Question:

I have a couple of trucks and a trailer that I want to coat. I need to spray the truck beds, one truck exterior, and a trailer.  What product and what spray equipment do I need?

Answer:

Your most commercial quality product and fastest curing would be our Rhino/Line-X Alternative coatings. You can save money with the dealer startup kits (which also discount the cartridge spray gun): https://store.sprayliningandcoatings.com/product/rhino-line-x-alternative-cartridge-start-packages/ . You do need a bit larger air compressor since this gun requires minimum 10 cfm, where the typical requirement is 5 cfm for hopper spray gun application. With the quantity discount applied, your average cost for black per gallon is about $74. Due to polyurea shortages and high demand, black is the only product currently being stocked. Other colors can be provided, but cost is about $20 per gallon higher since they will require custom production. These products are packaged in cartridges which are disposed of after spraying. There’s no mess, and the cure time is under an hour in general, with dry to touch in about a minute. You spray continuously, without waiting for any additional coats, so no need to stop and start your spray application while waiting for the last coat to cure.

The General Application products would provide more options, but the cure time is about 2 hours at 75° F to become thumbprint tacky (at which time a second coat could be applied to verticals), and about 85% cured in about 6 hours. You would need to apply in a warmer spray area, and allow much more time between coats or for final cure. While they don’t have the same specs as the RLA products, they exceed pretty much any of the competition products. Cost per gallon ranges from about $60 per gallon sprayable to about $130 per gallon depending on actual product combinations. For your applications, you would be best (at least initially) with the standard texture hopper for these products. This hopper is inexpensive, and you wouldn’t be spraying enough product per coat to find the gun tiresome.

You are always encouraged to call our Spray Lining and Coatings Sales Support at 855-545-4900 extension 902 with any questions. We are always glad to help.