How Many Gallons of Bed Liner To Paint A Truck? Here’s The Easy Answer!
Bed liner has a lot of good qualities for a truck owner. It’s durable, scratch-resistant, weather-resistant, and a lot of hardy types think it just plain looks good, but why limit this awesome paint to just the bed?
So, let’s answer the question, “how many gallons of bed liner to paint a truck?”
After all, how much bed liner would it take to paint the entire truck is essential information.
How Many Gallons of Bed Liner To Paint A Truck?
Most trucks will need about three gallons of bed liner to paint the entire vehicle. This includes the bed and the body of the truck.
This amount might vary for extra-large or extra-small trucks, but it’s better to buy extra. Some paint will be lost in the process to rollers, pans, and redos.
Anyone who wants to paint or spray their truck with bed liner will want to be aware of all the variables before they commit to the process. For more information on this, keep reading below!
Can I Paint My Truck with Bed Liner?
You can absolutely paint your truck with bed liner! This might seem like a crazy new concept to some people, but it can be a worthwhile investment for those who are tired of their truck getting scratched up.
Who Might Want to Paint Their Car or Truck with Bed Liner?
Someone who needs to save money while repainting their work vehicle might look into repainting with bed liner. If you do the paint job yourself, it can cost as little as $80-$120 to repaint your whole truck, depending on the total square footage and how much work you’re willing to do yourself.
Anyone who needs their entire truck to put up with rugged work might want to repaint with bed liner. A farmer, hunter, or desert-dweller who drives their truck through mud, bushes, or cacti will value the easy-to-clean and hard-to-damage nature of bedliners.
Even a bunch of curious goat hooves would struggle to scratch that paint.
Finally, somebody who just wants a new aesthetic might enjoy bed liner as a new look on their truck, jeep, or another vehicle. Bed liner has an interesting matte finish and comes in a surprising variety of colors.
How Much Bed Liner Does It Take to Paint a Truck?
How much bed liner it will take depends on the size of your truck, as well as whether or not it’s already had the bed painted with bed liner, but most people will need around three gallons to paint their trucks.
If you want to get more exact, you can search your particular model of truck or you can work it out with a simple calculation.
The good news is that this is pretty consistent over different brands and methods of painting.
Roller painting means some wastage on old rollers and trays, while spraying the paint means you’ll have some overspray. You can choose the method you’re most familiar with.
How Many Gallons Does It Take to Rhino Line a Truck?
If you’re looking to line a truck bed with Rhino Liner, one gallon is usually appropriate for two layers.
If you would like to paint the entire truck, you’ll likely want to use around three gallons. This is the measurement for the truck and the body.
If you’re only painting the body of the truck, and the bed is already fully lined, you will probably use about two gallons.
Rhino Paint is available in a spray form, which may reduce some wastage and stress.
How Many Liters of Raptor Liner Does a Full Truck Have?
To paint a full truck with Raptor Liner, which is easy to find in spray cans, you would need about 11.5 liters of paint (a little over 3 gallons). This will allow you to get full coverage across the whole bed and body of your truck, including behind the mirrors, on trim, and in all the challenging nooks and crannies or forgotten spaces.
What Else Do I Need to Paint My Truck with Bed Liner?
There are a few items that will help you achieve success in painting your truck bed liner.
- Plastic/Tarp/Paper for under your car so you don’t paint the driveway/garage
- A respirator or good mask so you don’t inhale paint fumes
- Good ventilation for your garage
- Painter’s Tape to protect windows, edges, and anything else you don’t want painted
- Acetone to remove wax residue from your car
- Primer for bare metal
- Sandpaper or abrasives for any area that is too smooth for paint
- Grease or wax dissolving soap
Are There Risks to Painting a Car or Truck With Bed Liner?
There are a few risks inherent in painting your car with bed liner. These might not be a concern to everyone, like if you never plan to resell your vehicle, but they’re still good to consider before committing.
Bed liner does not like to come off!
You Might be Bad at Painting
This is a short and bitter sentence, but it is a real problem that you’ll want to address before attempting to paint your own truck. Do you have any experience? Do you know what you’re getting into? If you’re bad at painting, you can end up with a patchy, streaky truck paint job.
Bed Liner on the Body Can Decrease (or Raise) Resale Value
Not everyone will want to resell their truck, but this is a concern for some people. If a BMW or other cars were covered in Bed Liner, it would tank the resale value immediately.
However, some truck or jeep drivers would pay extra for a bed liner paint job. Know your market if this could be a concern for your future!
You Need to Account for Variables When Painting
Nobody wants a car covered in dead bugs where there should be smooth paint. If you can’t keep your truck in a garage while it dries, protecting it from the elements for at least 24 hours, you should do more thinking and ask around before painting your truck.
You also need to account for rain, strong wind, ventilation, small children who might grab the truck, and other variables that might pose a problem in your home and yard.
It’s Hard to Take Off
Painting with bed liner is a commitment. The same durability that makes it so valuable will also make it a menace to take off the truck someday.
The cost of sandblasting and cleaning the truck completely will probably cost more than the whole process is worth. Make sure you’re ready for that kind of long-term relationship with paint.
With all this in mind, don’t be afraid to reach out to a professional if you don’t feel comfortable painting your truck yourself. After all, this is your investment.