Truck Bed Liner as an Undercoating?

[CharBaby]

How do you folks think or know, how a truck bed liner coating would work as an undercoating for beneath a vehicle? The professional product applied/sprayed on at a dealer or aftermarket installer(not the stuff in a can from the store)

I have been wondering myself as it just seems as though it would more durable and longer lasting...more resistant to harsh under chassis spray/salt/water/mud.

Plus the bed liner coating would add some serious sound deadening to the vehicle...maybe weight too(not a good thing but, how much wgt/would it hurt?).

Of course, it would have to be applied on a super clean surface!

Comments please! This is a discussion for those who may be curious as well, not for the sarcastic!

 

[SteveSRT8]

I am sure the coating would be quite durable. My last Silverado sold out of our fleet was an 05 that had never been inside in its life. The factory sprayed in bed liner was still in great shape.

The stuff is quite heavy. In our vans it adds 150 pounds as we coat the entire vehicle from the seats back...

 

[JHZR2]

My mercedes cars came from the factory with a very thick undercoating applied. It was done to all of them, OE, not an aftermarket thing. I tried applying some spray on bedliner to a spot that had lost its OE coating. It didnt affix well at all.

If it doesnt stick, its a real liability because then water can sit underneath...

 

[Bluestream]

Bed undercoating is the worst thing you can apply. It will crack and then retain water underneath.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Bed undercoating is the worst thing you can apply. It will crack and then retain water underneath.


Well the whole idea of the bedliner as an undercoating was that it wouldn't CRACK! I have never seen the bedliner crack on a pickup truck bed...maybe it does!

The OE undercoating on my Lexus & Altima in my signature looks like bed liner coating. Both were done mediocre at best but, not cracked anywhere. So, whatever the factories are using for undercoating is phenomenal stuff if, they'd just do a good job at it. Most is on the floor board area and very little in the quarters & rockers where it's also needed!

The dealership also added some spray on professional undercoating, prior to my taking delivery when new. But, you can see the differences between the two(OE/Dealer).

 

[Pops1050]

Daughters volvo has a pretty heavy looking undercoat that looks a lot like the Bedliner spray on stuff. Don't see why not. Would be pretty labor intensive, lot of prep work I'd think.

 

[SHOZ]

My '08 Hyundai Accent came with a bed liner like material as an undercoating. It's painted body color and is still in perfect shape after 113k miles winter and all.

 

[Phishin]

In a related topic, my brother had some plastic inner wheel wheel liners installed on his 2014 Silverado. You could easily see the unfinished bed and frame rails without the liners, so he wanted to "spruce" it up.

The shop that installed them, also sprayed with inner wheel liner with Line X. It really does deaden road noise and it looks quite sharp.

I see no reason why spraying the complete underside of a truck with a product like Line X would be a problem. Except, things like shock bolts, brake line fittings, etc. etc. would be almost forever sealed up and almost unserviceable.

 

[Michael_P]

I spilled half a quart of spray on bedliner (Herculiner) on my concrete garage floor floor 10 years ago. It has not cracked. I have not been able to chisel it up. Ive taken gasoline to it. I have taken gasoline to it then lit it. I have poured acid on it. It has seen sub zero temps and tons of road salt from the vehicles. I even did a burnout on it (all it did was leave a posi patch on the other side). The cat pees on it all the time. And yet????????? Not a single crack, despite cracks have formed on the concrete beneath. I have spilled undercoating on garage floors and it cleaned up. Spray on bedliner is some alien chemical that does not seem to crack.
I can take a picture of it to show you if one would like. Its still there.
I have a 2001 Mazda Protege which is a known rust bucket. When the rust was fixed, I used spray on bedliner on the rockers, wheel wells and rust prone areas. I used it to seal pinch welds and so far, no rust return. Paint adheres very well to it.

 

[SHOZ]

Mythbusters had a good show on the bedliner. It's nearly indestructible and amazingly protects in was never imagined. Bomb Proof Truck Bed-Liner

 

[daman]

I can tell you yes it works great, I use it on wheel wells hold up great!

 

[Donald]

You want stuff that will flow and seep into every nook and cranny yet not block drain holes. If a used car, then get behind rust.

There might be some areas where it would be OK, and other areas where it would be terrible. Also may be best for new cars and not so good for older cars.

I would use FF or Krown or CarWell.

And the person doing it will make a difference.

 

[stockrex]

any kinda coating for the vehicle is a bad idea, just wash it often and very thoroughly at the end of winter.
When I say wash I won't mean going through a car wash. Car washes do little for the under body, engine bay, suspension parts etc.
I take my garden hose and hose everything down.
This year I am going to try something new after washing.
I am going to spray WD Corrosion inhibitor on the parts that is rusting, like trailer hitch etc.
Salt spray goes to every crevice possible, I take my time and wash off what I can.
the underbody of most modern cars does not need any kind of coating.

you could try something like
http://www.kellsportproducts.com/aboutfluidfilm.html

I used to spray clear coat on parts I did not want to rust in the engine bay. worked well.

 

[SHOZ]

A lot too is in the design of the car. Ford for whatever reason insist on a multi layering of metal. This will always rust out if it cannot be sealed.

 

[RhondaHonda]

It would work very well if, and that is a big if, you could prep it really well. Different products require different amounts of prep for it to adhere long term. I have a friend that sand-blasted a pickup frame and had it Line-X coated. It has peeled some and that is due to the prep.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Mythbusters had a good show on the bedliner. It's nearly indestructible and amazingly protects in was never imagined. Bomb Proof Truck Bed-Liner


This test has no validity to an automotive application.

 

[SHOZ]

You should watch the whole show. They coated a front bumper with it and then crashed the car. No damage to the plastic cover. Couple other things too. It was pretty amazing.

 

[CharBaby]

I saw it and it's quite interesting! Of course, I love watching things getting blown up!

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
You should watch the whole show. They coated a front bumper with it and then crashed the car. No damage to the plastic cover. Couple other things too. It was pretty amazing.


We are talking about corrosion protection here, not impact durability. I have seen bedliner applied to a utility trailer and left outside for 5 years we almost 50% peeled away.

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
You should watch the whole show. They coated a front bumper with it and then crashed the car. No damage to the plastic cover. Couple other things too. It was pretty amazing.


We are talking about corrosion protection here, not impact durability. I have seen bedliner applied to a utility trailer and left outside for 5 years we almost 50% peeled away.


Well then like I said my '08 Accent has it as an undercoating from the factory. Still looks good as new.