For truck owners, working with bedliners is a day-to-day task. Sometimes bedliners can tear or crack, and you need to stick something – in short – adhesive.
However, many types of adhesive are available; not all can stick to bedliner. Also, you become tensed because the wrong combination of adhesive with your bedliner can weaken the bonding and cause other damages.
Most importantly, sticking the adhesive to your bedliner is challenging and time-consuming. So you need to know how to stick adhesive to the bedliner?
So, stick to us about sticking adhesive to a bedliner – the bedliner type, the equipment type you want to stick to, and the perfect glue.
Stick Adhesive To Bedliner In 5 Steps
Adhesives are beneficial when it comes to sticking to something. However, there are a lot of adhesive types available in the marketplace.
Their types differ according to the material such as some adhesives are great for wood, and others are for plastic. You can not use a wood-effective glue for your plastic equipment. Also, when sticking two components, both of the material matters.
This is why gluing a bedliner is not as simple as it seems. If you choose the wrong glue to stick, it can make a weaker bonding, and the result will not be good. You may face some unwanted, serious accidents related to trucks.
In some cases, the wrong glue can damage the parts.
With this, some proper steps have to be followed before sticking adhesive. Otherwise, you won’t get the desired result and can end up with some big mess.
With our research, we have devised 5 easy steps to stick adhesive to the bedliner.
Step 1: Select Glue According To Bedliner Type
Bedliners, especially drop-in bedliners, are made with polyethylene composite plastic sheets. Not all glue can stick to this kind of material.
To be more careful and specific, let’s see some tips so you find your plastic yourself.
Look for the recycle symbol that contains three triangle-form arrows. It can be on the plastic, the manual book, or the packaging.
If the label contains some digits like 2, 4, or 5 or some letters like PP, UMHW, HDPE, or LDPE, then be sure your plastic-type is polyethylene or polypropylene. Your spray-in or drop-in bedliners are made of these composites.
The label PS/ 6 defines the plastic type as polystyrene. Lastly, designation with 7,9 identifies ABS type or other plastic types.
Now that we know our plastic type, look for a glue that is effective for polyethylene or polypropylene-type plastic. So many super plastic glues are available; you can get one quickly in any shop.
But do not get the wrong one.
Step 2: Clean The Parts You Want To Stick
The second step is cleaning the bedliner or the plastics you want to stick. It is a crucial step, and do not skip this.
If the surface contains grease, oil, or dirt, your glue will not stick to the surface. All your efforts can go into a vein for a wrong step.
First, use some brush or clothes if your bedliner contains any mud or dust. Then with soap, water, or any other cleanser, clean the surface. Be sure to clean the oily or greasy parts.
Try not to touch the space after cleaning it as much as possible.
Step 3: Sand The Surface
The third step involves sanding the surface. Not too roughly; just rub the sandpaper a couple of times to make a rough surface. It helps to stick the glue tightly.
Any grit sandpaper can work well for your bedliner. For any other plastic, you can also use sandpaper.
Step 4: Go Through The Adhesive Instruction Book
In the fourth step, you need to check the guides or instructions that come with your adhesive. There is some apparent reason.
To glue the plastics, the adhesive need to be very powerful. Some adhesive comes with a couple of glue components, needs to be mixed accordingly, and may be in some specific amount.
To make it perfect, read the instructions and follow them evenly. Do not try to mess things up because it is about your bedliner.
If there is only one glue bottle, then you can skip this step and go for step 5.
Step 5: Stick Adhesive To Bedliner And Secure
The final and last step is to apply the adhesive to your bedliner. Once you clean and mix the glue, it’s time to use them.
It would be best if you did it fast but not in too much of a hurry.
Stick the adhesive to your bedliner wherever you want. If you use this to secure your plastic bedliner to your truck bed, apply it evenly.
Or, if you are about stick something to your bedliner, some wood, plastic, glass, or other things, it can be your spray-in or drop-in bedliner; the applying process is the same.
Take enough adhesive, but do not use your hands directly; use a brush instead. Stick the glue and press the parts tightly. Then secure them with some heavy stuff, so they do not detach themselves.
Secure them for at least one or two hours. In the adhesive manual book, they perhaps write about the hours it takes to dry.
Some Safety Tips While Using Adhesive
The adhesive contains many powerful chemicals, and they can be harmful to humans. They always give some precautions in the guidebook, but we know you are never going to read them.
But if you want to be safe and not want any unwanted accidents, you must follow the tips we are highlighting here.
- Try not to inhale the vapor coming from the adhesive. When you mix the glue to apply them, they release some harmful steam. Inhaling them for a long time can cause many diseases. So, try not to inhale or use a mask.
- Do not touch the adhesive directly with your hands. They can burn your hand or create some irritations. Use gloves and a brush to apply them.
- If the adhesive is releasing high vapor, then use some eyeglasses too. Sometimes it can make the user feel dizzy or give some headache.
Read Also: 5 Common Retrax Bed Cover Problems
FAQ
Can adhesive stick the bedliner parts?
There are many categories or different types of adhesives available for sticking plastics, wood, or other materials, and the manufacturer makes adhesives considering different materials.
When it comes to bedliner, they are made of plastic. If you want to stick your bedliner parts, then you can use the same adhesive you use for sticking glue to your bedliner.
They are super practical and can make a powerful bond.
Can adhesive stick wood to the bedliner?
In this case, you must select an adhesive that sticks wood to plastic. If you do not want to search here and there, then just go to a shop and ask them, and they will guide you with a suitable adhesive. The rest of the sticking process is identical to what we described.
Do adhesive harm the bedliner?
Choosing the wrong adhesive can damage the bedliner, and they can burn the parts or harm them in other ways. So we repeatedly tell you to choose the suitable adhesive for your bedliner.
Bedliners are costly, and you will not like their damage for a small wrong decision. That’s why be very careful about them.
How do you fix a peeling bedliner?
Peeling the bedliner is a common problem that every truck owner faces after a specific time. If you see some peeling parts, you should immediately take the necessary steps; otherwise, your entire bedliner will peel off.
Cut around the peeling parts and, using sandpaper, rub the amount. Once you are done, clean the space and apply a coating of your bedliner on the surface.
Final Verdict
Adhesives are incredibly beneficial when it comes to sticking to bedliner. But since wide varieties are available in the market, choosing the right one can be difficult if you do not have the proper knowledge.
Besides, you must be extra careful because any wrong step can damage your bedliner or cause a severe accident.
So you need to know how to stick adhesive to the bedliner correctly. Remember, cleaning and identifying suitable glue is the most crucial step. Be extra careful about these steps.
Now, follow the 5 steps and fix your bedliner sticking adhesive perfectly.
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