Truck Bed Liner vs Powder Coating Your Plate Bumpers and Armor

[Wasatch]

Hi all,

Looked around and couldn't find an exact answer.

Long story short, I have an aluminum plate bumper and am trying to decide whether to powder coat or get it coated with Rhino Liner.

The reason I am leaning towards the truck bed liner is it may add additional strength/dent resistance. With it being aluminum, I think that might work well.

On the other hand, powder coating is also quite durable, and easy to touch up when scraped off.


Does anyone have experience to compare the two different methods?

Will the Rhino Lining be a poor choice for a front bumper? If so, why?

 

[Clutch]

Bed liner is heavier, plus gets chalky looking over time. Since it is aluminum...I would leave it natural, and maybe ball burnish it. No real need to protect with a surface coating. Easy to hide/fix scratches. Simply re-ball burnish it.

Only place I would use bedliner on a vehicle is the rocker panels, bed, and/or floor boards. But that is just me.

 

[Tacovendor]

I just had my bed lined and actually asked about bumpers. Sal at Wolf liners in Riverside Ca, said that in order to make it semi work, you have to coat the front and back and everything else. he said if it starts to come off or you scrape it, it might all eventually come off. A good powder coat is the very best thing to put on it. IMO

 

[proper4wd]

Since when is powdercoat easy to touch up?

Rattle can spraypaint is and always has been the best solution for something like this, because thats what it was designed for.

Note, any type of surface finish on aluminum works best with a self etching primer.

 

[Clutch]

Since when is powdercoat easy to touch up?

Rattle can spraypaint is and always has been the best solution for something like this, because thats what it was designed for.

Note, any type of surface finish on aluminum works best with a self etching primer.

Epoxy paint is a good alternative in-between rattle can and powder coat as well.

 

[Wasatch]

Great points.

Another issue I foresee with the truck bed liner option is if I do inside-out, the mounting brackets for auxiliary lights and frame will be too small or not fit due to the heavy coating.

But, with all that said, I would think the result would be VERY durable. no?

I plan to visit the truck bed liner shop soon and discuss these potential issues further.


As for rattle can-ing it myself, what are the best methods for removing oil and other contaminants from the metal? Rubbing Alcohol?

Thanks for all the comments.

 

[proper4wd]

Brake clean and a lint free rag.

I have had great luck with Krylon in a can. I painted an entire utility shell for an 8 foot bed F350, mounted on the truck, while street parked in the city. When done and after a few touch ups (light sand and respray here or there), it looked great. I used about 1 case of Krylon to do the whole shell with about 3 light coats. Krylon was chosen for its cost and wide angle spray tip.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Truck bed liner is usually very thick, which I do not like.

There is a company here called Rack-it, they build custom truck racks and the owner is a Toyota guy. He sprays his own racks and he does a beautiful job, so I asked him how he gets it to lay down so nicely and get into all the corners, nooks and crannies. He said he sprays it on hot which allows it to flow. Most shops do not spray it on hot so it does not fill nicely in the corners. If you can find a shop that sprays it hot, definitely go with them.

 

[CAP650]

Rattle can paint is the best option. Cheap, easy to touch up. I use the Rustoleum wheel paint and have had good success. Powder coating looks nice and is pretty durable, but once you chip or crack it, you can have problems. It can start to lose adhesion starting at the chips without any sign until you find a big loose patch. I have had this happen and after scraping / sanding, I end up using the rattle can to touch it up anyway. So why not save some money and just start with the rattle can.

 

[Tacovendor]

Most importantly is, no matter what you do if it's installed improperly, it WILL fail. I have powder coating on all of my armor and have not had one failure. Scratches chips from rock yes. But still looks almost new. A few things to consider: 1. looks, at first it looks great, then environmental effects, UV, pollution etc. Now two tears later it looks like crap. 2. What are the most common conditions you travel in? Cold, hot, rocks, sand etc.? In other words, how will the finish be damaged the most? For Aluminum I would personally call Aluminess and ask what they suggest, as they are the experts. M2CWorth.

Aluminess Products, Inc.
9402 Wheatlands Ct #A
Santee, CA 92071
Aluminess@sbcglobal.net
(619) 449-9930

 

[seanpistol]

I use self-etching primer and then Rustoleum bedliner in a rattle can on my armor. Holds up excellent. Easy to touch up. I wouldn't spend the money for powdercoat on something that can get scratched. If you aren't going to scratch it, that's another story.