U-Pol's Raptor Spray-In Bed Coating

As a truck owner you know that your poor bed gets a workout. From hauling gear to the worksite Monday through Friday, to those home repair and garage projects on the weekend, your truck’s bed most likely looks like a war zone with dings, paint scratches, and more detracting from the overall look of your rig. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can protect your bed from life’s torture test with a protective bedliner.

While plastic drop-in liners are popular and quick to install, they will not fix a bed that is already scratched up or protect it from rusting further. The best solution for a well-worn bed is to take care of any surface rust, seal the broken paint surface with an etching primer, and then coat the bed surface with a sprayable liner. A spray-in liner product offers ultimate protection and looks, and is an easy DIY project you can tackle in your own driveway in an afternoon.

Bed prep is of the utmost importance for the Raptor bedliner’s adhesion. Before you get underway with any surface prep, a good cleaning/washing is mandatory. Using a scrub brush and a surface cleaner, clean the bed of any dirt and grease, then remove anything you don’t want coated, such as tie-down cleats.

Bed prep is of the utmost importance for the Raptor bedliner’s adhesion. Before you get un

Several DIY spray-in liner options are on the market. On truck and Jeep forums we’ve been reading about how people have had excellent results with U-Pol’s Raptor urethane bedliner product. Raptor is available through your local paint supply jobber that handles professional-level paint shop supplies. It comes in two formulas, a traditional black finish and a tintable product to which you can add automotive grade paint to match or contrast with your vehicle.

The Raptor kit includes four bottles of base coating, one bottle of hardener, and an applicator gun (though the product can also be rolled or brushed on). Application time depends on how much prep is required, so if you have a really rough bed, as we have with our ’01 Ford Ranger SuperCab 4x4, plan some serious manual labor to get the bed scuffed, primed, and ready for spraying in the Raptor liner.

Now is also the perfect time to perform any minor bed repairs, including straightening the bed flange or hammering out any accessible dents in the wheel housings.
Now is also the perfect time to perform any minor bed repairs, including straightening the
The amount of prep will depend upon how much damage has been done to your truck’s bed. The use of a dual-action sander, a scuffing wheel, or another power tool will certainly cut the job time, but for a small bed like our Ranger’s a standard Scotch-Brite red pad and some labor can still get the job done. Don’t rush this step. Ensure that every inch of the bed surface is scuffed to promote maximum adhesion.
The amount of prep will depend upon how much damage has been done to your truck’s bed. The
If your bed has the factory paint surface chipped or scratched you will need to seal these bare surfaces with an etching primer. U-Pol offers its No. 8 acid etch primer for just such a job. U-Pol’s No. 4 adhesion promoter is also a good idea for hard-to-prep areas such as under the bedrail.
If your bed has the factory paint surface chipped or scratched you will need to seal these

Once you are satisfied with your bed’s prep and any priming you might have to do, you pour the Raptor hardener product into the Raptor base product to the fill line—no measuring required—and shake the bottle to mix the product. The pot life is approximately an hour, plenty of time to apply the liner.
Once you are satisfied with your bed’s prep and any priming you might have to do, you pour
After the Raptor product has been mixed thoroughly the spray gun simply threads right onto the bottle for easy application with your home air compressor. While we only have the bed masked off with painter’s tape here, be sure to use disposable drop cloths to cover the complete truck, as the overspray can sneak up on you and drift onto the painted surfaces of the truck—ask us how we know.
After the Raptor product has been mixed thoroughly the spray gun simply threads right onto
Don’t try to spray the Raptor from over the sides of the bed, as you’ll end up with thin spots. Climb up into the bed and ensure that you get into the corners, under the bedrails, and on top of the top of the bedrails too. Use rubber plugs or pieces of tape to cover any threaded holes for tie-downs, bed extenders, and so on.
Don’t try to spray the Raptor from over the sides of the bed, as you’ll end up with thin s

With one bottle of Raptor sprayed in our Ranger’s bed, we were able to cover the bedsides and back wall using a medium coat. Your coverage may vary depending upon how many coats you apply, but the Raptor’s four bottles will cover up to a fullsize 8-foot bed.
With one bottle of Raptor sprayed in our Ranger’s bed, we were able to cover the bedsides
Any taped edges, such as the tops of the bedrails here, can be removed immediately after spraying if you want a soft edge. For a more defined/hard edge let the liner dry about 15 minutes before removing the tape. Always pull the tape back against itself at a 45-degree angle for the best line.
Any taped edges, such as the tops of the bedrails here, can be removed immediately after s
The finished Raptor bedliner application looks impressive and will not only add protection to our Ranger’s bed, but increase the truck’s value. All said and done our prep took about six hours and the application of the Raptor bed liner took another hour. For our Ranger we ended up using three of the four supplied bottles of Raptor base material, leaving us a full bottle for future touchups or if we ever decide to add Raptor to our Ranger’s bumpers or possibly some bolt-on wheel flares to cover our 33s.
The finished Raptor bedliner application looks impressive and will not only add protection