My Ford truck is my Precious, and its bedliner is the savior from rust, scratch, dent, and damage. But the protector needs some savings now – yes, I’m talking about painting.
Well, I know it’s not only the best option but compulsory to protect the protector. However, I don’t know one important factor – how much bedliner paint for a ford explorer.
A 6 feet bedliner needs a gallon of paint; ford explorer is 49.6 inches, less than 5 inch. So, 1-gallon paint is enough. However, buy an additional 1 to 2 quarts for security. In addition, considering the standard thickness, which is 1 mil, one gallon of paint is sufficient to cover 1,604 square feet.
Remember, you can’t just go to the market and purchase any size of a drum. So, you better look at your cargo bed and do the measurement first.
Let’s read on and know how much bedliner paint for a ford explorer is needed.
How Much Bedliner Paint for a Ford Explorer
A painting job can be precise and perfect if you know all the facts. First is the correct measure. To determine how much bedliner paint you need, your need an accurate measurement.
The unit to measure your bedliner area is square feet. The amount of paint depends on that.
1-gallon paint is enough for 6 feet size bedliner. If the bed is 8 feet long, you may need 1 or 2 extra quarts.
Different truck models will require different quantities. A Ford F150 (6.5 feet) calls for around one gallon. Three gallons will be enough if you want to cover the whole vehicle. It also has two other sizes (5.5 and 8.5).
If you want to compare with other trucks – 5 feet long and 3 inches long Honda Ridgeline’s bedliner will require three gallons in total, one gallon for the bedliner.
The bedliner of the ford explorer is 49.6 inches. That’s quite less than 5 feet. So, following the previous estimation, one gallon is sufficient.
Still, you may find it tricky because the calculation isn’t yet final. Let’s try to be more specific.
How Can You Determine What Is the Sufficient Amount Of Bedliner Paint?
Well, our job is not over yet. We need to do some extra maths here.
Note that the paint will be in a solid state after drying up. Thus, it will turn the paint amount into a 3D structure. With that calculation, a gallon of paint equals 231 cubic inches.
The standard coating thickness is approximately 1 mil (one-thousandth of 1 inch). If we take 1 mil as the maximum thickness, 1 gallon of paint will cover 1,604 square feet.
Still, the amount is yet to be decreased because of drying out. The amount depends on the VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compound) percentage.
Now, the matter is, what is the thickness level you want for your bedliner? For example, we can say that you can cover 25.46 square feet with 63mil thickness with a gallon of paint.
The Painting Process in a Bedliner in 6 Steps
Here is the process to paint on your truck’s bedliner.
To do the task without hassle, you need some essential tools.
- Masking tape
- Masking Paper
- Bedliner Coating Spray
- Disposable Shop Rages
- Can(s) of paint.
If you are ready with the tools, let’s start the painting.
Step One: Wash and Clean the Bedliner
Bedliner surface cleaning is the beginning of your job. The paint won’t sustain if there’s any dirt or junk. In addition, give it time to dry up.
After that, apply Paint Prep Spray on the internal panels. Take disposable soap rages and wipe down those portions. Don’t leave it until thoroughly cleaned.
Step Two: Apply Masking
Cover the areas that are not for coating with masking tape. It will keep the areas like the tail light and rear window from being affected by splatter.
Step Three: Sanding the Non-masked Areas
Sand the surface you’ll apply paint. It will give the bedliner coating a good grip.
Step Four: Redo Step One
After the sanding is done, clean the surface using Paint Prep Spray, as was done in step one.
Step Five: Apply Coating Spray
Apply coating sprays on the bed walls. Make sure you don’t miss the joints in the corners.
There should be two layers of coating. Keep a gap (at least two minutes) between each coating.
Step Six: Prepare the Paint and Paint
Take out the can of paints, and pour an amount on the roller tray. Dip the paint roller into the tray and coat it with the liquid.
Start coating from the front side of the truck towards the tailgate side.
You need to apply another coating layer on the first coating. Wait 10 minutes before the second one. If there’s any imbalance in the coating, fill up the gap.
Your painting job is done. Give the coating an hour before removing the masking tape.
The bedliner will be ready for light use within 24 hours. For heavy-duty use, wait for 5 days.
Why Do You Need Bedliner Painting?
If you’re wondering how come bedliner paint emerges in the scene, let’s go through some importance of it.
- It shields the bedliner from erosion.
- The paint enhances and maintains the truck’s look.
- Good quality paint prevents the effect of UV rays.
- It keeps the value of the truck over time.
- Slipping of cargo can ruin it or even cause damage to the bedliner. The paint makes the bedliner surface non-slippy.
- Painting on your bad liner reduces maintenance costs.
- Spraying or brushing paint doesn’t change the floor of the bedliner. So, it remains in its original size for use.
- There’s no need to wax after painting.
- It’s waterproof and reduces sound and vibration.
- Easy to use.
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Issues You Should Be Aware of Bedliner Painting
- Avoid doing the job yourself if you don’t have prior experience. Otherwise, you may mess up or waste an amount of paint. It’s even possible that some portions are left without coating.
- Dust or debris may stick in the wet paint while it’s being cured. Look into that matter.
- Not all brand paints dry in the same duration. Check before buying which one dries faster and which one takes more time.
- Thickness is important. A thinner layer means there’s more possibility and less time to be damaged.
- Choose a particular place for the job away from other belongings. It will keep them from being dirty.
- Take precautions – safety glasses and a respirator if you use a spray machine to apply the paint. It will save your eyes and lungs.
- Don’t forget the tailgate to open and separate and paint on it too.
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FAQ
What Is the Cost of a bedliner Paint Job?
There’s no fixed price for it. The cost range is between $100 to $800, while some may charge $1000. It mostly depends on the location (distance from the service provider to your home), experts, quantity, and quality of the materials.
Why Is Bedliner Painting Necessary?
Bedliner paint saves vehicles from rusting and UV damage, prevents moisture, etc. So, the painting job is worth your time and investment.
Is It Possible to Remove Bedliner Paint?
Removing the bedliner is possible but time-consuming and requires hard work. The job is also dangerous because of the heating and chemical involved. Wearing a safety mask and glass is recommended.
What Are the Types of Bedliner Paint?
Roll-on, aerosol spray, and spray-on are three kinds of bedliner paint.
What Are the Preparations Needed for Applying bedliner Paint?
Clean the surface and let it dry up. Sand the areas, and prepare the paint. Finally, wear protective gear to start the job.
Read also: How To Keep Dust Out Of Tonneau Cover?
Last Words
Whether a bedliner or a ‘bedliner’, paint coating has the same objective. To get a good look, a weather guard, you name it. What else common is- how much bedliner paint for a ford explorer?
We tried to answer the question of how much bedliner paint is for a ford explorer. At one point, isn’t it strange to ask about a truck model manufactured a decade ago for the last time?
Actually, not. There’s no single model, and the bedliner is not always about only the cargo bed. So, that shouldn’t be a problem.
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