Truck box liner instead of paint

[Gene-C]

I drive my buggy in some pretty tough bush, and the paint gets chipped up and scratched really fast. I saw a Jeep the other day that had truck bed liner over the exterior and, not only did it look really cool, but the owner said it was almost indestructable. Has anyone done this on a buggy (other than the sides or floorpan)? Are you happy with the results?

[Gene-C]

I haven't done it but was planning to. I have talked to lots of 4wd drive guys and they say they wouldn't paint there car any other way. Plus with bed liner you don't need to have perfect body work. You can leave some of the holes and dings and no one will be able to tell. The only draw back I can see is the weight of it. But it is a fiberglass so it will still be lighter than a standard bug.

[newmanx59]

Remember that bedliner fades...red becomes pink, black becomes gray, etc. Oil and a few other chemicals attack it and if you ever want to sell the buggy you may have troubles because most people want shiny buggys. :2cents:

[shaihulud]

I agree with newmanx about trying to sell a vehicle with an intentionally ugly paint job. Some years ago I had a bicycle custom built for me for me. It had Renolds 531 double butted tubing, Campagnolo dropouts, Campagnolo Record and Super record fittings including a Ralley deraileur, 52 to 36 front cogs and 42 to 13 rear cogs, Mavic wheels, Cinelli handle bars, a Brooks saddle, braided cables with 49 wires in them, etc., etc. It cost a bomb and it was fabulous to ride. In 8 years of daily riding it never needed to be adjusted. I had it painted in a daggy brown colour without labels. I could hide it in a rack of flash shiny bikes when I was at work and I never got stolen. What kept it from being stolen was what made it difficult to sell. People could not see past the ugly paint job to see its exellent engineering.