I bought a plasti-kote bedliner kit from Wally World. It comes with a gallon of black coating, a roller pan, a brush, a scuff pad, a roller handle, and a heavy nap roller cover.

My bed has some flaking paint in places, so I plan to remove that with a wire cup brush on my grinder.
Other places are primer. Some caulk here an there.

1) Should I paint the inside of the bed with a uniform coat of paint and let it cure before coating?

2) Will I be better off buying a coarse sponge type roller cover, like I have seen in some kits?

3) One heavy coat? Thin coats? Go back over it as it sets up, to get more texture? etc. Looking for sucessful techniques, here.

4) How long should I wait to start using the bed to haul stuff again?

I intend to read the instructions, but I am mainly looking for the kind of info that they don't tell you on the package. The real-world stuff.

I havent done it... yet, but I am intrested in finding out some facts before I attempt it.
So post up!

I've never used the plasti-kote, but I'll try answer your questions:

1- check the can. Some of them can be put over bare metal as long as you get a good coat. I coated over bare metal with my trailer on the inside. I did have some issues with it rusting through though, especially in the hard to coat areas. But if your bed is 90% coated it will probably be ok.

If you do decide to paint first make sure it fully dries then scratch the paint up to get good mechanical adhesion on the bedliner.

2-Defenitely get the roller or get a spray applicator. It doesn't look right if it goes on smooth, you want a rough, uneven surface.

3-Read the can. I put on 2 coats of the Herculiner on my trailer. I think I need a 3rd inside to help seal the metal better. On the outside I painted before I coated so it's not rusting through.

4-Read the can (sound familiar ). It should tell you how long you have to wait to use the bed.

If the instructions aren't on the can:
Application Instructions.

Of course, looking through the link I posted just showed that everything I said was wrong for the plasti-koat .

yeah... but it sounded good

Not sure about the stuff you're using, but Herculiner is best applied in 2-3 thin coats.

Don't paint before, but you might primer it. Again, with herculiner, you want a rough surface.

Most important, it needs to be CLEAN! get some acetone, rubber gloves, and some rags and wipe it all down before applying...let the acetone dry and wipe any excess....the stuff evaporates quickly like alcohol.

Well, I rolled a coat on just before the skys opended up. I got the canopy up before the rain hit, but the wind-blown rain and the water that came though the seams in the canopy got some water in the bed. It looks kinda' white where the water is. The first coat was just starting to set up when the storm hit. It is getting dark, now, so I imagine it will be a while until it dries.

I will expose it to the sun tomorrow morning as soon as possible. I was debating a second coat, but now I am sure that I will.

Before:



The morning after the storm. This stuff is soap and water clean-up, so here is the water damage:





I dried up the puddles and parked it in the sun while we went to chruch. When I got back, it was set up and well-adhered, so I went over it with another full coat.

After:

That looks nice.

So I have to ask...what's that clear tube for?

He asked about the tube...

We don't talk about "The Tube".

ahhh something about a cup and two girls...

two-girls-one-clear-plastic-hose.com

quote:

Originally posted by 92PathSE:
ahhh something about a cup and two girls...

two-girls-one-clear-plastic-hose.com

THAT was TOO F-ing Funny right there!!!!! Later..

looks really good.

2 marks, one bed...

eww.

It puts the lotion in the basket or else it gets the hose again.