Painting inside of bed

[JoeR Jr]

I have started trading work with a local body shop (I do automotive electronic diagnostics for local shops) and he agreed to help me do all the body work on my truck. I'm about done with the metal work and think it is straight enough for paint. The truck is dark brown, but I'm going to spray it a different color, so the inside of the bed will need to get repainted too. I plan to keep using my C10 as a work truck, so I'm not looking to make it pristine or anything, but something needs to be done with it before the truck gets sprayed.

I think my choices are:
Same paint as the truck. This would look ugly I think unless I repair all the dings and dents. That's not gonna happen. Stuff gets tossed back there every day. It also might not be possible to paint it unless I wire brush or grind every bit of surface rust out of there, and that's not gonna happen either.

Roll on bed liner. This would probably look much better, but it may still look crappy over a well used bed.

Bed Liner. This may be the best bet. I would probably want to do something to ensure that the bed didn't get more than surface rust under the bed liner though.

I need some opinions, please.

Joe

 

[Paint guy]

Personally I would prep the bed and do a spray in bed liner. It will hide a lot of sins and is easy to spray. Some of the kits even come with the correct spray gun.

 

[Copper Jr]

I rolled on Herculine back when I owned a Jeep it was easy to apply, prep took longer than actual application. It held up while I had it.

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[Keith Seymore]

My truck was also a daily driver. I gave my daughter a paint brush and a $6 can of satin rustoleum and turned her loose.

I figured I could repaint/touch up several (hundred) times compared to the cost of spray in bedliner.

K

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[eskimomann209]

My truck was also a daily driver. I gave my daughter a paint brush and a $6 can of satin rustoleum and turned her loose.

I figured I could repaint/touch up several (hundred) times compared to the cost of spray in bedliner.

K

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Where are those Mats from? I like them. I like the idea of doing it myself. But a lifetime warranty is hard to beat. Plus I think the rinoliners look slick.

 

[FireTruck1984]

Where are those Mats from? I like them. I like the idea of doing it myself. But a lifetime warranty is hard to beat. Plus I think the rinoliners look slick.

Yeah those Mats look good

 

[RoryH19]

I have a bed liner in mine.
The original paint is still there and bed is in great shape.
Spray ins are good but don't stop dents and can be scratched off.
Mats help with dents and scrapes but don't protect the sides.
Of course everyone has their preference.
This is the second liner I've had in a square.

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[scwaters]

Are there any heavy rubber bed floor mats sized for a short bed. Had a great one in my 78 K30?

 

[Snoots]

Personally I would prep the bed and do a spray in bed liner. It will hide a lot of sins and is easy to spray. Some of the kits even come with the correct spray gun.

That's the ONLY way to go.

Drop in bedliner is garbage.

 

[Keith Seymore]

Where are those Mats from? I like them. I like the idea of doing it myself. But a lifetime warranty is hard to beat. Plus I think the rinoliners look slick.

They are original from 1986.

I think you can make something similar from barn mats at Farm&Fleet or a TSC store.

K

 

[80BrownK10]

Are there any heavy rubber bed floor mats sized for a short bed. Had a great one in my 78 K30?

I have a rubber bed mat in my 1980 short bed. It was in there when I got it. But there pretty generic. I think you can buy one for a full size of the correct length and you trim it to fit. They may be harder to find now a days then they were twenty years ago. And bed dimensions may have changed. I don't know.

 

[eskimomann209]

Are there any heavy rubber bed floor mats sized for a short bed. Had a great one in my 78 K30?

I have seen one for gmt400s in LMC. Maybe they have square ones

 

[eskimomann209]

duplicate

 

[82sbshortbed]

That's the ONLY way to go.

Drop in bedliner is garbage.

I agree, drop in bed liners just promote and accelerate rust. It will rub off your paint then hold water to make sure it rusts as fast as it can.

 

[JoeR Jr]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate it. Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but leaning towards the do-it-yourself bed lining.
Joe