Question:

I would be interested in your Rhino / Line-X polyurea cartridge dealer startup kit. I’ll check my compressor tonight to see the rating. It is a bigger compressor so I might be all right. What is the air dryer you mention, and do I need it?

Answer:

Air dryers come in various forms. The most expensive are usually refrigerated dryers which don’t require desiccant replacement or reactivation. The most affordable are usually desiccant dryers which require you to replace, or sometimes to recharge (by drying in oven or such) the desiccant. You can see some examples at: https://www.grainger.com/category/pneumatics/compressed-air-treatment/desiccant-air-dryers .

While any coating or paint will have issues with a spurt of condensation, these coatings cure very rapidly, are thick, and are reactive to moisture until cured. The coating will blister if you get a spurt of moisture onto the surface and spray over it. That just means a little bit of sanding and spraying over the spot with a typical paint job. You would require more effort to remove, feather, and respray a bedliner product.

Our best recommendation is to also check with your local automotive finishes supplier. All paint shops of any reputation would be using a dryer for the air supply, so whatever their supplier recommends is worth considering. This may vary from one locality to another.

You should also be fully draining your air compressor daily, or at least weekly. The condensation can destroy your tank, and the excess moisture will require you to replace the desiccant (if not refrigerated type) very often. Oils (if not oil free compressor) can also collect when tanks are not drained properly.  These oils may not be fully removed with a desiccant dryer alone. An air dryer which also includes a chamber to filter oils and contaminants will avoid many situations where you need to repair spots in a bedliner.

Repairing Bedliner Blisters:

Spot repairs to to bed liners can still be made when using our RLA polyurea cartridges. Repairs will probably require less than a full cartridge however. You should plan to have extra mixing tubes if you can’t guarantee a completely dry air supply. The mixing tubes can’t be purged or reused after spraying is started. We also have smaller mixing tubes which may be beneficial if you think you may be spraying smaller areas.

Most issues with polyurea bedliner jobs are caused by poor prep, or lack of attention to the application process itself. Get in touch with us at 855-545-4900 ext. 901 for specific recommendations.