I used ear plugs - they work greatThis is on my list to do as well, did you use ear plugs to plug the threaded holes?
I always wonder about painting this area as well. It looks like there is enough room in there.
I know, that is where I got the idea from, What do you think of spraying to the black or to the red line?
Thank you, I work for an airline and I proposed that we pain one plane as a pig, then have advertisements (yea, when Pig's fly) Obviously too radical for them and might offend Jewish and Muslim travelers. Oh well. I am not worried about removing the hardware to extend the bed paint. Not having a Mav yet, my only concern is clearance but I think there is a lot of space between the tail gate and the corner.
what did you sand it with? and then did you alcohol wipe it down afterwards?After much consideration, I decided to DIY a bedliner in my 23 XLT. I wanted to make a quick post here to hopefully help anyone else thinking of taking on the project themselves.
First, here are the before, during, and after results:
Why? I like the look and durability on the SIBL. I didn't love the drop in bedliner from ford, or the fact that you have to make some cuts to the plastic in order to fit over the cubbys, which I plan on eventually outfitting with some marine outlets down the line. I have always liked the look of SIBL on past trucks, and bought the maverick with a very DIY attitude. I want to do everything on this truck myself. Doing projects like this is the exact reason I bought the darn thing in the first place
How much? Overall I spent less that $200. The Raptor Liner was about $150, drop cloth, tape, new drill bits, etc was all about 30 ish bucks?
Also, it is important to note that I had access to borrow an air compressor, so I did not have to rent or buy one. If you plan on buying one just for this project, maybe look into getting it professionally done because your costs will most likely be close to the same in total. Just a thought.
How long? It took a long damn time. Probably longer than it needed to, but I was very meticulous because this is my first new vehicle ever. I started at 7am and wrapped up at about 4pm. The taping and laying of the drop cloths took the longest. Sanding was a breeze honestly because the paint in the bed is really thin. It reinforced my thinking that getting a spray it was the best way to go for the bed. The actual spraying was maybe 30 or 45 mins. Clean up took a while too.
Would you do it again? For me, yes. But I really enjoyed the process and experience of working on my own truck. If you don't get that sense of fulfillment, then definitely just spend the extra like 300 bucks and get it professionally done by LineX or use ford points and get the drop in bedliner if its all the same to you. For me not only was saving money a plus, but being able to stand back and see a successful project was worth it to me.
Things you wish you knew before hand?
- Get some Frog tape. I used the blue painters tape but was not satisfied and it made the whole thing take longer. A better tape will stand up to the random gusts of wind and stick better during a hot day.
- Have a helper. Someone to hold the air compressor hose for you and make sure you are getting the liner on every bump and hidden spot in the bed.
- Wear a mask, gloves, long sleeves, and plenty of drop cloths. This stuff is sticky and very annoying to get off skin.
- Understand the screw size inside of your bed. For my 2023 XLT, the tailgate screws are Torx T25, the clamps and T30, and the D rings are Torx Plus T40. The D rings were a major pain to get out. I ordered the wrong bit size and had to use the normal T40 bit to get them out. It took an impact drill and a lot of finesse to loosen them. I had trouble finding the screw size info anywhere online, so if I am wrong still, maybe someone can clarify in the comments.
- I cut some bed dividers based on this pic that has been floating around. After I finished spraying the bed, I sprayed my boards with the liner too. They came out really nice and I like how my dividers match the liner and kind of blend in. If you use Raptor liner, you will for sure have an entire bottle left over, so maybe something to do while you have all the gear out.
- From looking at pics in the forum, the factory bedliner from ford sprays right up until the lip of the back window, but leaves the top (where the window meets the bed) exposed. The LineX spray covers all the way up the bed until it hits the window. I opted to do the second option. One cool thing of doing it yourself means you get to choose what you think looks best. If you put a cover on the bed, you will never see it, but if not I like how the liner covers all the way to the window for a more finished look.
In conclusion... Please let me know if you have any questions about DIY bedliner. It was my first go at it and I really enjoyed the process and appreciated all of the knowledge already shared in this forum.
