Powder coat - vs - bedliner

MikekiM

MikekiM

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Both of bumpers were painted about a year ago and they are starting to look a little janky. A few more chips and scuffs, plus some pin-head sized post-winter NE rust spots are showing through so I am going to refinish them...again.

I'd always been a proponent of painting versus powder coating, primarily for ease of touch-up, but I may be changing my position on this... had I powder coated them they likely would not need to be refinished a year later. Live and learn.

So, not likely going to paint them again.

My old stock bumpers were bedlined and took a real beating. I could step on them, lay tools on them pretty, much anything and not worry. But I never liked the dull finish and there are so many bedliners that trying to match is a challenge.

Power coat? Can't DIY that.

Bedline? That I can do.

Which would be best for bumpers? Either way, matching is going to be a challenge.

I am looking to match the Body Armor side step / pseudo slider. It's powder coated, with a slight texture and semi gloss..

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Several people I know have had great success with Raptor Liner. If I were to need to coat anything with bed liner, it's what I would use. And should look similar to those steps.
 
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Powder coat looks great and can be color matched but it isn't easily touched up or cost effective. Bedliner is cheap but holds dirt. Cheap bedliner (Rust-Oleum) does fairly well and is super easy to touch up and get a consistent texture.

If you didn't spend much, if any, time in the rocks then powder coat makes sense. In the rocks, stuff gets scraped every trip. Bedliner fixes that easily.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
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Powder coat looks great and can be color matched but it isn't easily touched up or cost effective. Bedliner is cheap but holds dirt. Cheap bedliner (Rust-Oleum) does fairly well and is super easy to touch up and get a consistent texture.

If you didn't spend much, if any, time in the rocks then powder coat makes sense. In the rocks, stuff gets scraped every trip. Bedliner fixes that easily.
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Another vote for rustoleum bedliner. Its fine texture, so it won't match your sliders, but it is very easy to touch up and its relatively tough (tougher than regular paint, anyway)

I've done raptorliner too. Its easy to spray and is much closer to "real" bedliner. It will also match the texture of your sliders. I have the bottom of my tub and my rear wheelwells done with it. It DOES hold dirt...so you gotta use a scrub brush to clean it. Soapy rag doesn't work.
 
hosejockey61 said:
+/-
Powder coat looks great and can be color matched but it isn't easily touched up or cost effective. Bedliner is cheap but holds dirt. Cheap bedliner (Rust-Oleum) does fairly well and is super easy to touch up and get a consistent texture.

If you didn't spend much, if any, time in the rocks then powder coat makes sense. In the rocks, stuff gets scraped every trip. Bedliner fixes that easily.
Click to expand...

Pretty much spot on
Ive powdercoated alot of parts, and owned PC’d bunpers, and they last several years. However bunper guards take road debris and end up succumbing to it eventually.

Bedliner is easier to patch up any areas that raise up. You cant easily fix something powdercoated that begins to bubble up
 
Mike_H said:
Another vote for rustoleum bedliner. Its fine texture, so it won't match your sliders, but it is very easy to touch up and its relatively tough (tougher than regular paint, anyway)

I've done raptorliner too. Its easy to spray and is much closer to "real" bedliner. It will also match the texture of your sliders. I have the bottom of my tub and my rear wheelwells done with it. It DOES hold dirt...so you gotta use a scrub brush to clean it. Soapy rag doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Rustoleum is what I had used on the stock bumpers. Held up great, mud cleaned easy enough and it was hard as nails. But once I did the bumpers in SEM Satin Trim Black, I realized I much prefer a satin with the gloss black paint than the flat look of the bedliner.

Apparition said:
I’ve always used rustoleum textured black on any of my scratched powdercoated parts and unless you know what you are looking for you’d not know.
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Textured black bedliner? Or a different textured paint?
 
Someone here had recommended Dupli-Color Premium Truck Bed Coating. Back then, I had saved it in my Amazon Wish List. Can't remember what it was about it that prompted me to save it.. I'll have to order a can a try the color.

I suppose I could always paint the side steps/sliders to match the bumpers...

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