DIY Raptor Liner

Here is a DIY on the Raptor Liner I did on my truck. Excuse grammar and spelling. I will update for corrections. I had an OEM bed liner in my truck bed for I don't know how long. When I took it off there was of course wood chips, dirt, mud etc underneath. Before I did Raptor I did research on Line X and was really considering it. For my truck (DC) It would of been $450, extra $100 for over the rail, another $100 for UV protection for a total of $650. I got the Raptor (4 Liters) kit w/gun for about $108. It is also UV protected. Supplies which cost me another $70-$80. The extra cost will be dependent on what you already have. The coating is for sure not as thick as Line X. How durable will Raptor be, only time will tell.

You will need:
120-180 grit sandpaper
Masking tape
Paper and or plastic drape
Raptor Kit
UPol Acid 8 primer
Degreaser and dish soap
Air compressor
Dusk/paint respirator w/particle filter
Googles
Blue shop towels


Optional:
Orbital Sander
Primer
Disposal Coverall w/hood
Platform/table/stand
Screw driver
Socket wrench
Acetone
Rubbing alcohol
Shop rags

First day I used Simple green to degrease my truck bed and rinsed. My bed was for the most part was already cleaned and there was no grease on it. Once it dried I masked my edges since I was going over and down about half an inch on the rails. If you are just going over the rail there is no need to mask at this time.
I highly recommend you wear your paint respirator, googles, and disposable overalls. I used an orbital sander with 120 grit on the easy to reach and large surface. I also tried a die grinder, but it was too much and ate through my paint. I tried difference pads and psi but wasn't worth it. Most of your sanding will be done by hand to get in all the creases. Our trucks has a lot of creases. This part took the longest since I was detail about sanding every inch of the bed the best I can. I used 150 grit sandpaper. I recommend the 3M brand sandpaper. It has better backing and is more flexible which will help you get into corners and creases. Harbor Freight sandpaper is not worth it. Use the compress air to blow away the small particles to give you an idea where you need to sand more, also helps keep your sand paper from getting clogged. I have a 21gal Harbor Freight compressor and it worked fine. Never had to wait for it since I was only using 50 psi. When I thought I was done I rinsed the bed and dried to see what areas needed more work. Took note and was done for the day.


Second day I did some touch up sanding on areas that needed attention. Once I was done I washed my bed with dish soap, rinsed, and dried. While I was waiting for my bed to completely dry. I took off my tailgate and I recommend you do this to make it easier later on. Remove your tie down anchors. Roll up masking tape and insert them into the screw holes. I also took off the screws on my tailgate mechanism cover.
Now for the masking. This part also took some time since I wanted to make sure I got all the edges sealed and covered most of my trucked. I was doing this outside so I didn't want any overspray. I use pre-tape masking film, 2 inch blue 3m masking tape, and 1 inch green masking tape. The 1 inch masking tape helps you getting better lines when masking your bed rails. Once your truck bed is prepped and cleaned you do not want to put your dirty shoes in it. Put a paper drape down in the bed so you can temporary stand inside to mask off the back of your truck.
Once you feel that you have masked off your truck properly start with the Acid 8 primer. Cover all expose metal. How much Acid 8 primer will depend on the condition of your bed, 2 cans for me. After the Acid 8 primer I used Rust oleum primer, 1 can, I forgot which one it was. The Rust oleum primer is optional. I waited 20 minutes before I started the Raptor spray. The Raptor overspray is very sticky and will leave stains. I don't know how permanent the stains will be so I would suggest you cover the area you are working on if you don't want it all over your floors.


When spraying on the Raptor, mix two bottles at a time. You have 4 bottles, 2 bottles per coat. I used an extra protein scooper that was exactly 250ml measure the hardener, this step is also optional. I sprayed at 50psi. The first bottle will leave a very light coat, it will start to fill as you use more bottles. I used two platform benches on each side to give me a higher working area so I can better spray inside the truck bed. Spray the whole bed/tailgate with one bottle at a time. Spray as much as you can with the bottle upright. This will help it not spill out from the top hole on the gun when you need to tilt the gun for certain areas. I didn't and couldn't go under my bed rails but I did go as high under as I can. Once you are done with the first two bottles, first coat, clean your gun. I pour some acetone in of the used Raptor bottles and sprayed it clean. Then I wiped it down with more acetone. Now let it dry for about an hour, per the direction.
Second coat is the same as the first coat, mix both bottles at the same time. Spray the entire bed one bottle at a time. By your third bottle your truck bed should look evenly coated. The fourth and last bottle you would go over any spots you feel should require more liner. For me it was the top rails, sides, and corners. I figure if I needed to touch it up in the future the open spots would be more easy to spray and not much masking would be required if any.

Once your done spraying your final coat start cleaning up. About 15-20 minutes, which comes pretty quick, start to remove your masking tape. Optional, I used a damp shop towel soaked in rubbing alcohol to go over my edges once I took off the masking tape. The rubbing alcohol helps the towel not stick to your fresh liner. Use rubbing alcohol to wipe away any stains on your truck cause by removing the masking tape/drape.


The longest part of this project was sanding and masking. The actual Raptor spray part goes by quick. If anything I wish I would of got 6 bottles instead of 4 to make it 3 coats which UPol recommends not to go over 3 coats. I would think if it was thicker it would be more durable and maybe help it last longer. This could be done in one full day if you start very early to give you enough day light. I took my time because this is my hobby truck that I take on certain trips and only drive maybe once a week to keep the battery from dying. I'm going to let the Raptor liner cure for 7 days before I put anything inside the bed. This way I can eliminate all possible reason for it not to last or be durable as the company claims.

 

Very nice. Looks great. For any painting job the sanding/surface prep doesn't bother me and the painting is the fun part. But the taping off part takes more patience than I can muster and is the reason I don't take on more painting jobs. Well done.

 

excellent work.

 

Thanks! That’s one thing I dislike about painting is the prepping. It felt like I was masking forever. I just want to paint it

Thank you

 

Looks awesome. I just bed lined my interior in lieu of carpet, and the prep work was a bitch. I feel your pain.

 

The prep work feels like a whole project on its own and can feel like you got nothing done after hours of work.

 

Nice man, now that you have had some practice, do the whole truck!

 

Looks great, would be interested to see how it holds up. My truck came with rhino lining already in it and it's held up great, even resisted all the chemicals it's had in it, gear oil, atf, gas, diesel no problem. I'd never be able to push myself to spend that money though so I'd probably go with raptor or monstaliner.

 

Rustoleum sells it for a lot cheaper. Under 100$ a gallon.

 

Idk how I ended up here, but it looks good OP!

 

Awesome job!!

kinda off topic but ..Is that a trail gear bumper with extra tubing on it ??

 

Allpro but now officially TG

 

Nice write up! I did this to my truck over the summer this year. The sanding definitely sucked big time. Mine seems to be holding up pretty well so far. The only spot that has wear is where my cap door hits the shell.

 

Also, is your rear bumper a Trail gear bumper with custom welded steps? Looks pretty slick

 

Late to the party on that one . But I thought the same thing.

 

Maybe this will help: allpro but officially tg now

 

It's a good looking bumper. And it looks just like the pre merger trail gear bumper with an extra step welded in.

 

Thanks for the link. I had read some time back about AP being bought out by TG. I guess I hadn't looked at their product page in a long enough time to see some of the changes that had taken place

 

Thinking about doing this to my 2nd gen bed but im not sure if it will adhere well

 

Thanks! I actually like my lunar mist color

Time used will tell. It’s not as thick as I would like so here’s hoping for the best.

No worries. I find myself in the 3rd gen section as well Thanks!

AllPro. I do recommend them especially if you are local to one of their warehouses. The few times I dealt with them in person has been good and they have been helpful. I made sure everything was in stock before I ordered after reading some of the stories hear and since they just merge with TG and TG was still working on AllPro inventory. I had actually plan on getting their AllPro Baja tube bumper but it wasn’t in stock so I went with their AllPro plate bumper.

Good to hear! Thanks! I hate doing these write ups, never comes to me at once.

AllPro

Thanks for the help

I want to say that’s was AllPro before the merge but I could be wrong.

I know UPol has a adhesion promoter. If you reach out to them on their website they are actually very helpful.