Rhino Linings Spray-On vs. Drop-In Bedliners: Which Is the Right Choice for You?

Rhino Linings Spray-On vs. Drop-In Bedliners: Which Is the Right Choice for You?

Drop-in bedliners are generally cheaper than spray-on bedliners. While they offer a quick and straightforward installation process, they offer very little in the way of safeguarding your vehicle. Going the cheaper route may not be the best option if you are looking to extend the longevity of your truck bed and maintain higher resale value.

Ford Truck after spray on bedliner

SCRATCHES

Spray-on bedliners do a better job of protecting your truck bed in the long run from scratches, rust, corrosion, and damage. You don’t have to worry about spray-on bedliners shifting around or debris getting trapped underneath. Spray-on bedliners have no seams or fasteners. Every contour of your truck bed is fully coated and protected.

Drop-in bedliners are more of a one-size-fits-all product that doesn’t necessarily “fit all”. There are not much more than a few screws keeping the drop-in bedliner in place, which can easily become loose and shift around the truck. You risk constant rubbing and shifting that will likely rub off the truck bed paint and cause scuffs and scratches, which lead to corrosion.

Ford Truck bed before spray on application

RUST PREVENTION

Rhino Linings spray-on bedliners protect against water intrusion. A fully coated truck bed prevents natural elements like rain and snow from reacting with metal or steel. When sprayed properly by a trained professional, your truck bed will not rust and corrode.

With drop-in bedliners, the risk is moisture building up between the drop-in bedliner and your truck bed, which can lead to rust, corrosion, and premature failure. Drop-in bedliners are NOT as secure as spray-on bedliners. Tears, warping, or gaps commonly form in the drop-in bedliner, allowing water to seep in.

Spray on bedliner in action

SAFETY

In the worst-case scenario, drop-in bedliners are known to fly out of the truck bed while traveling on a street or highway. Loose and unsecured drop-in bedliners hurling down a roadway can contribute to motor vehicle accidents. Even the smallest pieces of broken drop-in bedliners can become projectiles when they fly off of a truck’s bed. The last thing you’d want is a chain reaction of car accidents due to a drop-in bedliner that has malfunctioned and flown off your truck into traffic.

SLIP-RESISTANT

Rhino Linings spray-on bedliners offer grip and prevent loads from sliding around.

Although there may be a benefit to easily sliding your materials or load onto the hard plastic drop-in bedliner, there are still risks that could outweigh the benefits. With drop-in bedliners, you run the risk of slipping and falling while standing in the bed or truck loads shifting around, which can be particularly bad if the surface is wet.

Pickup truck bed with Rhino Lining applied

IMPACT RESISTANT

Rhino Linings has a variety of protective coatings, but the bedliner products are formulated to be resistant to impact. You can expect your truck bed will remain the same shape it began just before the spray-on application. Loading equipment, tools, or heavy hauls, spray-in bedliners are the better option for protecting your truck bed.

All drop-in bedliners are not created equally. Quality can vary from one manufacturer to another. Drop-in bedliners are typically a large piece of hard plastic (polyethylene composite) and may lack quality when manufactured. The disadvantage over time is heavy loads and equipment can easily wear down or tear the plastic bedliner. The damage is expensive and difficult to repair. In most cases, you are forced to just replace the drop-in bedliner.

CHEMICAL RESISTANT

The beauty of Rhino Linings spray-on bedliners is that our formulas remain stable in a variety of applications and adhere to almost any surface. While Rhino Linings has countless use cases for its products, spray-on bedliners have been the leading way in protective vehicle coatings for over 35 years. This is due to the development of a customizable, spray-on bedliner designed to endure stress and is chemical resistant. You can expect your Rhino Linings spray-on bedliner to withstand a range of acidic compounds to weak alkali basics.

Rhino Linings has various formulas for bedliners you can choose from depending on your specific needs and uses for your truck. Our products are formulated to be slip-resistant, impact-resistant, chemical-resistant, and scratch-resistant.

Contact your local Rhino Linings Applicator to find the best application that works for you. Rhino Linings offers nationwide coverage for truck bedliners. Read more about the Rhino Linings warranty program here.

It May Be a Grind, but the Payoff Is Worth It

It May Be a Grind, but the Payoff Is Worth It

In order to obtain a permanent bond of the Rhino Linings® spray-on liner to the pickup truck bed, bumpers, fenders, or body panels, it is necessary to sand or scuff the paint finish within masked boundaries. An efficient and thorough prep job is vital in order to ensure maximum adhesion.

The Basics

This operation is accomplished using 60 to 80 grit sandpaper on an auto body dual action (DA) sander or using a Rhino Linings abrasive cup brush. Confined areas which cannot be easily reached using power tools can be prepared by hand using 80 or 100 grit sandpaper or a coarse scuffing pad, like Scotch-Brite™.

Critical areas to be sanded or scuffed must include all edges at the tape lines. If there is weak adhesion at the end of a bed liner, it could begin peeling in that location and compromising the rest of the liner. Sanding and scuffing should take place only after the vehicle is masked with paper attached and the surface has been thoroughly cleaned with acetone.

  1. Masking tape and paper protects the vehicle against damage from hoses or electric cords, grit or sparks, and product overspray. It also defines the areas to be prepped.
  2. Cleaning is done prior to sanding or scuffing to prevent contaminants from being ground into the painted surface and to keep abrasive cup brush or sandpaper clean.

Replace Old Cup Brushes

Your cup brush me be inspected for overuse and poor brush memory. If the the brush has poor memory (flattened out) and/or is not able to remove the topcoat easily, it should be replaced. Be sure to use a buffer/grinder with variable speed to spin the cup brush at 1500 rpm or less. This keeps the bristles from flaring straight out and ruining the brush.

Keep a steady stock of cup brushes in your shop. To purchase replacements, visit the Rhino Linings Webstore.

Damaged and Rusted Surfaces

On vehicles with rust, peeling paint, or hardened residues, it is necessary to use an auto body electric or compressed air powered grinder to remove these potential problems.

Use a coarse grinding disc (24 to 40 grit) to provide a bright, bare surface. This may be limited to a few areas within the bed or the entire bed may require grinding to remove all rust.

It is important to protect glass and plastic before grinding takes place. Sparks from grinding may burn pits into unprotected glass and plastic. Use additional paper or plastic film to protect cab rear window protruding tail lamp lenses and vehicles parked nearby.

After sanding, scuffing or grinding, vacuum or blow using compressed air dust and grit from truck bed, paying special attention to seams and drain holes. At this point, solvent wipe with acetone and clean, unused cotton rags. For further information on this step, refer to our cleaning Technical Reference Manual section.

Don’t Forget to Prime

Remember that all bare metal areas must be primed for optimal adhesion! Refer to our Primer Data Sheets for substrate preparation and visit the Rhino Linings Webstore to order the right primer for the job.