remove this if I don't like it)

2. Spackle paint (like would be seen in most mid-60's cars...) This would be a cheap alternative to bedliner, cover up minor blemishes, but Im not sure if I can get it in a good non/clashing color.


3. Suck it up and do the bodywork to paint it body color (there has been alot of cutting, piecing together of parts, and welding in the bed, so this is no easy task.

4. Carpet maybe?

I'm really kinda lost with what I want to do under there right now, so lets see some opinions, experiences, and whatever else you guys may think.

[Squinty McTwo]

What about a Bedrug?

Its like carpet but made out of little plastic "fingers" like astro-turf, but not as scratchy.

[ilg14]

I have Line-X in my truck, and I absolutetly love it. I find it pretty attractive with the black and bits of "sparkle." I do not haul anything either and plan on putting on a tonneau. Also, you can't beat the durability (not that you or I will ever need it). I can't say enough of how nice it looks.

If you get a liner, are you gonna go on or below the rail?

[SCOTI]

Do the trunk 'zolatone' (sp) paint & see how you like it. If you don't like it, it's easy enough to sand it back down & do the spray-in bedliner. I believe they will even do the prep work before putting the liner down if you don't want to have to re-sand it yourself.

[1987 Shortwide]

Scoti, lead me to this 'zolatone' please, if you don't mind.

Talking on another forum, it looks like Line-X is a helluva nice setup. I was told it's real thin, durable (not that durability matters), and a mild gloss (which I like), and that I could get a close match to my paint. If I go that route, I'll only go up to the bottom of the rails, not over.

[Jonboy]

The nice thing about Line-X is that it does not have a lot of texture, and is pretty thin. It will show some of the imperfections, though. You will want to make sure that your seam sealer and everything looks good, because it will show up. Line-X will fade out relatively quickly, too. Mine kept the original color for about 6 months. I am guessing your truck will be garaged, so that is probably not an issue.

Zolatone is the trunk paint that you were talking about. If you do go that way, some of the main color down first (like grey primer if you are doing grey, blak primer for black, etc.) as it really doesn't cover all that well by itself. I did the inner fenders of my 73 with the trunk paint, and i liked it. Using a good semi gloss clear would help a lot, too.

[72MARIO]

I would spray liner it. Line X or whatever.

There is going to be a day that you put a kooler or a sleeping bag in there and when you get to where your going the nice paint would be scratched.

I hate having the wood floor and perfect inside box in my 67 I cant put anything in there. I went camping and everything had to go behind the seat. Not Fun.

[bagged01extcab]

Post some pics so that we can see your work!

[84 400]

Originally Posted by bagged01extcab

Post some pics so that we can see your work!

try his site . also anyone have any pics of a linx bed in there truck???? so its thinner then rhino??? thanks

[Slammed66]

I would go to linex and explain to them your just wanting a cosmetic liner it will most likely be cheaper and easier to get off if you hate it year down the road (doubtfull) it tough and very durable I used to work for another liner shop and wed give dealers a cheaper rate as we wouldnt lay on the liner as thick just a nice coverage so it tricked people into thinking they were gettin a good liner ( sad eh)

But Id definatly go with the linex itll look awsome.

[boxrodz]

Like the majority here, a spray-on bedliner may be the way to go to avoid excess body work (that will rarely be seen). But, I think if it's laid on thin and doesn' have much texture, it wouldn't 'camouflage' the bed's imperfections as well. (Sorta like spraying it with the truck paint.)

If I remember correctly, you went out and bought new bedsides. So, maybe smooth out your fender wells and paint the sides and fender wells of the bed the same as the rest of the truck and lay down spray-on liner only on the bed's floor. Or, as another option to the spray-on liner on the bed floor would be to fab a sheet of aluminum (or ???) to completely cover the floor and just clear coat it.

Never heard of the Zolatone product that scoti and Joyboy posted. Zolatone has information of their automotive/industrial/marine products on their web site.

[Jonboy]

Here is a pic of the wheel well in my 05 crew cab. The liner was sprayed in last february, to give you an idea of the fading. Admittedly, the truck sits out all of the time. I honestly haven't washed it in at least three months. That should give you an idea of the thickness over the factory seam sealer.

[ilg14]

I have had my Line-X over a year, and it looks absolutely nothing like the previous picture. Mine is still as beautiful as it was when sprayed. It has not faded, and mine definitely has more texture than the pictured bed. And no, I do not have a picture right now, so you can say whatever you want about my words. They are the honest truth, though.

[Jonboy]

Line-x is a good product, I just have a tendency to abuse mine. I bought my truck to work out of, and that is what it does. We probably spray 35-40 LineX liners a month here at the dealership where I work.

[ilg14]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Line-x is a good product, I just have a tendency to abuse mine. I bought my truck to work out of, and that is what it does. We probably spray 35-40 LineX liners a month here at the dealership where I work.

I gotcha. Yeah, my bed may very well never hold a thing.

[piecesparts]

I have done the Rhino-Liner thing in all of my trucks and I have no issue with it. If you want a true look, have Rhino mix the color match for your truck and it is virtually the same color. Looks great and is sound deadening and long lasting. It does cost a little more, but the trucks I have seen with it are great. (red, blue, yellow, green) they all looked good.

[1987 Shortwide]

Update

I went down to my local Line-X dealer and they quoted me 400$ for a thinner version of their normal coating and black in color. They said they'd use less coats to get my weight down a little more, considering it's not for durability sake. to match color would cost about 100$ more also.

I'm still undecided really... I'll have about 200$ in the zolatone materials it looks like, and it'd be black/black too.

it's either 200$ + the labor of doing it, or 400$ to have it done in Line-X.

I hate these decisions...

[corn]

Im almost positive that Zolatone is water based. I used it in the trunk of a car I did some years back & it HAD to be cleared & chipped up very easily. Id go with a spray in bed liner if it were mine...corn

[86swb]

I would go with the line-ex. I have seen some of the Rhino liners and was not impressed but was with the Line-Ex. Much better and worth the $400.00. MO

[ilg14]

For your information on my Line-X liner:

$399 base price + $49 over-rail -$20 coupon (for my area) + $29.96 tax = $457.96.

This price is for the "non-thin" version (regular).

I, too, compared the Rhino Liner with Line-X prior to purchase and preferred the looks of the Line-X. Also, I talked with many others that preferred the Line-X. I have seen Rhino Liners after a couple years and they did not look so great. But then again, the Line-X that was put to heavy use seen in this thread showed similar wear and fading.

[piecesparts]

I have the Rhino and I agree that there can be some fading, however in the most part, I run a tonneau cover and that helps that. I would look at the Rhino or Line-X, both are good quality for longivity. The color match is higher but it does look great when it is done. I have seen the zolatone with big chunks missing out of it, because it chips bad. That is the same with some of the other roll-on types.

[1987 Shortwide]

I need to find a different line-X dealer I think... He was 450 base price in black, and like 100-150 more for custom colors, and he was an idiot in general...

[86swb]

Originally Posted by 1987 Shortwide

I need to find a different line-X dealer I think... He was 450 base price in black, and like 100-150 more for custom colors, and he was an idiot in general...

One thing for sure. You do not want an idiot to do your truck. Good luck with what ever you decide.

[SSC's76]

Theres a Ryno liner place down the street from the shop. They do good work. The black does fade over time but it seems the colored liner holds up longer to UV abuse.

[1987 Shortwide]

Originally Posted by 86swb

One thing for sure. You do not want an idiot to do your truck. Good luck with what ever you decide.

Well, the work was good, I looked at one they did in the booth. He was just cocky and kinda snide about some stuff, and I don't like dealing with people that think they are a notch above the rest.