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Point Of View: 'Protect' the Truck with a Spray-On Bedliner? Consumers May Face Nasty Surprises

PORTAGE, Wis., July 2 -- Look before you spray. That's the warning to light-truck owners considering protecting their truck beds with a "spray-on" bedliner. Recent studies, and the experiences of truck owners across North America, demonstrate that vehicle protection is a key shortcoming of this expensive new category of truck accessory.

"If the point of the bedliner is to protect the truck, a spray-on liner is the worst investment you can make, both from a performance and cost standpoint," said Tom Anderson, director of engineering for Penda Corp., a leading truck accessories manufacturer. "Unfortunately, thousands of consumers get talked into paying twice as much for a liquid bedliner in spite of the fact that multiple studies have shown that these products don't stand up to everyday wear and tear."

Spray-on bedliners, now widely available through franchised distributors and other dealers, provide just one-tenth the abrasion resistance and one-half the dent resistance of today's leading drop-in bedliners, according to recent studies conducted by third-party research firms.

Perhaps the most powerful indictment of spray-on liners, however, is the damage caused by the installation process: In order to properly install a spray-on liner, the dealer must grind off the truck bed's factory finish. This step alone could void the truck's paint warranty. In fact, General Motors now considers the installation of a spray-on liner "excessive damage" to the truck's body.

The limited protection provided by a spray-on liner depends in large part on the technician wielding the spray gun: Any thin spots, voids or other imperfections caused by carelessness or a desire to maximize profitability on the job can quickly undermine the liner's effectiveness.

"No consumer is going to be able to stand in the spray booth and monitor the application process or measure the thickness of the liner across the entire truck body surface," Anderson said. "Basically, you're paying for the privilege of trusting that the technician has treated your truck like he would his own."

Leading drop-in bedliners, which typically are half the cost of spray-on liners, provide a consistent lining thickness that serves as a highly effective barrier to abrasion, dents, caustic chemicals and other causes of damage. Many drop-in liners feature precision-molded load-bearing contours that act as crush zones to absorb the energy of heavy impacts.

By comparison, a heavy impact to a spray-on liner may result in a dent to the truck body itself.

Spray-on liners are also far more susceptible to sun-induced fading. A recent study conducted by Union Carbide Corp. found that leading spray-on liners exhibited noticeable signs of fading after just 2,000 hours of exposure to ultra-violet light.

"Poor dent protection, poor abrasion protection, poor fading characteristics and the fact that you could be voiding your paint warranty -- these are the risks associated with many spray-on liners," Anderson said. "The bottom line is consumers need to avoid expensive gimmicks when it comes to protecting their trucks."

Truck accessories manufacturers urge consumers to visit a new website, www.bedlinerfacts.com , for a complete list of considerations related to the selection of a bedliner for any light truck.