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Our Project
Tahoe is closing in on 100,000 miles. We'll admit, last fall we
were seriously considering trading her in. But after three intense
days of test driving new 2003 models to pick SUV of the Year, we
just didn't find much we liked better - and certainly nothing in
the price range our old reliable Tahoe is worth. We could either
plop down the additional $30k and get the new Toyota Forerunner
that turned our heads, or hold loyal to American Made, and make the
best of Kickin' It.
Another factor we had
to consider, is that we are still getting mail on this SUV. Readers
have this vehicle on the road in abundance, and want to know what's
up. Well, as we said, 100,000 hard won miles are the news of the
day, many of them towing ATVs to desert races or mountain trails,
quite of a few of them on gravel roads or worse. The paint was
actually holding up reasonably well, but we admit, cosmetically, it
still looked like every SUV at the PTA meeting. We had never
addressed the "look" of the Tahoe.
SEMA 2002 inspired us. Spray on linings abound, each with it's own
claims. We are huge fans of the spray on protective coatings,
having used it to line the entire tub of a 1973 Chevy Blazer as one
of our first project vehicles over 10 years ago. Great stuff, but
over the years, it's shortcomings have become apparent. The most
common complaint is the oxidizing of the sun, causing color fading
and a chalky white appearance after only a couple seasons. Not all
spray-ons have seen extensive problems with this, but enough have
that we have been hesitant to hit a project vehicle with them
recently.
However, as we said, SEMA 2002
brought us face to face with a new product to throw it's hat into
the ring - PermaTech. We met up with Las Vegas's only authorized
distributor/installer of this product line, and did a little
research.
In 1999, an industry study found
that a spray on bedliner was the #1 accessory buyers of new pickups
intended to purchase. In fact, 1 in 10 said it would be the first
add on they would purchase. With spray liners costing roughly 2 -
3x that of a drop in, what's the attraction? The most obvious is
that they don't trap moisture, so they don't promote rust. They are
virtually impenetrable and impervious to surface impact. There is
also a long-running argument that insists drop in bedliners create
a static build up between the liner and the pickup bed resulting in
fires, especially if flammables are stored or carried in the bed.
But that argument continues to rally back and forth, so we'll leave
it alone.
PermaTech isn't totally new to the
market, only to our area. In 1995, PermaTech was founded mainly to
address the weaknesses of other spray-on products - including to
make it more pliable long-term, better UV stability, and offer more
color choices, including complete color matching. PermaTech
progressed and opened a full dealer training facility in Cleveland
Ohio. Besides the obvious pick up bed liner application, that part
of the country sees much use of the product to combat road salt on
snow plows, agricultural equipment, garbage trucks, tow trucks,
etc. Recently, trailers have become an important application,
providing non-stick surface and extending the life of a wood or
metal flooring.
So spray on linings are a
great idea for pick up beds or trailers - why in the world would we
coat the outside of an SUV? Mainly because of the trail and road
abuse we put our Tahoe through. Gravel roads, brush, flying debris
on the freeway - and the most common - opening doors against
something unseen. And, we'll admit it, with a project vehicle, one
of our goals is to demonstate products and technology you might not
necessarily apply in the same manner, but it may inspire a way-out
idea of your own.
PermaTech fits that bill to
a tee - they offer PermaTallic, a line that includes five metal
flake pigments that can be added to any base color you choose. And
- get this - PermaGlo, the industry's only glow in the dark spray
on lining in four colors. How about taking your rail to Glamis,
with the cage looking gray by day, but glowing blue by night?! A
good solar soak up during the day, provides 10 hours of night
glowing. *We'd love to see this application. If you are considering
it, please contact us and we'll make arrangements to be there to
shoot your vehicle at the PermaTech facility in Vegas, and then out
playing when you're done! Pickup bed, sand rail or Jeep - the
possibilities are endless here. Tell them Off-Road.com sent you,
and they'll cut you a deal, I'm sure.
For our application, there was a vast amount of prep work,
much more than a standard pickup bed would require. Pricing on an
outside spray reflects this labor, as well as the additional amount
of spray material needed. Save yourself a buck or two, and do as
much prep yourself as you can - remove all moldings, plug or fill
the holes you want to remain holes, remove any rust, buff or
scratch the paint over the entire surface that you want the
PermaTech to adhere to. This is probably the hardest part to watch
- but it is necessary.
PermaTech will
carefully tape off the area surrounding your spray surface with a
wire edge tape. This tape allows the wire to be pulled after
spraying, cutting the PermaTech product neatly and cleanly. Pretty
cool thing, much better than standard painting tape, which would be
virtually worthless with the thick PermaTech product.
After taping and roughing up, the vehicle needs to be in a
dust-free enclosure. An air gun is used to blow off the paint
roughings or any dust. Then the vehicle is final taped with plastic
and paper, and wiped down to remove the fine dust remaining.
PermaTech equipment carefully measures the color you want,
adding metal flake if ordered (we choose black base with a large
percentage of royal blue flake, to add sparkle and set off the new
blue paint on the top of the Tahoe). Thorough mixing is key, and
PermaTech let it run for several hours to insure a consistant
distribution of the flake. Spraying is actually the fastest part of
the process, taking only 40 minutes or so do spray the majority of
the Tahoe and the two bumpers. Note - PermaTech did advise that the
material probably would not adhere well to the chrome bumpers. We
asked them to shoot them just for fun - it did adhere, but since we
shot in the dark back corner of the shop, one end did miss a solid
coating. The coating did adhere unexpectedly well, but with the
poor coverage on the one end, we'll be shopping for a new tube
bumper soon anyway.
The only negatives we
had was that since this was the first exterior application they had
done, they had not anticipated so much prep and finish work. They
did an excellent job taping doors, but we are getting some rub on a
back door that seems to sag. To avoid the PermaTech pulling off, we
had to trim a little more and some paint is slightly exposed.
Luckily, our under-color is the original black, so it isn't obvious
any place the PermaTech may be thin or not fully covered. Some of
the trim around the door handles was tricky, so eye where you want
that line to stop to avoid leaving any raised edges.
Also, to get a good heavy coat on a vertical surface, we
did get some drips. These must be hand trimmed when the PermaTech
is totally cured. Or you can leave them, and it just looks like you
have mud running down the door - that's kind of cool too!
The Limited Lifetime Warranty warrants
"that the bedliner installed by the Dealer will be
free from defectsin material and workmanship, and will not warp,
crack or delaminate from the vehicle for as long as the buyer owns
that vehicle."
To make sure your liners
stands up as promissed, you should let it cure for 24 hours. That
means don't wash it or haul heavy loads in the bed if that is the
surface you have lined. Also, if you want to restore the original
shine, use a product like STP Son of a Gun. Don't use
petroleum-based products such as Armor All, unless you want a
really slippery surface. Castrol Super Clean is recommended for
clean up.
Summary
We are thrilled with the look. It does cause a double-take
at all the gas stations or stoplights. We're also really happy with
how easy it is to wash. We do wish we'd planned to actually apply
more - like inside wheel wells and on the frame rails. The new blue
paint is awesome and very striking from the front (really the only
view you see it from), and the PermaTech coating definately has it
looking a little more Commando. The blue metallic doesn't really
show as blue unless you get very close and look straight on with
the sun, but it does give a real sparkle or shine to the textured
black finish. Click on the close-up above, and you can see the
metallic content in the PermaTech surface.
Again, as we mentioned in the article, we'd like
to see the PermaGlo in a real-life application. Let us know if you
are in Nevada or California and plan on customizing your toy with
one of the unique colors they have to choose from.
As you can see, Project Kickin' It has had a great
start on it's face lift - now it's obviously in desperate need of
some new tires, and we'll probably be looking for some wheels to go
with them. We'll have to be under the hood soon as well to give it
some TLC, so it can go another 100k miles! Thanks Chevy, for a
solid ride to build on.
PermaTech of Southern
Nevada
4646 Wynn Road Suite C
Las Vegas NV 89103
702-876-5388
www.Perma-TechNV.com
perma-technv@email.com
Paint & Body repair by
Nevada Auto Collison Center
1635 S Mojave
Road
Las Vegas NV 89104
702-457-2008
*These guys
are great. They came recommended by another shop, and got us in and
the work done on very short notice. We are always looking for
honest mechanics and body shops, and these guys go to the head of
the line in Las Vegas.
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