I keep hearing great things about rhino liner... I got a free sample in the mail about a year ago and I zip-tied it to my grill to see how it would hold up. It still looks as good as when I put it on there.

I've had this idea floating in my head to have the whole nose clip of my 76 sprayed with rhino, but I'm not sure if it would look good or not. What I would do first is find a body shop to weld all the seams, to make the nose as "one piece" as possible. I would have the grill trim welded to the header panel as well. This way, the only things not sprayed would be the grill and the headlight bezels.

I wonder if flames could be sprayed with rhino? That way may car bra could extend into flames on the hood, but they's have to be short ones, not stupid pitchfork flames. Would these be prone to peeling if it can in fact be done?

I've also heard that rhino can be sprayed without the texture, so it is smooth.

Would this look cheesy? what about spraying interior plastic trim, or a dash?

HUH? :?

I'd say you could do it but I can't imagine why you would. For a spell GM used something like Rhino Liner on the rockerpanels of some cars. It was oversprayed with paint that has a flexable additive. It kept rocks from damaging the bottom portion of the paint job. It was also a rough finish to a degree and when it peeled it looks really bad.

I'm not sure welding up the front clip entirely would be a great idea. I would think that the amount of flex in it would give way to cracks. But I am open to new stuff as long as its someone else's truck. :D

... :?

I know that I have seen an entire 91 suburban done in that spray on coating. They guy said it was his hunting vehicle and he got tired of worrying about scratching the paint. 8O
I also know they spray the floorboards of jeeps with it. So it's possible
And there was no extra welding needed either.
I've also seen a guy with a 69 impala that has his wheelwells done it in it in a flame red color. His paint job is black so it kinda looks like his car is on fire.

Having watched it get applied to my El though it doesn't seem like a process that lends itself well to flame designs. The stuff goes everywhere and takes a lot of prep work to keep it from ending up where it shouldn't be.

One more thing, if you do a custom color they usually won't guarantee the liner for more than a year. Apparently the pigment they have to add to the mix weakens the bonding compounds. Another thing is cleanup. All of these liners start catching dirt from day one. They aren't that easy to clean up and an entire front clip could be a real pain for you. Imagine spending 3 hours with a stiff bristle brush and a bucket of soap just to clean your hood!

good luck whatever you decide.
:o

NO!!
I would not recommend it as an "Outside" finish. It works great on floor pans, wheel wells and inside cargo boxes but is a bit too rough for a finished surface.
I would recommend "Rockguard" for painted areas of the vehicle, it flows out smoother and gives a better finish. But I would still limit it to lower Rockers and doors..

It looks like there are a lot of reasons for NOT doing this Rhino Lining thing on the front clip. Is there any reason for doing it?

It looks like there are a lot of reasons for NOT doing this Rhino Lining thing on the front clip. Is there any reason for doing it?

You'd never have to paint the car again but you would have to use a scrub brush to wash it.

If you chose the color orange people may come up to your car and ask you if it's a sunkist. That could be fun.

You could definitely get rid of any annoying hood or body squeaks. Course the hood we be about 10 punds heavier.

The texture of the liners is kind of bumpy like a landau top. So maybe your car would go faster! Like back in the old nascar days when Richard Petty was driving Pontiacs with landau tops.

If you chose white you could put a big Titelist or Ping logo on the hood since the texture would be bumpy like a golf ball ( goes with the landau top idea above )

If you got mad and started beating on your hood with your fists you wouldn't have to worry about dents.

And in that vein, it will cover up that little boo boo you made when yoo closed the hood but forgot to trim the air cleaner stud on your new carburetor..

8)

Yeah, keep going, youre talking me into painting my entire Elky with Rhino Lining. Does it come in spray cans?

Nah, comes in barrels...

But once it's sprayed on, boy what fun! If you got it in black you could use it as a solar oven and have easy cleanup just like teflon pans!

Parking lot dents would be a thing of the past!

You'd never have to polish chrome trim again!

NEver ever buy car wax again!

The guys at the automatic car wash would give you strange looks!

Weatherstripping? we don need no stinking weatherstripping!

Bird droppings would never, ever ruin the finish!

:P :D

My Dad had his 86 Chevy truck rhino lined on the sides from the trim down to the bottom it came out pretty good and he doesn't have to worry about rock chips in the rocker panels anymore. I could get you some pics if you want see what i'm talking about.

Chris

I think Rhino Lining belongs on a rhinoceros.

Yes, I think the rhino's are probably missing their linings pretty badly...

:-D

My 74 I just got has a spray in bed liner and it looks like they used the same stuff on the back wall on the interior. Doesn't look too bad. I can try and snap some pics for you if you like.

My 74 I just got has a spray in bed liner and it looks like they used the same stuff on the back wall on the interior. Doesn't look too bad. I can try and snap some pics for you if you like.

Congrats on the new Elky!

Liner could be a rhino, inyati, line-x or some other brand. They usually shoot them on the sides as well as the bed itself. I saw your pictures when you were looking at it and it looked like the coating was sprayed all the way up the sail panels. That could be a good thing as the bodywork by the rear window at the top was pretty ugly from the factory.

:-D

Speaking or Rhino Lining, the bed of my elky is covered with a Rhino Lining Clone. But if I ever sell it, I won't represent it as Rhino Lining, but I don't know what will happen 2 or 3 owners down the road. So...... :lol:

My real question is: Has anyone ever cut through the lining and done it cleanly? When I had the bed done, I made the mistake of having the front floor panel covered over. I'd like to hinge the panel or just make it removable. Any ideas on cutting the panel loose? I don't want to make too much of a mess of it.

About the only thing I could think of that could give you a clean line would be to score the outline of the cover with a sharp razor and follow up with a dremel tool's cutting disks. I think a torch would screw up the material and might even catch it on fire.

Just some ideas there..

8-)

I think that you are right about the razor & dremel. I'll stockup on a box of blades for the box knife & a bunch of cutting discs foor the dremel. I'd suppose that anything bigger than the dremel would make some ugly cuts.
rick

The problem with any spray on lining is if you get a scratch or bubble in it water will get between it and the metal. The water can not evaporate an rust will quickly begin. Ever notice a vinyl top with bumps in it? I would not recommend any type of do it yourself spray over a painted surface. Trust me, I learned the hardway with a 79 Jeep CJ5. After restoring it I thought it would be a good ideal to undercoat it myself. After about a year and one season of winter driving my floor started rusting out again.

Well the point is well taken but the liners we are talking about don't come in a can unless you consider a 55 gal drum a can :-D

I can hit mine with a stiff wire brush on a drill and not even make a nick in it. The stuff is usually sprayed on with a catalyst that hardens in about 15 minutes. Usually 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. I had to drill one hole in mine for a spare tire hold down and the material did not come loose from the metal around the hole. That was 3 years ago.

I would definitely be suspicious of anything I painted on from a can bought at autozone though.

:-D

Yeah I was surprised by henson63's comment. A coating of Rhino lining, underseal etc. over any properly prepared painted metal surface is certainly going to give it more protection. I do know that some patch panels available today are made from very poor steel produced overseas and the rusting out of these panels is due more to their poor quality and not the failure of the protective coating. I'm wondering if this is the problem that henson had with his Jeep?

Yeah must be a low percentage of nickel in the steel or someting. That or maybe not getting rid of loose paint and such. I know I did a lot of work with a wire brush before I had mine sprayed on. fixed some dents in the wheelwell bumps too. I didn't primer it though as they told me it would actually stick to the clean metal better than if I put it over primer. 8-)

ok but getting back to the original topic why would you want to spray that on your front clip it would look awful .... and imagine trying to sell the car after that abortion......

Geez, I can't believe how much negative impact I got from this. It doesn't seem that ridiculous to me. The front clip on a fourth gen minus the grill is not a lot of surface area, it would just be like a permanent car bra. Anyway, I'll throw the front clip idea out the window for the good of our collective conciousness, but what about spraying interior panels or a dash? No one commented on that. I have used vinyl dye on interior parts but it scratches off too easily...and what about that cracked dash? Dash pads IMHO are about the ugliest things ever, so what other solutions are there? any comment on this?

I'm not sure how well it would adhere to a vinyl dash.

but what about spraying interior panels or a dash? No one commented on that. I have used vinyl dye on interior parts but it scratches off too easily...and what about that cracked dash? I actually took a console up to see if Rhino would spray it for me. They told me that it wouldn't adhere to the material. :(

that stuff is nasty go cover your dash with leather or whatever anything but rhino ....id rather have a cracked dash than a rhino dash...... sorry for being so negitive but cmon man