Flatbed trucks
Step 1: Sanding
To ensure good adhesion of the coating onto the metal, we first drive the vehicles into our sanding cabin. We will sand both new cars that are still pristine and older cars that are already full of rust. We do this by thoroughly grit blasting the steel floor board.
Step 2: Pretreatment
We always seal the edges around the truck bed to ensure a watertight finish. If we also have to coat the headboard, we also seal that as well to ensure a seamless transition from horizontal to vertical. In case of seams across the width of the bed, we will also provide those with a line of sealant and make sure it's as even as possible.
Step 3: Applying primer
Polyurea has a good adhesion to sanded metal. But it should not be good, it should be ultimate! That is why we roll a special epoxy layer onto the bed that is specially made for Turbo Liner® hotspray treatments. An additional reason why we apply this layer is to seal the surface so pinholes in the coating can be prevented. After drying this primer overnight, you have a surface that can not match anything in the world.
Step 4: Covering and masking
The vehicle is carefully covered with paper and plastic to prevent damage to the paint and to ensure that there is no coating where it does not belong (overspray). We will also use tape to make sure all small items are covered as well. In addition to the normal tape, we use a special tape, with a cutting wire in it, that is carefully applied to the margins to where the coating must go so that at the end of the ride we can cut through the 2 to 3 mm thick layer of coating.
Stap 5: Coating
After the primer has dried overnight, we can start with the real deal: applying the Turbo Liner® hotspray. This is done with a two-component high-pressure machine and an airless gun. The two separate polyurea components are heated and transferred through a heated hose combination to the airless gun. When we pull the trigger of the gun, the polyurea components are pressed together under very high pressure (135 bar). This immediately creates a reaction on a molecular level from which a plastic coating develops. The material is 'dry' after 2 to 3 seconds, so you have to spray very accurately. First the corners and the edges are being sprayed and then strip after strip, layer after layer will be applied.
Stap 6: Texturing
When the floor is covered with approximately 3 mm coating it is time for a small inspection. If irregularities are found, they can be fixed immediately, if necessary, it is even possible to sand down the coating in between layers.But after that, it's time to add texture. This is done by carefully applying puffs of coating from a distance with a mist spray. We do this with a special stroke of the gun so the mist gets everywhere and is evenly distributed. This creates the characteristic robust Turbo Liner® look that makes the truck bed look tough and makes the surface more anti-slip / non-skid.
Step 7: Unpack
After the coating has been applied, the cutting wire is carefully pulled through the coating. Then everything is checked and in case of minor irregularities, some finishing touches can be done. After all that is done the car is cleaned of and the rest of the car will be unpacked. All the paper and plastic covering will be removed. Time to drive the flatbed truck out of the spray booth and into the sunlight to admire.