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OVERVIEW:
These simple procedures apply to a spray in bedliner. The same procedures also may be applied towards rock-guarding, undercoating, or coating an entire vehicle in bedliner for supreme off road protection. Some tools will be required. A good air compressor, a schutz gun, and preferably an orbital sander. Most bedliners are a 2 part epoxy system and are very durable. Most can be applied over old paint and bare steel. Wear a lot of protective equipment (gloves, goggles, cover alls, etc) while doing this, as it is very messy, and hard to clean up. 1 gallon of mixed bedliner should be sufficient for a bed. A schutz gun can (the top can on the right) is to be filled with material and then attached to the schutz gun and sprayed between 40-60 PSI (depending on the desired finish).
PROCEDURE:
Thoroughly clean the box (or area to be applied). Ensure that all rust is ground or sanded away, then sand all surfaces to be coated. Typically a course to medium grade paper is preferred (100-220 grit). Here it is okay to use an electric or pneumatic orbital sander to speed up the prep time. Ensure all corners, crevices etc and properly sanded, and if necessary get the hard to reach areas by hand. Then using compressed air, spray out all of the sanding dust.
Now it is time to tape off the vehicle. The schutz gun tends to spray a large messy volume so mask off everything as well as possible. Overspray from the bedliner is impossible to remove after it has hardened without damaging the vehicle's finish. Pay careful attention when masking between the bed and the cab, as this area may allow overspray to find its way onto the vehicle easily.
Once you are confident that all the prep work is done to a quality level, it is time to start spraying. First mix the two components of the bedliner as per the manufacturers directions (usually in a ration of 1:1). The bedliner is thick and will need a lot of thorough mixing before applying. Generally you will have to mix the two parts for at least 10 minutes.
Now pour the bedliner into a schutz gun can (which should be supplied with the bedliner), and begin spraying on 1 to 2 medium coats to cover, starting from the boxes bulk head and working back. When finished the box should have a coarse grainy texture, and all areas should be covered evenly with out any bleed through of the boxes old paint.
When finished, clean the gun and any bedliner that may have gotten on yourself with lacquer thinner. Allow the bedliner to start to tack before removing the masking (usually less than 7 hours). The bedliner should be ready for service after 48 hours (do not allow the bedliner to become wet within 48 hours of application).
Note: The product I used is called Gator Guard II by Dominion Sure Seal ltd. I purchased it from the local NAPA supplier.
Written and Edited by: Ben Hart