Bed liner before or after paint?

[Eon]

just like the title says im getting ready to get the car painted soon and i was wondering should i paint first then do the bed liner undercoating or reverse. any input would help, thanks.

 

[grannyknot]

If the metal is bare then it needs priming, painting then bed liner, if the metal is already sealed with paint the you can do bed liner over top.

[Evlevo]

This is is actually a good question and can vary in answer. This really depends on the brand, and result you desire. Some "chip resistant materials" are applied between the base coat and sealer (such as factory rocker guard/rocker foams) There are different types that are paintable and non paintable in almost identical cans which can complicate things.

 

Then there is bed liner products. Some require different levels of prep. some can be Painted over, some cant, some can be bought without pigment and can be tinted to ANY color you wish to match youre car/truck.

 

Then there is undercoating which is usually a soft product that never fully cures. which can NOT be painted. There is also rubberized undercoating so now you can see how complicated this gets.

 

Now back to your original question. Bedliner undercoating and rocker guards are all different but They can be used for the same thing, but knowing which one you are using will determine how to apply it and if you should be using it in the first place.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Evlevo

[rturbo 930]

if you should be using it in the first place.

I'm so glad you said this. Bed liner is for truck beds. It is NOT undercoating, which is why there is a specific product used for coating the underside of a car. Bed liner is extremely durable and rock hard. Undercoating is generally a bit softer, with more give. In other words, if there's debris being thrown at your undercarriage, the undercoating, which has more give, will absorb the hit, and the bed liner will not, ie, your car should be quieter with undercoating vs. bed liner.

 

Use the right product for the right job.

[socorob]

Look into something like lizard skin, etc... not bedliner.

[Evlevo]

Lizard skin seems to be a good choice. Never personally used it but its designed for what people seem to miss use other products for.

 

Worth noting, not all bed liners are hard.  Lots of bed liners are thin, and often heavily textured for excellent grip and not really good for under cars but good in boxes. There are some thick rubbery ones like Reflex that are super flexible and softer.  We use it at my work. Ive made bushings with it. IIRC it also has a heat resistance property and is self extinguishing if its exposed to a flame.

[Eon]

Im using U-Pol Raptor Liner, which seems to be very commonly used as an underbody coating. Also ive never really heard anything good about the softer undercoatings only that the never cure, its comes off and moister can get underneath it.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Eon

[Evlevo]

If you insist on using  raptor liner id recommend prepping it more aggressively than the instructions recommend. Its a heavy bodied product and i dont think the scotch pad prep is really enough for it.

 

Also how you discribed undercoat is exactly what it is and why you need to know what products do and which ones are best for your application. The "never fully cure products are ment to be additional corrosion protection ontop of your hard coats. Hell you can use used oil technically.  Im sure a lot of us have made the mistake (yes including me) of grabbing an undercoat can instead of a gravel guard can and spent messy hours cleaning it off.

[Sam280Z]

I wouldn't use bedliner on my car. The pros use epoxy primer. That's what I use followed by 3m rockershutz.

[Evlevo]

I wouldn't use bedliner on my car. The pros use epoxy primer. That's what I use followed by 3m rockershutz.

 

Epoxy should go without saying, Most of these products wont stick to bare metal, but you know rockershutz is just gravel guard in a schutz gun thats allowed to be thinned for different textures right?

[Sam280Z]

Never heard of gravel guard. I've had good luck with 3M products.

[Evlevo]

Never heard of gravel guard. I've had good luck with 3M products.

 

One of 100 names for the same product really. My work is a 3m shop. Id recommend most of their products.

[Ryan Merrill]

I just used por15 under and inside the car then I painted over it with black paint