How To Remove Spray On Bedliner

The process used to remove a spray-in bed liner is harsh and requires some aggressive work. Here'due south a good-religion attempt at explaining the removal process and offering some suggestions on alternatives.

Why would you need to remove a spray-in bed liner?

A lot of people assume that all spray-in liners last forever. While a adept portion of them are very durable, well-nigh all of them will suffer from the post-obit issues:

• Fading – No affair how much y'all spend on your spray-in, it will fade. It'southward a result of UV radiation from the sunday breaking down the chemicals that give the liner its' colour.
• Staining – None of the major spray-in or DIY roll-on bed liner companies warranty against stains. Depending on what you spill in your truck bed and how long it sits there, you lot can have some minor stains (water spots tin stain) or some major stains (grease, oil, deer/animate being claret, nutrient) in your spray-in.
• Rips and Tears – If a spray-in liner is gouged during loading, or if the edge of the liner textile is caught by cargo (eg. you're pushing something beyond your tailgate and it catches the liner), the material can tear.
• Peeling, Cracks, and Bubbles – If the spray-in wasn't installed correctly, it tin can peel, crack, or chimera. While these types of failures are usually covered under warranty, most warranties are limited to the original purchaser. So, if you bought your truck used, you lot might non be covered.

Of class, if it wasn't for bad luck some of us would accept no luck at all! While they can hands become damaged or start to wait ugly, the process to remove a spray-in bed liner is incredibly difficult. We reached out to both professional person vehicle paint and torso repair experts, also as consumers who have removed liners on their ain, and came upwardly with a process that will work (simply it may take quite a flake of time).

Note: While it may seem self-serving to say it, DualLiner doesn't recommend that yous remove a spray-in bed liner yourself. The time and energy required is rarely worth the render. Instead, we propose y'all put some other liner (similar – cough – a DualLiner truck bed liner) on acme of your damaged spray-in bed liner, as that will set the cosmetic trouble and still provide great bed protection without the additional effort or the expense of refinishing the bed.

Notwithstanding, if you're trying to restore a truck bed to factory condition, or if yous're trying to remove a spray-in bed liner from merely a part of your truck bed, read on.

How to Remove A Spray-In Bed Liner

What you'll demand:

• Chemical stripper
• A grinder
• A oestrus gun/torch
• A hammer and chisel

Step one: Assess The Task Alee

Reviewing the current condition of the liner and your truck bed tin requite yous an thought of the piece of work you lot'll need to practise to remove information technology. Commencement past looking for bubbling, cracks, or flakes in the liner material. If you see a lot of bubbles, cracks, etc., then removing the liner might go relatively easy. If you don't, information technology might be a good idea to re-consider the task ahead.

Footstep two: Chemical Bath

You can cull to skip this step if yous want, as the chemicals pretty harsh and require swell care.

There'due south a product called Shipping Remover that'south very popular in the motorcar world for its farthermost qualities. It'southward mainly used by people trying to strip paint and rust off old muscle cars, but it'south as well used by truck owners who've had it with their spray-in bed liner. Be very cautious when using this product — yous pretty much need to treat it like hazardous waste when you're around it, considering it volition basically melt abroad any information technology touches. Don't fifty-fifty think well-nigh using this chemical without center protection, gloves, and protective clothing. What's more, don't spill this chemical on concrete floor or driveways. It'll consume right through (and y'all'll be sad).

You just "paint" this chemic onto your bed liner, let it to soak in for five-15 minutes, and then scrape abroad whatever it loosens upwardly. It will take time, and may require multiple coatings, simply Shipping remover will strip away your sometime bed liner without dissentious your truck's metallic bed.

NOTE: Shipping Remover (and other chemicals like it) will strip away any paint they come into contact with, and it will literally melt plastic. If you're using this on your truck, be very careful.

Step 3: Grind It

If y'all decided to skip footstep ii, or if you're dealing with a thick department of material, an angle grinder fitted with a wire wheel tin be very constructive. Just be certain to clear your schedule.

Stride 4: Heat It Upward and Chisel the Liner

Using a estrus gun and chisel, oestrus the pieces of liner and chisel them away. Nearly people use a manus tool, like a paint scraper, only some also choose to utilise more aggressive air chisels.

Of all the methods bachelor to truck owners, this is probably the all-time. A few of the body shop pros we talked to said this was the best manner to become. However, they warned that yous have to be very careful to bending your chisel. Otherwise, you lot'll dent the bed.

Step v: Sand Away What'south Left

So after chemical treatments, grinding, heating, chiseling, and all that is washed, you will need to sand away what's left. What grit sandpaper at this point depends on what's left over. Sometimes a very fine grit, like those used for detailing, will smooth over what'southward left — other times, you will still need a heavy-duty grit after all you lot've already done.

Alternatively, y'all tin can skip all the steps and pays someone to remove the liner for you lot. Of course, if you're going to pay a few hundred dollars to become a liner removed, why non just buy a DualLiner to put on acme of the one yous have?

Words of Wisdom

While researching this process, we were offered some specific tips past the detailers, torso shop pros, and consumers we contacted. Here are their "words of wisdom":

• E'er wear a mask and proper rubber coverings when using chemicals, sanding, etc. Exercise proper chemical safety procedures.
• Bedliner removal is a very messy job, no matter what method you use. A few people suggested working somewhere other than your ain garage.
• Consult with a professional person body shop to get an estimate on this work. Don't think that doing it yourself will relieve y'all whatsoever money — the chemical strippers alone can break the bank.
• Unless you intend to install another spray-in liner, y'all will probably demand to have your truck bed repainted after the removal process is completed.
• Sadly, there is petty chance of removing a damaged spray-in bed liner without doing some sort of "collateral" impairment. From melting plastic trim pieces to bed dents, damage is sort of inevitable. Fifty-fifty the pros say this.

Is Removing An Old Bed Liner Worth Information technology?

In a word, no…or at to the lowest degree that'due south what nosotros remember based on talking to a handful of experts. Removing an onetime spray-in or DIY curlicue-on liner is necessary if you're trying to restore a mill paint job, or if you really desire to install a new spray-in liner to supervene upon the one you removed.

Otherwise, y'all might think nigh covering up the tattered old spray-in liner you have with DualLiner truck bed liner.

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Source: https://www.dualliner.com/blog/remove-spray-bedliner

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