New Truck, New Paint - what to do??

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TenCentPistol

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I'm new to this site, and the proud owner of a new 2011 Ford Ranger. It has no bed liner, and I haven't waxed or even washed it yet. Was interested to see what you all recommend right off the bat. My mom's boyfriend swears by Liquid Glass, I've clayed and waxed cars before, but what about a bedliner? Is this a huge difference between rhino lining and Line-X? Might I add that before I find a different living situation, this truck is not kept in a garage or carport of any sort. I want to keep that Vista Blue Metallic paint shinin'
 
Just to clarify...

New truck but the factory paint.


When you type "new" paint, people can interrupt that to mean you just had the truck painted.

A brand new car has new paint because the vehicle is "new" but the paint is fully cured as it is baked-on at the factory and months old before it gets to the dealership and then to the consumer.


Regardless of which brand you decide to go with, the key to maintaining a showroom new appearance to your brand new truck is to actively maintain it. See this article,

"Find something you like and use it often"



This means washing the truck as often as needed to remove accumulated dirt and road grime.

Claying when needed to remove any above surface bonded contaminants

Protecting the paint by sealing it with either a wax, a paint sealant or a coating and if using a wax or a paint sealant, then re-applying this on a regular schedule as the previous application wears off.


See these articles,

How to maintain a freshly waxed car

How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last?

Sacrificial Barrier Coating = The purpose of a wax or synthetic paint sealant



Welcome to the Autogeek Online Discussion Forum and congrats on the new truck.


:)
 
Welcome to the Forum. There usually isn't much to add when Mike Phillips answers a question. I had a Toyota 4x4 and I wish I had invested in a bed liner. They will otherwise get pretty scratched up and start to rust. Can't recommend a particular brand. Good luck with the new truck.
 
TenCentPistol said:
My mom's boyfriend swears by Liquid Glass,
Click to expand...

We carried Liquid Glass products till just recently, it has a loyal following from generally speaking, an older demographic.

The key to good results with Liquid Glass or any product is first, correctly prepare the paint to accept the wax or paint sealant, since you truck is brand new it shouldn't need any prep work but it could.

Because new cars and trucks often times sit outside on a dealership parking lot they are exposed to any contaminants in the air. Some contaminants will wash off while others will bond to the paint and not wash off. To inspect for bonded contaminants, use the Baggie Test

The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants

PaintCleaningByHand022.jpg



IF you feel little bumps or a texture then this means you need to clay the paint and this is important because Liquid Glass or any wax or paint sealant will perform best if the paint is clean and smooth...

Big picture still comes back to no matter which wax or paint sealant you choose, it's not a one-time application. You'll get the best performance if you regularly maintain your truck's finish that includes washing and waxing before all the last coat of wax wears off the paint. Key word is maintain.


TenCentPistol said:
I've clayed and waxed cars before, but what about a bedliner? Is this a huge difference between rhino lining and Line-X?
Click to expand...

They are they same category of product I don't know of the specific differences. There is no perfect solution to protecting a truck bed. IF you install a liner you can get scratching when dirt build-up under it and the bed liner moves against the paint.

If you apply a brush or spray-on coating, these coatings are not an invisible force field, if you drag something heavy and sharp or scratchy over them you can scratch the coating.

I'm probably going to apply a some type of coating to the inside of my truck bed down the read, before I do I'll research my options before making a decision.


:)
 
I got a new truck last year an went through the same dicesion. I found a new product called The Bed Rug. I have been quite pleased with it. Its chemical resistant, soft like carpet. It came with clips to drill holes in the bed to fasthen it down with. I replaced them with velcro it get dirty i can take it out an wash it off an clean out the bed of the truck at the same time. jonathan
 
Make sure the paint is far enough out of the paint booth (at least 90 days) for it to cure before you coat it with anything.
 
My dad bought an '89 Chevy 3/4 ton truck many years ago. He bought it used with 75,000 miles on it, and it had been wrecked. This truck was going to be used, not just look pretty, after-all that's what a truck is for. At the time it had a camper shell on top of it, which was promptly removed, and the thickest, heaviest rubber bedliner I could find was placed inside. This would have been around 1991.

Several times a year I would remove this liner and clean underneath the bed itself. As Mr. Phillips mentioned earlier dirt will hide there, but it's not too big an issue imo.

Today that truck's odometer registers 207 thousand and some change...however, the odometer no longer works and hasn't worked for 12 years...so yes, it stopped at the 207 thousand mark some time ago. This is a work truck and I believe I can safely say that it has at a mimimum 375,000 miles on it.

It's always stayed outside, and I've always maintained underneath the rubber liner, even today with the fenders almost rotted off of it, the cab corner and rockers being completely gone...yet I still clean the bed from time to time. Why? The bed and truck are still in good working order.

I'ver never ever seen any sprayed in liner stay looking nice for that length of time and without fading and/or peeling. It's easy to pull a rubber matt out and clean it, then clean the bed. The plastic liners are worthless imo because if you want to remove them often you chance scratching the bed.

You simply wouldn't believe the inside condition of my truck bed if you seen it. I can post pics in a few days if you like.

If I ever buy a new truck it will have a rubber liner if I plan on hauling stuff...the thickest I can find. They're a bit of hassle to roll up and out of the truck, but my liner was well worth the $100 or so that I paid for it. The trucks nearly rusted away around the matt. Having the matt in there made a believer out of me. I'm sure someone's had an opposite experience though.
 
Hi, TenCentPistol:

On the liner question: I bought a '94 Chevy full size, 4wd 2500 series extended cab truck new. I had a Duraliner installed by the dealer. Plastic bed liner. You can throw anything in it, no dents in the bed or damage to paint. Never removed it to clean the bed underneath. Since 1994.

Long story short: Truck went into the area's premium customs/restoration shop in September 2010 for restoration of the exterior paint (some of it had peeled off). This shop does painting for Pebble Beach and similar collector car shows and for private collectors. They took my truck apart, took it down to bare metal. Funny thing, though, was the owner of the shop told me the paint in the bed was in such good condition, he did not recommend repainting it. I spent close to $15,000.00 on the paint and restoration work. But the inside of the bed was not touched. The Duraliner is a great product.

I am currently using a canopy, with a Bedrug in the bed.

Enjoy your truck! :props:

Mike
 
The Heater said:
Hi, TenCentPistol:

On the liner question: I bought a '94 Chevy full size, 4wd 2500 series extended cab truck new. I had a Duraliner installed by the dealer. Plastic bed liner. You can throw anything in it, no dents in the bed or damage to paint. Never removed it to clean the bed underneath. Since 1994.

Long story short: Truck went into the area's premium customs/restoration shop in September 2010 for restoration of the exterior paint (some of it had peeled off). This shop does painting for Pebble Beach and similar collector car shows and for private collectors. They took my truck apart, took it down to bare metal. Funny thing, though, was the owner of the shop told me the paint in the bed was in such good condition, he did not recommend repainting it. I spent close to $15,000.00 on the paint and restoration work. But the inside of the bed was not touched. The Duraliner is a great product.

I am currently using a canopy, with a Bedrug in the bed.

Enjoy your truck! :props:

Mike
Click to expand...

Plastic bedliners are nice and work well to keep the bed from dings and scratches, but things will tend to slide around a bit more. However, there are ways of limiting the sliding.

That price sounds way high even with the bed being painted. Of course, it's been awhile since I've had any work done, but gholly that doesn't seem right.
 
TenCentPistol said:
I've clayed and waxed cars before, but what about a bedliner? Is this a huge difference between rhino lining and Line-X? Might I add that before I find a different living situation, this truck is not kept in a garage or carport of any sort. I want to keep that Vista Blue Metallic paint shinin'
Click to expand...

Rhino is a thicker, rubbery, and tough lining.

Line-X is thinner and as less cushioning effect but looks smoother.

Both are tough and great liners it just depends what you want from it. If you want some cushion, a little better sound dampening but a little bit of a clumpy look then Rhino would be a great choice. If you want a smooth clean look with the same durability but less cushioning and sound deadening then the line-x would be perfect.

I had line-X on my dodge with a tonneau cover and was extremely satified with the look and feel with or without the cover on.
 
Thanks for all the help and responses everyone. I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll get the bedlining situation under control, clay and wax this beast and hopefully post some pictures soon.

It's not the biggest baddest most insane truck ever. But it is Mine, and hopefully with some hard work (and help from like minded individuals) it'll stay lookin' sharp.
 
Hoytman: That cost is for a complete disassembly of the truck off the frame except the cab, soda blasting (not the interior of the bed), removal of inner fender wells, removal of the interior, removal of both doors (which requires taking out the hinge pins and re-bushing/pinning the hinges to put the doors back on), stripping out all the glass, and doing all body work to take out small imperfections or dings (truck had never been wrecked). All body trim was removed and replaced, and the bumpers were also removed. The outside of the cab was machine sanded to bare metal. They don't soda blast interiors because you never get all the material out of the crevices and it turns up coming out after the customer gets the vehicle back. This is a shop that typically bills at least $60K for paint work on its customer's cars, and the cars are usually from collectors, not from guys like me. But I wanted the best job, so I asked them if they would do my truck and they agreed to do it. A real honest shop that just has a reputation all over the US for working on rare collector cars and custom fabricated street rods.

Yes, the plastic liner does have that problem of stuff sliding. I used a ratcheting cargo bar across the bed to hold stuff still or I used a tie down on the bed rail. The Bedrug I have now (covered with a bed canopy) is real nice and stuff does not slide much if at all.
 
:welcome: To Autogeek Online.....:props:

Congratulation and good luck with the new truck! :dblthumb2:

After giving your truck a thorough washing, clay each panel and remove any particulates or debris that may already have become embedded in the paint. You say; "but it's new" and I'll say toyr correct but that doesn't mean the paint isn't still dirty. This is the result from claying just half the hood of a 2011 Hyundai Elantra.

Clay-01.jpg


Once clayed you'll have a few of choices; polish, seal, and wax.

Since this will be driven daily and parked outdoors a showcar shine, while admirable goal, is somewhat unrealistic so yo be the judge whether or not you need to polish.

Sealants

A sealant is a very wise choice and will protect longer than a wax. Apply the sealant according to directions then buff to a brilliant shine. Allow the sealant to cure overnight and add an additional cost for more protection.

Paint Sealants like Klasse, Wolfang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant

Sealants typically last for 5 months or more and can be layered on top of each other but if you apply a coat of wax don't apply a sealant over it because they're not comparable.

Don't overlook the new Nano coatings and they provide the toughest and most long lasting protection.

CarPro - CQuartz Ceramic Quartz Paint Protection, CQuartz nano coating, nano paint sealant

Optimum - Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 Permanent Paint Coating FREE BONUS

Wax

For superior shine and protection from mother nature go with Collinite 845....

As far as bed liners are concerned if you want long term rugged protection go with the Rhino liner. These go on thick and are nearly indestructible. What I can tell you is the bed of your truck will get used.......
 
I have Line-X in my 1991 & 2009 F150's and I love it. I had the 91 sprayed back in 2002. Here's a couple of pictures of it. It still looks great and I've beaten it up pretty good. It is a little dull but it cleans up very easily and shines again.

02192010085.jpg


02192010084.jpg
 
TheCougarGuy said:
I have Line-X in my 1991 & 2009 F150's and I love it. I had the 91 sprayed back in 2002. Here's a couple of pictures of it. It still looks great and I've beaten it up pretty good. It is a little dull but it cleans up very easily and shines again.
Click to expand...



Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and post some very good pictures of the bed of your truck with the Line-X, looks like it's really holding up well.

:xyxthumbs:
 
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