White line-x / bedliner spray on the cheap hard top?

[Silver-Bolt]

Two concerns with Line-X type products. #1 the surface is not smooth and the retain dirt like crazy. Good luck keeping it clean. #2 material build up. It is not a paint material. It is thick. It could be an issue with fit once everything is coated. Not a chance I would use a bedliner product to color the top. Paint it if you want it another color.

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[beachman101]

Two concerns with Line-X type products. #1 the surface is not smooth and the retain dirt like crazy. Good luck keeping it clean. #2 material build up. It is not a paint material. It is thick. It could be an issue with fit once everything is coated. Not a chance I would use a bedliner product to color the top. Paint it if you want it another color.

ya this was another issue. We get NASTY pollen drops in my area and i could see the thing turning green unless it was smooth and painted

 

[BroncoMike]

I know this, and is something I eluded to in one of the other numerous posts about it.
I do not recommend going heavy on low clearance joints.
When I do it, I spray enough to get the texture close to the inside mating surface, and actually go back behind with a paint that matches the liner color so there aren't any ugly fade lines or uncolored areas.
Jeep tops have enough clearance to go ahead and line them (sparingly). Unknown about the Bronco tops until I actually get to see the panels fit in real time.

I just thought that a bed liner just shy of two inches thick would be a huge waste of material.

For those who aren't familiar with the product, it is damn near indestructible if applied correctly. Huge commercial mines use it on their immense dump truck beds, as the mining materials actually shred the steel of the dump bed - Line-X extends the service life of the bed enough for them to pay to do it regularly. UV resistance in black is great. Pressure clean it, scrub it, and it looks like new again after 10 years in the sun. I have no experience with how resistant the tintable product is.

Ultimately, to do it right, it isn't going to be much easier/less expensive than painting - similar surface prep, time, equipment. There is some advantage in that a booth isn't necessary, and minor imperfections won't be seen. The texture of Line-X is finer than any other bed liner product I've seen - so no, not even remotely like a bad stucco job. The cost of the product vs. paint is probably a wash if you're using good paint. It will likely withstand abuse far better than paint (it's seriously hard to scratch/damage it), but the color retention/UV resistance in anything other than black is an unknown to me. If a white Line-X only lasts 5 years, that would suck - I can't imagine the difficulty in stripping it off and re-doing it. But after 5 years, there may be some hardtops for sale cheap anyways...

 

[Megawatt]

It’s not a smooth surface so there will be increased drag from the air. Don’t expect mpg to stay exactly the same. It could be a slight amount but it will be forever.

Many jeepers out here have done the entire Wrangler. Looks bad azz, but they all say it’s heavy, expensive, and their driving range on a full tank dropped. But they did the entire Jeep.

 

[beachman101]

It’s not a smooth surface so there will be increased drag from the air. Don’t expect mpg to stay exactly the same. It could be a slight amount but it will be forever.

Many jeepers out here have done the entire Wrangler. Looks bad azz, but they all say it’s heavy, expensive, and their driving range on a full tank dropped. But they did the entire Jeep.

they actually did experiments on this

and it turns out surface drag is misunderstood greatly. Basically they turned the surface of a car into a golf ball and it increased milage despite insane weight gains from the clay surface.

the milage from the jeeps is likely due to weight and the fact they are jeeps

 

[Megawatt]

and it turns out surface drag is misunderstood greatly. Basically they turned the surface of a car into a golf ball and it increased milage despite insane weight gains from the clay surface.

Car in video is aerodynamic, pointy and sloped to begin with. Not the case on Wrangler or Bronco. I would believe more it if they did it on a box shaped 4x4.

 

[broadicustomworks]

1.8" thick? That's going to cause some interesting clearance issues.

Even at the (much thinner) recommended thickness, it isn't weight that will be a problem - it will be clearance between mating surfaces. You can't coat two mating surfaces and expect them to dimensionally align again, let alone what issues it would cause on a third plane. Fail to coat the surfaces, and you'll see the underlying color. If it's any indication, coating over the bed rails and coating the tailgate to match will sometimes cause interference between the top of the gate and the top of the bed and you can't close the gate without difficulty. Think about how big that gap is.

Lol now I see the issue. It was supposed to be 1/8" thick in my original post.
the . is close to the / and I didn't proofread.
Substantial difference there.

And as far as the topic, good luck. As with the internet there are lots of experts to weigh in.
I've done them multiple times in multiple applications with a few different colors.
I'm not weighing in on top paint/lining topics anymore on this forum.
I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm talking about. My customers are happy and I have yet to get one single complaint or return for failure of any sort.
So yeah, have at it, fellas. Anyone who wants to ask me anything about it can PM me.
I'm considerably more short tempered today because of a Bronco FB page I had to argue with a dude on already who was being an ass and degrading others and their questions/decisions/build/dealer of choice.
It ain't even you guys here today. But it's best I back on outta this topic.

 

[BroncoMike]

Hope you have a better day. I'd say "2020 can't end soon enough", but I'm afraid of what doom that might bring.

 

[Heffe66413]

I know very little about line-x but the one thing i know about it , is that its essentially armor. Im not even sure if you can scratch it.

people use it on bedliners for that explicit purpose of durability

I’ve had it as my bed liner for 6 years. It is great stuff. If your line x shop is good , a white top in line x would last forever.

 

[SoccerDude]

You can get Raptor Liner in White. It will cost you no more than $150 to do yourself.

 

[kodiakisland]

I plan to Raptor line mine, but I think the biggest issue is how well it will adhere to the plastic top.

 

[SoccerDude]

I plan to Raptor line mine, but I think the biggest issue is how well it will adhere to the plastic top.

It will probably be able to spray right, if not you can use a plastic primer to get it to bond before spraying the Raptor Liner.

 

[PrevCYBRTRKrez]

I found this picture of a jeep with Line-x top. Looks pretty slick.

 

[texasgreazer]

I just thought that a bed liner just shy of two inches thick would be a huge waste of material.

For those who aren't familiar with the product, it is damn near indestructible if applied correctly. Huge commercial mines use it on their immense dump truck beds, as the mining materials actually shred the steel of the dump bed - Line-X extends the service life of the bed enough for them to pay to do it regularly. UV resistance in black is great. Pressure clean it, scrub it, and it looks like new again after 10 years in the sun. I have no experience with how resistant the tintable product is.

I'll add, for the black at least, Linex offers a UV protectant topcoat that gives a glossier finish. I opted for it on my black GMC Canyon, and it helps match the exterior finish. Not sure if this is available on other colors. Clearance could be an issue....the area where the bed floor meets the tailgate touches now when closed (but YMMV). I will say Linex offers the smoothest finish of any of the "installed" spray liners I've seen. As for durability, I worked at a classic restoration shop that used Linex as undercoating, strip the entire body, prep it, have it Linex'd front to back, then proceeded with body/paint work. Effectively worked as a sound deadener as well.

 

[Mac n Nevada]

Lol now I see the issue. It was supposed to be 1/8" thick in my original post.
the . is close to the / and I didn't proofread.
Substantial difference there.

And as far as the topic, good luck. As with the internet there are lots of experts to weigh in.
I've done them multiple times in multiple applications with a few different colors.
I'm not weighing in on top paint/lining topics anymore on this forum.
I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm talking about. My customers are happy and I have yet to get one single complaint or return for failure of any sort.
So yeah, have at it, fellas. Anyone who wants to ask me anything about it can PM me.
I'm considerably more short tempered today because of a Bronco FB page I had to argue with a dude on already who was being an ass and degrading others and their questions/decisions/build/dealer of choice.
It ain't even you guys here today. But it's best I back on outta this topic.

Too bad, the forum will lose a lot of good knowledge you have shared with us.

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