Group Urges Area Truck Owners To Do Homework Before Choosing Bedliner

Wrong Choice Can lead to Immediate Damage to Truck's Factory Finish, According to Bedlinerfacts.com

PHOENIX, April 27 -- Choosing a truck bedliner should result in long-term protection for the vehicle's factory finish, not immediate damage in the form of severely scuffed paint and/or exposed sheet metal.

Yet that's the prospect for consumers who choose the wrong liner technology for their vehicles, according to Penda Corporation, a leading supplier of truck accessories sold in the Phoenix area.

"Bedliners are supposed to protect your truck over the long term," said Phoenix-area Penda representative Jeff Gloden. "If the liner isn't engineered to preserve the vehicle's factory finish and absorb impacts and abrasions that would otherwise damage the sheet metal, it's not the right choice."

Gloden points to "spray-on" bedliners -- chemical coatings that are applied by franchise dealers and other small businesses -- as a technology to avoid.

"When you drop off your new truck at a spray-on dealer, you might not understand what they're going to do to the vehicle during the installation process," Gloden said. "They might not tell you they're going to sand or scuff the factory finish to improve the chances of their product sticking; they're charging you to damage the finish you want to protect in the first place."

Gloden suggests truck owners compare the long-term protection performance available through leading bedliner products, including the new generation of drop-in liners. Recent tests indicate that top-of-the-line drop-ins -- which typically are less expensive than spray-ons -- provide significantly better protection against dents, abrasion and other types of truck-bed damage. Additionally, the installation of a drop-in lining does not require the dealer to sand or scuff the factory finish.

"If you're looking for an effective barrier to scrapes and dents, a premium drop-in is the far better investment," Gloden said. "If you're looking for a technology that won't damage the factory-guaranteed finish during installation, a drop-in is the smart choice. There's simply no reason to spend a lot of money on a spray-on -- it's a bad decision for your truck and your wallet."

Gloden also reports that recent independent tests showed that spray-on linings can be highly susceptible to sunlight-induced fading, leading to a less attractive finish after only a few months of service.

For more information, visit www.bedlinerfacts.com .