Bed liner paint jobs

Yep, Raptor. I've used it 3 times now, going to be doing a 4th soon; it's a great product.
You just need a decent air compressor.

 

Just to weigh in on this comment, glossy paint shows all imperfections because it is so reflective: any interruption or deviation in the reflection is super obvious. For painting houses, flat paint is recommended for hiding flaws, while higher gloss paints (eggshell --> satin --> semi gloss) has more durability. For this reason, higher gloss paints are more likely to be used where durability is needed, such as in kitchens, bathrooms, and door casings...i.e., surfaces that need to be cleaned more frequently. The higher reflectivity also highlights the ornate pattern of some trim designs (crown moulding, etc.).

Bedliner is both flat and textured, so flaws that would be obvious with a shiny paint job tend to be much less obvious. Another, albeit tongue-in-cheek, way of looking at it is that bedliner already looks like shit, so nobody cares about the dents and dings.

 

There are Rhino liner and Line X shops near me, but I cannot find a Raptor liner shop. Is there a way to find a place to apply it for me?

Thats a great way to look at it. I currently have a high gloss sr5 truck that I am trying to convert to a more rugged 4x4 look. I am open to Low cost suggestions.

 

Obviously bedliner. DIY roller job in the driveway.

One last comment on the gloss = obvious flaws, on nicer cars that I've owned, I would detail them a bit more obsessively than I do the Tacoma. As you can probably relate, detailing (paint correction/compounding, waxing, etc) requires you to obsess over every square inch of the paint, so you notice everything. This obsessiveness, coupled with the shiny end product (amplifying all flaws) got to be too much. Now I just wash a few times a year and wax once before winter, if I get around to it.

 

I'd search around first. There are a few threads on the topic already. Some pretty good write-ups on it too...

But bedliner wont hide the dents and dings. As you noted, you'd need to smear some body filler in those first.

You can still clean it, you just can't really use a sponge like you do with normal paint. It's the same as cleaning a bed with liner: just hose it off. And if you really want to get fancy, spray with liquid soap and scrub with a soft brush, then hose it off.

But lets be honest, no one is bedlining their trucks because they want a super clean show truck.

Also, it sounds like the paint is in pretty bad condition as is. If your clear coat is anything like mine, it's not very well attached to the paint anymore (mine is peeling in various places - I never really took all that great of care of it). So before you go spraying it with raptor, you're going to need to sand all that off - just like you would a bed. You don't need to take it down to bare metal, but get rid of the clear coat at least.

This was long before my clear coat started peeling off, but I still pretty much sanded until I could see I was getting to the color. I plan to do the same to the body one of these days.

By the condition of this guy's truck, he's not worried about resale value, lol.

Wraps are also temporary. Even good ones only last a few years at best. My friend's neighbor wrapped his lease vehicle to help protect the paint. After a couple years, the thing was pealing off and looked like shit, and was essentially useless for its original purpose. That gunmetal grey color he had looked badass while it lasted, though.

Wraps are cool for company logos or making your truck look like spongebob. They aren't a long term solution, and I think they do a terrible job of covering up bad paint unless you essentially prep it almost like it's getting painted.

OP wants something more resilient for 'froading. IMO, that is hands down going to be bedliner.

 

Here’s a few pics of my truck. I wonder if I should just keep the dents and dings and just rattle can a matte finish and then touch up with rattle can as needed.

 

Or just leave it as is. If you don't care about the finish, why even rattle can it?

You'd still need to do a fair amount of prep work unless you just rattle can over all your emblems and door handles and all that.

 

Yea I mean another option is to do nothing. It’s not that I don’t care, I do. I feel like the original intended look of the truck (sr5 factory paint job) does not match its current soul. It looks like an old corvette that has scratches, dents, and dings all over it. I want it to look like an off road/rugged looking truck.

It’s a second vehicle. I used it to haul stuff for home improvement projects. Now I am adding suspension and a hitch. I plan to take it on fishing and camping trips as well.

I will probably never sell this thing. It already has 230k miles and I bought it for $2500. Its a toy for me. I could do nothing, but I would prefer if it had a durable paint job that has minimal maintenance required.

Also I hate the color. I’d prefer a black or army green color in matte.

 

LineX has a great following too, but I can't say I've heard of them doing a full truck, and I don't think they have colors beyond black. But just call and find out.
Can't help you on finding anyone to do it for you, I'm purely a DIY person.

 

The issue with the rattle can paint is they aren't very UV stable, so they will fade after a few years (source: I rustoleum'd mine in a matte grey mix in college). I don't recommend doing this, no matter what you see online about "great/surprising results".
Also, an oil-based enamel like most spray cans are, will virtually melt when exposed to oil, including greasy hands. This is worsened when it's a flat finish.
Plus, if you ever want to take it off, it's much much worse than sanding a typical automotive paint, as it clogs the sandpaper.

 

Yeah, like I said in an earlier post, seems like the Raptor is going to be your best bet for what it sounds like you need/want. Non-show truck 'froader you plan to beat up (more).

The issue with changing the color is that you're going to be slapped in the face with the original color every time you pop the hood or open the door. I'm not sure I would even attempt to raptor line the door sills and all that. It's so thick and textured, you'd probably run into water proofing issues. When I did my bed/tailgate, I left the insides of the tailgate uncoated.

Although going from the stock green to black or the army green isn't that stark of a difference.

I'm planning on keeping the color whenever I do the raptor for that reason, but I also like the color so it doesn't bother me.

 

I agree with leave it as is. Maybe a good clay bar and cleaner compound and detail. PDR if possible some of the dings and call it a day.

 

I've seen lots of different colors of LineX, but not sure if they can actually color match like Raptor can (by just mixing in whatever pigments you want). I'm sure you could go in and they'll spray whatever the hell you want. They sprayed a bunch of random things for that "What is Bombproof" episode of the Mythbusters. Money talks.

The problem is that I'm pretty sure LineX is expressly NON-DIY. You could raptor your entire truck for probably half the cost to LineX just your bed.

LineX is also much thicker than a typical Raptor. More durable? Yeah, may cause interference at door sills or fender/hood lines. And it's heavier.

 

I mean, you're allowed to do 10 coats of Raptor if you want lol

 

lol

you could pay for them to do 10 coats of LineX too.

Might be a foot thick tho

 

This is my 1998 Tacoma 3rz-fe

 

I hate that green color, lol.

 

My roof paint is shot. I sanded it years ago and sprayed some Plasti Dip on it which lasted longer than I thought. I'm going to try some of the Raptor 2 part bed liner mentioned above. I also heard you can spray some 303 protectant on it every wash to help fight fade.