You can use a bedliner kit to apply an attractive finish to your truck’s bed. A bedliner in a can will save you hundreds of dollars compared to getting a professionally applied finish. If you choose to apply your own bedcovering, here are several tips and ideas.

A box liner kit consists of the actual liner material plus preparation materials and application tools. The most widely available kit is the Herculiner kit. Herculiner advertises that its liner is 5 times thicker than other do-it-yourself bedliner liners. Another kit is from Magnaliner.

Most people will apply their bedliner paint with a roller or brush, but many of these materials can also be sprayed. Consult manufacturer for nozzle recommendations. But really, I don’t think you can tell the difference in the appearance of the roll coating from a spray job.

You can build your own kit. Read about the materials you need in our article.

Why a bedliner kit?

If I wanted a bedliner on a new or very late model truck, I would get an estimate from a professional installer like Rhino or Line-X. This is why. These companies control the design and manufacture of their coating material and the material appears to be more durable than you can apply yourself. They also guarantee their work. So if there is a problem, they will fix it. You must remember that these coatings are permanent. You want this job done right.

Also, the professional liners are thicker than most box liners on canned goods. The thicker coating is more difficult to penetrate. There is less chance of scratching up the metal.

But a professional application can cost you between $500 and $700. That may be justified on a new truck, but certainly not on an old one.

He too Benefits of the pro spray on the bed liner may not apply to your situation. The durability of siding that you install yourself may be enough for you. If you’re not going to be dumping concrete blocks in your truck, their box liner kit might be perfect for you.

A good reason to install a bed liner is to improve the appearance of a truck bed that has abuse or rust damage. The Bed Liner Kit is perfect for this.

The main reason to use a body liner kit is to save money. My sons just installed a bed liner using a bed liner kit on our 1980 Plymouth Arrow pickup. Total cost for this job was approx. $150. This bed wasn’t badly beat up, but it was scratched and scuffed over most of the surface. He seemed pretty sad.

The guys aggressively sanded the surfaces and then applied a chemical rust converter to the rust spots. They then applied primer to the bare spots. Then came two coats of bedliner paint and it looks great. It really looks like a professional job. You can’t tell it’s a bedliner in a kit. It looks like a spray at work.

For an older truck, the bedliner kit is a great option. And even for many newer trucks, I would choose a bedliner kit.