Can you remove pickup truck spray in bed liners?

A spray-on truck bed liner, while robust and long-lasting, can fade over time when exposed to the sun’s harsh rays. The various sorts of liquid that spill on the liner might leave stains on it. Minor scrapes and scratches, rips, bubbles, and peeling are also possible in some areas. However, the items you carry in your vehicle caused this sort of degradation, not the spray-on truck bed liner.

Spray-on bed liners endure a long time and just require minor touch-ups now and again. While removing the spray-on bed liner from your truck is unimaginable, there may be some compelling reasons to do so.

Although spray-on truck bed liners stick tightly to the metal surface of the truck bed, making them impenetrable, there are techniques to remove them, but they are time-consuming and complex.

Why Remove A Spray-In Bed Liner?

Many individuals believe that all spray-in liners are indestructible. While a large number of them will last a long time, virtually all of them will have the following issues:

• Fading — Your spray-in will fade no matter how much money you spend on it. It’s caused by the sun’s UV rays breaking down the chemicals that give the liner its color.
• Staining — None of the major spray-in or DIY roll-on bed liner manufacturers provide a stain-resistance guarantee. You may have small stains or large stains (oil, animal blood, grease, food) in your spray-in depending on what you spill in your truck bed and how long it remains there.
• Tears and Rips— A spray-in liner can rip if it is gouged while loading or if the liner material’s edge is snagged by cargo (for example, if you’re moving something over your tailgate and it snags the liner).
• Cracking, peeling, and bubbling — If the spray-in was not put properly, it may peel, crack, or bubble. While most warranties cover these sorts of failures, most warranties are only valid for the original purchaser. As a result, if you purchased your truck used, you may not be protected.

The investment of time and effort is rarely worthwhile. Instead, we recommend putting another liner on top of your damaged spray-in bed liner to remedy the aesthetic issue while still providing excellent bed protection without the extra labor or expense of refinishing the bed. Read on if you’re attempting to restore a truck bed to factory condition or removing a spray-in bed liner from only a portion of your truck bed.

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How To Remove A Bed Liner That Has Been Sprayed In

You’ll need the following items:

• Chemical degreaser
• A milling machine
• A flame or a heat gun
• A chisel and a hammer

Step 1: Evaluate The Task At Hand

Examining the existing state of the liner and your truck bed will help you estimate the amount of effort required to remove it. Begin by inspecting the liner material for bubbles, fractures, or flakes. If you notice a lot of bubbles, fractures, and other imperfections, removing the liner should be very simple. If you don’t, you might want to reconsider the work at hand.

Step 2: Bath In A Chemical Solution

You may skip this step if you want, but the chemicals are rather strong and need extreme caution. Aircraft Remover is a prominent product in the car industry because of its extreme characteristics. It’s mostly used by those attempting to remove paint and rust from vintage muscle cars, but it’s also utilized by truck owners who have had problems with their spray-in bed liners.

When working with this substance, you should handle it as if it were hazardous trash, as it will essentially melt away whatever it comes into contact with. Without eye protection, gloves, and protective clothes, don’t even consider using this chemical.

Step 3: Crumble It

An angle grinder equipped with a wire wheel may be highly effective if you skip step 2 or if you’re working with a thick chunk of material. Just make sure you have time to spare.

Step 4: Chisel The Liner And Heat It Up

Heat the bits of the liner with a heat gun and a chisel and chisel them away. The majority of individuals use a hand tool, such as a paint scraper, while some people prefer to utilize more forceful air chisels.

This is arguably the most effective approach accessible to truck owners. This, according to a couple of the body shop professionals we spoke with, was the finest option. However, they cautioned that you must use extreme caution while angling your chisel. You’ll damage the bed if you don’t.

You may even skip all of the procedures and hire someone to remove the liner for you. Of course, if you’re paying a few hundred dollars to have a liner removed.

Conclusion

Make sure you’re certain about your decision to remove your truck’s spray-on bed line. The item itself is pretty costly, but it will endure a long time. These are the removal alternatives accessible if you wish to have a new spray-on bed liner installed.