Inner fenders: undercoating or rhino-lined?

[In The Ten Ring]

I have my new-to-me NOS front inner fenders back from the media blaster. Those are now derusted and epoxy primed. Should I go with under coating or rhino lining?

A member has told me "neither, as you'll never drive it in winter." No, it won't be driven in winter, but it will haul things, take me hunting, and be my "truck." It will never be in a car show, never compete for a trophy.

Would undercoating or rhino-lining cause any front-end reassembly issues?

[100%Chevy]

Mine on my 68 are undercoated from way back.
The whole truck was Zie-Barted when new or close to new.
The stuff under the wheel wells has turned brown.Looks like crap!
I've had mine out for a/c work and re-painting and no problems.
So,if you drive it,the dirt will stick to it unless whatever you use gets hard and dry.
Rhino-Liner might be the best under there.
Mike.

[SeniorVerde]

I've RhinoLined the tub of my Bronco and LineX'd the tub of my jeep.

I came to the conclusion that Rhinoliner is squishier, good for floors or interior, where LineX is tough and great for a bedliner.

I'd definitely go for lineX on any undercoating or exterior stuff, but go RhinoLiner for interior as sound deadner or in place of carpet/mat.

They DIY bedliners just flake off and don't wear well, but I'll use them on very small areas or touch up.

You may run into assembly problems with the added thickness of either coating.
Good luck, and take pictures.

[Ugly 61]

You might try POR 15 it's tougher than old shoe leather and will look just like glossy black paint. I POR'ed the underside of my newer bed before I installed it on my truck and I'm very happy with the looks. Just make sure you don't get the paint where you don't want paint as it is the very devil to get off, it's that tough
Ugly 61

[OregonNed]

Originally Posted by Ugly 61

You might try POR 15 it's tougher than old shoe leather and will look just like glossy black paint. I POR'ed the underside of my newer bed before I installed it on my truck and I'm very happy with the looks. Just make sure you don't get the paint where you don't want paint as it is the very devil to get off, it's that tough
Ugly 61

I'll second this. I did the same on my inner fenders and they turned out very well. I also finished with the POR 15 top coat and it is more satin..

[In The Ten Ring]

Thanks guys, here is what I've found out today.

There is a Rhinolining place near me, just over town, and he'll do both for $100.00.

There is a LineX place about 125 miles away (nearest one) and he'll do it for $125 per fender. He says he's done old truck fenders before. I will be over that way next week for something else so I could dovetail LineX into that trip.

[cleanfreak]

I have both powdercoated & epoxy painted , plus have used epoxy grille gaurd from a spray bomb. The spray bomb & professional epoxy have held up very well under normal use , including rain & dirt roads.

The next one will be all powdercoat , as it seems to hold up a little better than the epoxy , but both still shine & have very few chips

I find the undercoating holds the dirt , alway's looks dirty....

[GASoline71]

Just plain ol' chassis black spray paint...

Gary

[JJH Jimmy]

I epoxy primed mine and used Raptor liner. I absolutely love it. I did the whole underside and the inside of the tub wherever it was getting carpet. I haven't had any chip off yet.

[1968aj]

I will second the black spray paint. makes it easy to touch up.

[Low69CST]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Thanks guys, here is what I've found out today.

There is a Rhinolining place near me, just over town, and he'll do both for $100.00.

There is a LineX place about 125 miles away (nearest one) and he'll do it for $125 per fender. He says he's done old truck fenders before. I will be over that way next week for something else so I could dovetail LineX into that trip.

I'm going through this with my '87. Local LineX estimated $50-75 per fender. Estimated my gas tanks would be $200 per tank. My current plan is to use POR-15 paint then rubberized undercoat.

[JWPOORE]

KBS Coatings has a new undercoating designed for wheel wells, etc on their site. Google the name, not sure that a direct link to the website is allowed here.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Low69CST

I'm going through this with my '87. Local LineX estimated $50-75 per fender. Estimated my gas tanks would be $200 per tank. My current plan is to use POR-15 paint then rubberized undercoat.

Your fenders (assuming your inner fenders) are metal, right?

I called the LineX guy again and he said he would go for a minimum of 1/16 inch thick and perhaps 1/8 inch in places. That isn't very much.

My dad's Rhinoliner is 1/4 inch thick in his bed. It's held up perfectly these 11 years and only come off on the most commonly used tie downs.

[special-K]

Neither. Why mung up a set of N.O.S. inner fenders with that stuff? Just use good ole chassis black paint. Look how long the originals lasted with year around use through all the slop. Are you going to run it like that now? If so, why waste a set of N.O.S. inners (and your money). The reproduction inner fenders look and work just as well and it's not like they are sheet metal you stand back and gawk at. You can't get in there to scrub, so do them smooth so they'll hose off best. If anything other than paint, if you're concerned with durability, have them powder coated.

As far as bed-liners go, I hate Rhino-Liner. It's total garbage compared to Line-X. Which part of your dad's Rhino-Liner cottage cheese texture is 1/4" thick? I don't know why people are so stuck on using it as the household term for bed-liner. Maybe it was the first? Well, it has been superseded by a far superior product many years ago and that product is Line-X. I can't believe Rhino hasn't changed to improve to the new higher level. I guess as long as people don't research bed-liners and keep using the name generically they don't have to. You would ruin those inner fenders if you had them rhino lined and have deep regrets, I guarantee.

Also, before you go too far, you should check out www.masterseriescoatings.com > They make products far superior to that other household name, POR-15

[In The Ten Ring]

I think all of dad's bedliner is 1/4 inch thick, at least what's on the tailgate is. It's held up great and is still a bit squishy I think. It's only come off on the most used tie down rings and we use those a lot.

What about dents from rocks, have you men not run into that with just painting your inner fenders?

[special-K]

i've never had a rock dent an inner fender or seen dents in any before. What I meant about Rhino liner thickness is it has a cottage cheese type texture. That's how people refer to it, or popcorn. Line-X looks like leather grain vinyl...like your dash pad or a vinyl top. That's because it is applied hot, while Rhino is done cold. So, it goes on more like a can of spray bomb gone bad that spits rather than spray (don't you hate when that happens? )

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/a...d-dsc01804.jpg

http://linexnl.com/assets/Uploads/DSC06728-cropped.jpg

You can actually put a sticker on it

[GASoline71]

In 30+ years of driving these trucks I've never had a rock dent in an inner fender. No need to over-engineer something that is pretty much perfect from the factory.

The only area I could see needing some "preventative" attention is the area underneath the batter tray. The most common area on an inner fender to rot out.

Gary

[leftybass209]

Every inner fender I've seen has all the dents in the top from dropping tools and parts. They're curved so they never take a direct shot from a rock.

[In The Ten Ring]

Well I've finally moved away from this motivation (is "brainwashing" a better word? ) that the inner fenders must be undercoated. Can POR 15 be sprayed through a normal (painting) spray gun?

If so, is there a type of POR 15 I'd need?

[Low69CST]

You can spray Por 15. Dad sprayed some recently and said it made him ill for several days. So wear a good mask.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Low69CST

You can spray Por 15. Dad sprayed some recently and said it made him ill for several days. So wear a good mask.

Thanks for the info! I'll hire my painter to do it if he is interested. As for a mask, he says he wears one, I hope he does anyway.

Any special preparation for a paint gun? Should it be cleaned before or afterwards with a certain chemical or product?

[In The Ten Ring]

Update:

Painter refuses to spray POR 15 through his gun without a "reducer." He's not familiar with it and I'd rather not risk damage to his equipment.

Does the stuff come in aerosol cans? If so, can you get good results from it?

[leftybass209]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Update:

Painter refuses to spray POR 15 through his gun without a "reducer." He's not familiar with it and I'd rather not risk damage to his equipment.

Does the stuff come in aerosol cans? If so, can you get good results from it?

It doesn't come in aerosol cans that i'm aware of. It's a self leveling paint that can be brushed on. The brush strokes aren't noticeable once it levels and dries. Prep is key with Por15 and it's not cheap. I follow everything to the letter, using their Marine clean, and metal ready products. The metal ready leaves a phosphorus coating that the Por15 will adhere to.

I painted the tops of my inner fenders. During the drying process, I spray painted them with a satin black. The paint mixed with the Por15, self-leveled so there's no paint streaks or brush marks, and is now rock hard.

There are other products that are similar to Por15, like Rust Bullet, and Master Series Chassis Coat. Some swear by one and damn the other, but I've had great results with Por15 by following the directions and not expecting something the product didn't say it could achieve.

[In The Ten Ring]

Now that's a really good answer, thanks.

[GASoline71]

Just plain ol' chassis black spray paint is your friend.

Gary