Linex Ultra

Wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. You're either going to love it or hate it, but to each their own.

This is my second Tundra, first one was a '15 with 300k before I traded in for a brand new '21 Limited in Mesquite Brown. I've had it for just under a year and use it for work, which is in a rural area with 90% gravel roads all day everyday. I took everyone's advice and decided to have it professionally wrapped for paint protection - the problem is, doing the amount and type of driving I do, it ate the 3M wrap up in a matter of months. Chips, scratches, everything even wore through the paint. Living in the Midwest, these are now prone to rust and further damage.

I keep my trucks basically until they die, so resale is not my biggest concern.

I didn't Line-X the truck because the general consensus was that people hated it, it wasn't functional, the entire thing. But now, I have an option to either try and patch a whole bunch of paint, get the paint Kevlar painted (very limited availability) or Line-X the whole thing in a color-matched Ultra coating for protection.

Any insights from the group?

 

my 2 cents. TLDR; I am on the fence about it due to the truck being so new but understanding your useage.

I have seen quite a few FJ cruisers, 4 runners, and jeep wranglers with a linex type coating in Arizona for running in the dessert against the sharp foliage there. It looks good but I don't know how much those people really use their vehicles off road or if they do it just for a look.

I have a friend that did his old farm truck and turned it into his daily driver after he was done with a DIY job. its been on there 5+ years and is holding up great on the parts he did with it. He isn't doing the kind of driving you are and he has rust issues on the underside of the truck but its an 04 ford and it was really beat up before he did it. The salted Midwest winters are pretty hard on things.

I wouldn't hesitate on an older vehicle that has taken its depreciation hit. I would consider doing mine if I still have the truck in 10+ years and it is showing significant wear, as in i would probably be daily driving a different car and want to keep the truck for truck stuff. I'm not sure how I would feel about doing it to a 1 year old truck, even covered in scratches. I had the whole drivers side of my truck repainted due to some blemishes in the paint from the previous owner, looked like brake fluid dripped all over it. Was about 4k to have one side done.

The paint on these trucks seems a lot thinner than the 2010 Tacoma I had.

I really like the look of it, but as someone that used to work in detail I'm not sure how easy it would be to clean.

Another consideration would be trying to match color and texture if you ever ended up needing to replace a panel or fix any damage.

 

I'm honestly on the fence about it too. I was considering painting it but for an actual quality paint job I'm looking at close to 20k versus 8-10k for Linex ultra custom tint. I religiously Fluid Film all our trucks because of the winter and salt usage but my last Tacoma started rusting regardless unfortunately. I appreciate your input, I just don't want to keep throwing money for bandaids when I can take care of it all at once

 

I ran into a paving contractor at the hardware store (yes, a legit, ol skool hardware store) a few years ago that had a Rhino'd Tacoma. He said it was a company truck before he drafted into his hunting rig. After that he saw the job and color, and how it held up, he Rhino'd all of his work trucks. Food for thought.

 

I've seen the ones done professionally and they look great
I think people dislike the look of the ones that are done with spray cans or by people trying it out getting that dull chalky look

Thanks for the insight!

 

I wouldn’t line-X the truck myself, even my old 2000 model which is in need of a new finish. Resale on something covered in rough plastic instead of factory paint is crap. Are there specific areas that are getting chipped and scratched that could be coated with a thicker wrap? Why not treat the spots that are prone to rusting and wrap the whole thing? Are you self employed? A custom wrap might be a business expense that could be written off. A new paint job after 3 months seems ludicrous. Just gonna get messed up again.

 

That was the original plan if it was just the fenders and rocker panels getting eaten up, but theres chips and scratches on the pillars, around the handles and you can see small flecks of surface rust already starting. If it was just a pavement work truck I wouldn't consider it, but its just unmarked country gravel rock quarry roads with brush every which direction about 90% of the time.

 

Professionally done looks good.it is not as thick as the truck bed. I may do to get rid of pin strips in the future

 

It is only going to get more chips in it the way you are using it. I would do it if I had the cash to throw at it. Professionally done ones look legit.

 

Bed mat would be more useful, spray in bedliner is rough on the knees.

 

Best investment I did for my overland rig is to bedline the entire truck. I had it done professionally and the easiest part after dirt play is spray it down with water and air dry. No chemical needed. Wont add more than 25lbs of extra weight and it looks very cool.

 

You could always save some money and have done in a two tone, line x the parts getting all the wear and tear and keep top sides paint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Bv1KL_Mao

 

Did you go to a Lines retailer or just a paintb shop?

 

I had it painted at riverside, ca by someone who specialize in bedliner paint. Its raptor bedliner mix with the color pigment to get the blue.

 

Just dropped by local line-x shop. Mines 21 pro white. Here in Alberta, cities using crappy load of sand and salt on the road in winter which is disgusting. I spent last three years fixing plow trucks. Brand new plow truck I put together came back in a year, I couldn't even look at the bottom of it.

Mine truck two years old, I already have severe rust came out from the bottom on the rocker. Line-x guy told me it's gonna turn a little yellowish after a while but the toughness will never fade away. At this point I don't care too much as long as there is no rust and this is only way to keep this truck as long as possible.

So I'm gonna line-x all four wheel lips and rockers on both sides. That's 2000. Plus color match another 450. So total of 2500 CAD. And looking at an existing done product, it ll be like 2mm thick. It ll give enough protection.

I don't have time to wash the truck every single day hope this will help.