Bedliner paint job?

Z

zuren

Adventurer
My Chevy van is a 2005 so it falls in the cohort of model years that suffer from bad paint/primer. I think 2007+ is when GM finally figured out their process. Anyway, the paint on my van is starting to flake off in several locations and it is getting to the point that I need to start thinking about a solution. I've tried feathering and touching up some of those areas but some of those areas didn't respond well and kept peeling.

A full respray of the van at a body shop is not affordable and may not solve the problem; the existing paint might need to be COMPLETELY removed, otherwise the bad layer underneath may just keep peeling. Then I saw that the local Jeep dealer has 2 modified Wranglers that are fully painted with bed liner so I thought this could be an option. I found this website with a video (it starts a little sales-y so feel free to skip ahead):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5HCGTumcoA
His website - http://www.backroadsvanner.com/

Now, this guy sings the praises of Raptor being DIY but you never see him doing anything. Regardless, has anyone done this? I have a large compressor so a DIY project with the Raptor is possible. I would just need to set up my garage as a temporary paint booth. I would think a coating of bedliner would be tough and any continued peeling underneath probably wouldn't matter. I've rolled on bedliner but never sprayed so I'm not sure how forgiving it is for a novice.

Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks!

http://www.u-pol.com/us/en/product/...coating/4-liter-raptor-kit/4-liter-raptor-kit
 
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Z

zuren

Adventurer
volcomsurfer said:
spraying is 1000% easier and more forgiving than rolling. I've done over 20 vehicles now along with other random stuff with raptor liner. If you have any specific questions just message me or ask on here so that maybe other people can get their questions answered.

The liner job is right on the front page.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/143121-Mission-Dawn-Patrol
Click to expand...

Thank you! It would be awesome to have a resource for info. What has your experience been with the tintable version? My van is white. I was considering doing the rocker panels and bumpers black but undecided on what the body should be. Seems that a lot of vans I see are sprayed tan or black; I was considering a grey. If I stay with white, I might be able to get away with not spraying the door jambs, inside of doors, etc. If I change colors, I should probably do the full monty like you did which expands the scope of this project.

And how many kits/cans did you use for the exterior? The guy in the video claimed 2 kits (8 bottles).
 
volcomsurfer

volcomsurfer

Adventurer
I've used the tintable version quite a bit. Just go to a local bodyshop paint store and get a tint made up for it. Whatever color you want. I've done red, tan, and yellow. There's indented lines on the canisters and you just add the tint it says (don't remember the exact amount, but it's not too much) then add the hardener to the next line. Shake real well and shoot. Don't screw down the lids too tight because they have a tendency to break open. Keep the little black caps because you'll most likely break one at some point. The amount of extra work that goes into doing the jams is so worth it. It's not too much work, especially if you take off the door panels; which is actually the least amount of work. Grey is a very popular color now a days. I think the next vehicle I get will be grey. There's no fking way you can get away with 2 kits btw. I think I used 5 tan and 2 black? I'd have to go back and look. I did three coats though. One light mist that doesn't basically cover anything but gives is better adhesion. Then a cover coat and a touch up coat. A van has a LOT of surface. I hit all the seams really well and did the rain gutter really good since I was going to put a rack on it.

At the beginning of it all I was going to do a blog. I didn't get far but I did make one with a quick rundown of the process.
http://paradise2pavement.com/2015/09/05/beauty-is-only-skin-deep/
 
unplannedbbq

unplannedbbq

Adventurer
I used tintable raptor on the nose, bottom panels, and front interior footwells of my vanagon. Sprayed, not rolled and happy with the results. Holding up well, tends to collect dust & dirt. Not sure I'd be happy if I'd painted the whole rig in raptor - a couple guys on thesamba.com have done the whole rig if you want to see some more examples.
 
Outdooraholic

Outdooraholic

Adventurer
I'm planning on using linerxtreeme diy spray on liner for my rig, due to the same reasons you mentioned above. Check it out on Amazon. It comes pre colored too.
 
Z

zuren

Adventurer
tgreening said:
2007? Really? The last chevy truck my family owned was in 1976 and within 6 months of purchase the paint, not the primer but only the paint, was pealing off the bed side and doors.
Click to expand...

I don't know Chevy's full paint history but from what I researched, the EPA changed up some of the rules for paints that affected automotive paints and primer in the early to mid-2000s. You'll notice a lot of GM fleet vehicles of that vintage with peeling paint. When my paint flakes off, it is straight down to the galvanized metal so it is the primer that is releasing. I would not be surprised by paint issues on leading edges where you get stone chips (eg, hood, above windshield, etc.) but it is coming off in the rain gutters and above the side windows.
 
KeyserSoSay

KeyserSoSay

Adventurer
Here is a reprint of a post I made on another recent similar thread. Raptor-liner/Monstaliner, my guess is that both are very similar in price, quality, longevity and methodology in application. I repost this here as I think it may have some details about DIY that may be helpful to you. Prep, Plan, Prep, Plan, (repeat at least 10 times), and applying this stuff is cheap quick and easy.
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http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/165061-Raptor-Lining
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I too have done a few small projects with the Raptor product, and plan to coat my entire van with it. I've also done prep, paint, and undercoating professionally at a truck bed/trailer manufacturing company- just as a point of reference. wjeeper's post here is dead-on and should be read 3 times by anyone thinking of taking on the a DIY bed liner job. Spraying the coating is easier than paint and much more forgiving in coverage, and you don't need to do any of it in a spray room as little specs of dust will never be seen again. On the other hand, prep work is as critical as if you were spraying a glitter candy apple and 9 layers of clear coat, most DIY folks just don't realize how critical a properly prepared surface is the longevity of any coating. Bed liner does not adhere well to bare metal, a good hardened paint or primer is best as a substrate. I recommend painting a quick coat of paint in the same color you intend to Raptor line with, especially up in all the nooks and cranny that may be difficult to get an even coverage with (backs of the bumpers etc) wjeeper's tip about shooting a thinned coat of Raptor for color coverage and then another thicker coat for thickness and texture is great advice.
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I like that the Raptor lining comes in the liter cans- and that you can make it any color you want with pretty idiot-proof mixing. I recommend starting with a small project first, and learning the process of mixing, quick cleaning your gun, spraying new can, repeat. This will help you know how much you can spray in a given time frame, and work out any bugs you have in your process. You'll also start the bigger project with much more confidence and understand what your sprayer will do at different pressures and different distances. You'll also get a feel for how much time you have to remove masking, an important element of a good job is removing your masking at just the right time-since-sprayed. For a large job like an entire vehicle, it's critical you have at least two people- one guy who's only job is to mix up the next can at the right intervals, this makes things go exponentially smoother. It is also a good idea to have one person who's job it is to manage your airline and make sure it never touches your truck. Raptor liner is best sprayed from a cheap $20 harbor freight (or Supplied Raptor liner) sprayer (that's what the interweb told me and my experience supports that) I bought two but have not had to use the second one yet- but on any big job like a full vehicle it's worth the extra $20 to have a standby if something happens. Better yet, just hand your mixer-buddy the empty sprayer and have him hand you the other sprayer filled and ready to go. He can do a quick clean and refill it (since Raptor liner is a two-part chemically hardened product, you'll want to at least occasionally clean your gun as you go or risk having problems towards the end of your spray) the quicker you can lay down all your spray the better so you don't loose focus or miss your window on when to remove your masking.
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I don't remember the quantity I figured I'd need to do my whole van, but I do remember that it should run about $650 worth of Raptor liner kits, my plan is to buy at least $700 of the stuff and if I have some left over I'll either find another project to spray, or sell the left overs on E-bay. I don't know how long the stuff can store, but I do a lot of Duracoat, Cerekote, and KG gun-coat and have found it best to start each project with fresh paint and I don't try to stockpile and store it anymore.
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One thing I've found is that you can modularize the job a little easier than with paint without any negative effect or noticeable difference. For example, you could coat the roof of your van to the drip gutter- take a day off, mask the roof, and then do another section. Just from my experience painting other vehicles, I'd say the roof is best done in one single thick coat ( say from front to back). Any time I'm painting a vehicle (or horse trailer or whatever) I always do a dry run from start to finish to make sure my spray plan jives with reality (of climbing on and off the roof for example, or spraying from a scaffolding)
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Wow I'm long winded. Sorry, but I hope and expect some small part of this post might be helpful to someone reading this though.
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