Does anybody else hate Bedliner?

[Chris]

So since we're talking about bed liner how do you remove it? The new tub I bought for my daughters TJ has been bed lined and I would like to remove it if I can.

With all that said I am going to Lizard Skin the tub on my TJ to try and help with the noise and heat.

If I had to guess, I would assume aircraft stripper would take that shit right off. I've used aircraft stripper quite a bit in the past, and that stuff is no joke. It literally melts the paint right off a car in a matter of seconds.

And man does it burn when you get it on your skin by accident.

 

[Wildman]

You and me both. If I see "bedliner" anywhere in the for sale ad, I instantly click out of it.

In my mind the only time people use that is when they are either lazy, or covering up rust.

The only place I think it might belong is the bed of a pickup truck, but even that could be argued, as my step-dad has a Toyota Tundra with one of those hard plastic lined beds, and I like it way better than bedliner.

I'm a bed liner guy for my trucks. The plastic liners keep moisture under then and can cause the bed to rust. Not having it lined or a plastic liner is just crazy unless you don't use your truck as a truck

If I had to guess, I would assume aircraft stripper would take that shit right off. I've used aircraft stripper quite a bit in the past, and that stuff is no joke. It literally melts the paint right off a car in a matter of seconds.

And man does it burn when you get it on your skin by accident.

This is kind of what I figured but was hoping there might be a easier or less corrosive way. I might just leave it in her new tub. I can still run the carpet or a vinyl liner if I want.

 

[Chris]

I'm a bed liner guy for my trucks. The plastic liners keep moisture under then and can cause the bed to rust. Not having it lined or a plastic liner is just crazy unless you don't use your truck as a truck

That makes sense. My step dad is using a canopy, so his bed is never wet. That obviously is a big detail I forgot to mention.

This is kind of what I figured but was hoping there might be a easier or less corrosive way. I might just leave it in her new tub. I can still run the carpet or a vinyl liner if I want.

Somehow I doubt it. That bedliner is some pretty tough stuff, and I don't think it's going to come off easily without some strong chemicals.

 

[Squatch]

I'm a bed liner guy for my trucks. The plastic liners keep moisture under then and can cause the bed to rust. Not having it lined or a plastic liner is just crazy unless you don't use your truck as a truck

My uncle bought a late '70s Ford pickup in upstate New York. It had one of those plastic bed liners in it. As he didn't care for them (too slippery), he pulled it, only to find about 2/3 of the bed's floor had been eaten away. Oops...

 

[Moab]

I know they remove old tar tub liner from old cars with dry ice. And then hit it with hammers to get it break apart and come free from the surface. Might be worth a try. That or I've used a air gun with a chisel on it to remove it. Slow going but it was alot easier than by hand with a putty knife. I had a "49 Lincoln I had to remove it from. That tar stuff sticks. But when you let dry ice sit on it. It becomes very brittle and breaks away from the surface of the metal. Check youtube. There's some cool videos showing guys removing entire sections of it with one hammer hit.

 

[jeepins]

So since we're talking about bed liner how do you remove it? The new tub I bought for my daughters TJ has been bed lined and I would like to remove it if I can.

With all that said I am going to Lizard Skin the tub on my TJ to try and help with the noise and heat.

Lizard Skin is water based and needs to be covered after application so it would be ideal under carpet or rubber if you're going to use that. It's not durable like a urethane bedliner would be to leave as is. But it does work as I've used it in the cab of a '64 F100 pickup i'm restoring.

And I agree wholeheartedly about the importance of prep work in doing anything. It's 75% of the work or greater especially when it comes to paints, primers and topcoats of any kind.

One other thing about the urethane bedliners is the texture they put on it when spraying has a lot to do with how clean or dirty it will get down the road. Most bedliners are a typical pattern where dirt & crap get lodged in the tiny cracks & crevices making it harder to clean. A smoother finish can be done by changing distance, air pressure, etc when applying. But personally I'd never put one in my Jeep either.

Oh... forgot.. a lot of places can only remove them with heat and a scraper. Aircraft stripper makes one hell of a mess with those thick bedliners. But i've also heard of places sandblasting them out too but man that's also risky.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

The only place I think it might belong is the bed of a pickup truck, but even that could be argued, as my step-dad has a Toyota Tundra with one of those hard plastic lined beds, and I like it way better than bedliner.

Living my whole life in the rust belt I will say that if you install a plastic bed liner, it needs to be removed at least every spring to clear out all the salt under it and every fall to remove all the random stuff that has been sanding away the paint in too many places. Unfortunately I'd say the number of owners that do any of this is near 1% at best.


Edit: Oops, I posted this before reading anything on page two.

 

[Chris]

Living my whole life in the rust belt I will say that if you install a plastic bed liner, it needs to be removed at least every spring to clear out all the salt under it and every fall to remove all the random stuff that has been sanding away the paint in too many places. Unfortunately I'd say the number of owners that do any of this is near 1% at best.

I have no doubt. Over here on the West Coast we have things way too easy when it comes to rust.

 

[TreverStevens]

A good friend of mine had a plastic liner in the bed of his landscaping truck and was shoveling mulch out of it one day only to notice some soft spots. A few weeks later he pulled it and found out he had multiple basketball sized spots missing from the bed metal. A truck my dad had for a few years had somewhat of a spray in bedliner that I really liked. The coating was close to 3/8" thick and was like they left the texturing component out of the mix. So it wasn't bumpy and coarse. I had a plastic liner in one of my trucks, it held up fine, but what I didn't like was how stuff slide and shifted around back there. That's one of the few bonuses of a spray in bedliner with it being more rubberized and grippy.

 

[SgtMajor138]

Not a fan of the bedliner in the tub either. That said, I have always wondered how it works and holds up on fender flares.

My Jeep had flares painted with bedliner when I bought it. That was one of the first things on my list to do after I bought it was replace them.

It is rough and I think looks bad. Also, as someone else noted, if the prep work is not there (as was in the case on my Jeep), then the bedliner comes off in spots and looks even worse.

What I love about the Jeep community (especially on this forum) is we can all agree to disagree on looks and move on. If someone wants bedliner in their Jeep, go for it! I'll stick with Krylon.

 

[mots]

My Jeep had flares painted with bedliner when I bought it. That was one of the first things on my list to do after I bought it was replace them.

It is rough and I think looks bad. Also, as someone else noted, if the prep work is not there (as was in the case on my Jeep), then the bedliner comes off in spots and looks even worse.

What I love about the Jeep community (especially on this forum) is we can all agree to disagree on looks and move on. If someone wants bedliner in their Jeep, go for it! I'll stick with Krylon.

Thanks for replying. My Rocky Mountain Edition has the painted flares, which I like personally better than the black, but they have been chipped and scratched a bit here and there. Not as in good as condition as my tub paint for sure. In the future they will need redone at some point. My '16 JK has the black plastic flares, so I'm sure there is some faded black in my future, haha! I always wondered about the bed liner products on the flares since I see some Jeep builders using it from time to time. I will heed your advice and not ever consider it .

Krylon products are great. I'm using Krylon satin black on my bumpers with rust protection. It is holding up great, still looks the same after a year. I'd definitely give Krylon Fusion a try on the flares, which I have used before on interior trim. I also hear SEM plastic paints awesome, many say they are the best for this purpose. I may look into that or have my bumpers professional resprayed at some point.

 

[Wildman]

SGM,
Yes that is what is best about the Jeep Community. Even if I don't like what you have done I can appreciate the work you put into it.

The bedliner that is in the new tub for my daughters Jeep is like that. Spotty in some areas so you can tell the prep work wasn't done right.