Just did the DIY spray in bed liner...

[mt Al]

After waiting way too long, finally put in a spray in bed liner.

Cost:
Soda blast bed: $50 (he's a friend of mine)
Spray gun: $70
Spray in stuff: $95 (I'll explain below)
Masking stuff: $20
Total: $235 (not including time)

Went with the DupliColor stuff from Checker Auto. Having never spray painted anything (other than vandelism when younger) I was pretty concerned with how it would turn out.

The soda blasted bed was free of most of the rust and all of the paint. Got out the gun and initially purchased one gallon and another pint of the goo ($40 + $15). Maybe it was the psi settings, but it seemed to go on pretty slow. I've got a tiny "I wanna look like a real man" Dewalt air compressor that was working like a rented mule the whole time. It was very tough to get it on even at first and it basically looked like crap after the first coat. Used up the whole gallon and pint and it was pretty thin in some areas. IF YOU USE THIS STUFF (and you really use your truck), BUY TWO GALLONS, at least. Went back and got another gallon ($40) and evened out the thickness in some areas and spent most of the time making it look even/consistant, etc. with the rest. I had to step back and take a look at the finish at a few angles to find out where it was thin and tried to spray it in a circular/zig zag pattern to even it out. The biggest mistake I made was spraying it from too far away, since I think it partially cures on the trip from the nozzle to the bed and doesn't stick as well.

I found that the DupliColor stuff looks great, but is not "rubbery" enough to me. Its pretty hard and inflexible. Perhaps its because I put in on incorrectly, but I was expecting something more flexible.

The finished product looks really nice, especially after putting on some smooth (non diamond plate) tail gate and bed rail caps. If I didn't spend the extra time and money to even out the finish, it would have looked like crud.

In retrospect, it looks nice, but I'd consider paying someone the extra $150 - $200 or so for a professional job that would most likely be thicker. However, I've got a gun now and can start spraying that stuff all over creation, and the next bed will only be $145 in soda blasting and DupliColor.

Anyone else tried it recently?