How to: Bedline your chrome bumpers!

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dan1911

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This past weekend I set out to do a few things but this project overwhelmed the whole weekend.
Admittedly, this was a pretty intimidating task: remove plasti dip (should be easy, right?), remove bumpers, scuff up the chrome really well, and rattle can some bedliner. I chose the rattle can Duplicolor Bed Liner (NOT the Bed Armour) because of the texture I wanted, but this process would be the same for any brand or application type so long as you adjust and read the application directions.

First step for me was to wash the whole truck, get all the grime and crap off it to make removing the plasti dip easier. This was my first mistake.
I plasti dipped by bumpers and grille, as I have done on my last truck and had a lot of success removing it the past. My application was identical, weather conditions, application temp, and exposure were nearly identical. The only difference, was Dip Coat by Dip Your Car. The product was a super neat idea and turned the rubbery texture into a more durable and enamel like finish. I loved the way it looked and was much more resistant to chips..... and removing it was a total PITA. Took over 4 hours to remove plasti dip from bumpers. I believe this product bonded the layers and made it like an adhesive, it was awful. A helpful hint for those that want to remove stubborn plasti dip: WD40. Spray the **** out of all the surfaces, let it soak in for a few minutes, and the rub it off. Its not quick, but it works.


What you will need:
Vgw9FrX.jpg
I was pretty quick changing out sanding pads, so buy an extra pack just in case. I used 3 cans for both bumpers but a 4th would be good to have on hand. Respirator or mask is a must, this **** is no bueno if you inhale it. Its pretty noxious stuff! The pistol handle for cans is a cheap and invaluable tool and highly suggest picking one up at your local big box hardware store.

Rant over, moving on!
Once the truck is washed, start removing stuff!
I will not include bumper removal in this DIY as its very different from model to model, but just take your time since there are a lot of plastic clips that can be snapped. If you are not sure how to do it, what I did was fine an online manual for off road bumper install and used their directions to remove mine. I think I looked up the goRhino bumper install and it was pretty detailed.

Remove all the stuff so you get to this point here and see a truck that looks like it got curb stomped
d3YgVl3.jpg

Start removing all the brackets and end pieces from the bumpers, the trailer plug is simple snaps that push in and the plug pops out the license plate side. The license plate lights have a metal frame slide (not sure what its called) that you just pull out and the light drops out, it'll make sense once you get there. To remove the plastic step cover, I used a panel puller and a pair of pliers to pinch the tabs underneath and the panel puller to pry it off. This is about what it should look like after:
KxvJtaS.jpg

Wash both bumpers with some good dish soap to remove any dirt (yes, wash twice). Do a quick wipe with a towel, and then spray with the degreaser of your choice. I chose the Industrial degreaser from Lowes and it worked great, again, a mask or respirator along with eye protection is recommended but work at your own risk!
5nidPzy.jpg

Get your area staged and prepped, I had a nice Orbital Sander so dust was not an issue but make sure you have enough space to move around.
IY2KJsa.jpg
If you have any rust, make sure it is completely gone otherwise it'll come back with a vengeance. aNO7JPb.jpg

:buffer:
And now the scary part, taking a power sander to that shiny stuff!
First few passes made me nervous as hell but figured i already committed. What I suggest, in order to get the best surface for the liner adhere to, is to get it all sanded with the OS and then get at it with a block and sand paper to make sure there are ZERO shiny chrome left. This is about what it should look like before you use hand power to sand: vzgsFzv.jpg
And after using the hand power
0ya3ZCg.jpg

IMPORTANT: after you are totally done sanding, de grease to remove any film or dust that is left over. You want a totally clean and dry bumper to work on.

Time to paint:
First layer should be relatively thin but make sure you get a good coverage. It's okay to see some metal behind but make sure its uniform. I wasnt as careful on my rear bumper and ended up with some tiger stripping. I was able to smooth it out in the next couple layers but I made more work for myself than necessary ftryNdK.jpg
The liner has a 20 minute interval between coats. I started with the rear bumper, set a timer and started on the front. Once the front had a coat, set a different timer, and I had about 7 minutes to grab a beer. Make sure you set up your bumpers in a way that allows you to hit all the angles, especially the corners. I found those the most difficult to reach but pay special attention otherwise you might get flaking. cZsqpa1.jpg

While curing:
O0a4owm.jpg

Allow bumpers to cure over night before re-installing.

Now to the grille, the bane of my existence...
the dip coat made this the biggest pain in the ass. I spend over 3 hours alone cleaning this crap off. I went through a can of wd40, kitchen scrubber (girlfriend is out of town, doesnt know yet....), and there wasn't anything i could do to make it easy. Ended up just rubbing the pads of my fingers on it to the point where they were raw. My advice: never ever use Dip Coat.
If you have, and had better success removing after.... I hate you :boxing:

Pretty much the same process:
Wash, dry, de grease (as per directions).
Start sanding until you get clean dull finish. These are plastic so be mindful not to go too far. I spent a ton of time sanding to make sure it would adhere well since I wasnt sure how this stuff works on plastic.
Before sanding: L9xDnF1.jpg

After sanding: I886JLb.jpg

AGAIN, IMPORTANT: de grease after sanding to remove any dust.

Mask off whatever you dont want painted. I intended on bed lining the emblem but figured it would be too hard to sand so I decided to leave it chrome so i removed it.
To remove: push in the top 3 tabs on the back, and use a panel puller (or soft pry tool of your choice) and VERY SLOWLY peel it up. There is some adhesive tape under that will slowly come up, just take your time.
Mask off anything you dont want painted, I masked the inside of the emblem area, and the tabs that connect the grille to the upper valence support.
bKRZ4Bh.jpg

To make sure I was able to get all the corner, I set a plank between two sawhorses and the grille balanced really stable in between without issue. It made getting all the angles super easy!
This is after the 3rd and final coat but not dried yet:
yCvT0fE.jpg

Make sure you let it cure overnight BEFORE putting the emblem back in. I opted to not put any more adhesive tape in there, i feel the 4 tabs did a fine job securing it so I skipped it. It was raining the next day so had some pretty flat light but I think it turned out excellent! Been about 2 days and had 3 people ask where I got it done... did it myself sucka!!!!!
Nx80Dw2.jpg
PhCzbFU.jpg
the left of the bumper is runoff from rain and dirt puddles, it is NOT streaky when its clean. The nice thing is that I just hosed off the dirt and came right off. The water seems to bead right off the finish, here to hoping that lasts! :favorites13:
 
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dan1911

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DUDE!!! Like I said before ******* awesome! Well done and great write up!


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Thanks man!
Cant tell you how many times I peeked out the window to look. And every time I walked past it to walk the dog etc. I couldn't resist feeling the texture. It's so hard to get a good pic of it because I dont feel like it totally does it justice. Guess you are gonna have to bring the family up so we can get your truck done! I got a big enough yard and a shed in the back, i'm sure the kids can find something pointy to play with there :roflsquared:
 

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DUDE!!! Like I said before ******* awesome! Well done and great write up!


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Not to be too big of an a-hole... but did you really need to quote his ENTIRE post and all those pictures just to say that?

OP, that looks awesome and I wish I had big enough balls to do that myself! I was proud of myself for bedlining the front and rear emblems and the rear 4x4 emblems!
 

AFMoulton

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Not to be too big of an a-hole... but did you really need to quote his ENTIRE post and all those pictures just to say that?



OP, that looks awesome and I wish I had big enough balls to do that myself! I was proud of myself for bedlining the front and rear emblems and the rear 4x4 emblems!



Sure did!


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dan1911

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Not to be too big of an a-hole... but did you really need to quote his ENTIRE post and all those pictures just to say that?

OP, that looks awesome and I wish I had big enough balls to do that myself! I was proud of myself for bedlining the front and rear emblems and the rear 4x4 emblems!

Thanks! I'm aiming to do the emblems once i get some black headlights assuming its not -40F by then. I wanted to leave some chrome otherwise the headlights would stick out too much. Once I get the headlights, all the other emblems will get lined and ill matte black vinyl wrap the door handles (I think... had the wrap for over a year and not sold on it yet).

Post up some pics or it didnt happen! lol
 

02ramboi

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Came out awesome I used the same stuff on my bumpers and there holding up really really well I just need to do my grill haven't done that yet


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dan1911

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Came out awesome I used the same stuff on my bumpers and there holding up really really well I just need to do my grill haven't done that yet


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Nice let's see some pics!


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02ramboi

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Did my camper along with the bumpers also blacked out my emblems didn't really like the chrome all that much


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No_bogies

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Very nice!

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brianw0048

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when can I buy color matched bedliner?

can I buy the quart cans and have the color mixed at Lowes?
 

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when can I buy color matched bedliner?



can I buy the quart cans and have the color mixed at Lowes?



You can go to a Line-X dealer and they can color match it for you.


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brianw0048

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You can go to a Line-X dealer and they can color match it for you.

do i buy the quarts from Autozone or will line-x sell me quart bottles? i didn't know they would do that, that's awesome. Thanks!
 

AFMoulton

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do i buy the quarts from Autozone or will line-x sell me quart bottles? i didn't know they would do that, that's awesome. Thanks!



No, line-x will do all the work. As far as color matching yourself, I don't think you could get close unless you have a black or white truck, anything else would be off too much.




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SwollenMonkey16

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Looks great bro. Nicely done. I'm curious to how it will hold up in the sun. I know linex has different levels of product, 1 that fades and another that is "fade resistant" so please keep us updated with that
 
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dan1911

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Looks great bro. Nicely done. I'm curious to how it will hold up in the sun. I know linex has different levels of product, 1 that fades and another that is "fade resistant" so please keep us updated with that



Will do! In the summer I have 24 hours of sun for a good chunk of it, but winter I'm down to about an hour of daylight and a couple hours of "civil twilight" on either end. Probably will not see much UV fading until spring, but we do salt the roads which will cause some fading I'm sure.
I will be sure to add pics throughout.
AFmoution suggested I do my door handles.... so we might have another test subject soon lol


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Itsme71190

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Sooo ill be the ****... for plastidip type products a 100% natural citrus degreaser and a pressure washer on low basically melts it off.
Looks good though!!!
 
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dan1911

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Sooo ill be the ****... for plastidip type products a 100% natural citrus degreaser and a pressure washer on low basically melts it off.

Looks good though!!!



Not a ****, wish I had known that in the first place! Great tip man. I've not had issues with Plasti dip before until I used the dip coat stuff


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