Gecko Basket Rack - Line-x or paint?

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:20 pm

We have a RL Gecko Basket Rack that will be ready to install soon. I'm debating between Line-x or painting it. Thoughts?

The advantage of Line-x is that I will be done with it and won't have to worry about touching it up.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:35 pm

LINE-X
just from experience :wink:

I mean mines held up really good,
but if I was doing it over I'd go for the LINE-X

Oh nice picture of my roof and rack :wink:

KJ/toy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:36 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

We have a RL Gecko Basket Rack that will be ready to install soon. I'm debating between Line-x or painting it. Thoughts?

The advantage of Line-x is that I will be done with it and won't have to worry about touching it up.

I painted mine...Never thought about Line-x and be done with it....next time for sure...

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:13 pm

tommudd wrote:

LINE-X
just from experience :wink:

I mean mines held up really good,
but if I was doing it over I'd go for the LINE-X

Oh nice picture of my roof and rack :wink:

Yeah, I'm thinking that Line-X is the way to go. Oh yeah, the picture is courtesy of Reverend Mudd and hosted by RL. :mrgreen:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:21 pm

KJ/toy wrote:

I painted mine...Never thought about Line-x and be done with it....next time for sure...

I've got plans to use mine quite a bit. Sliding things on and off the rack will scratch the paint. I need something that's going to be durable. RL said that Line-X would be good for a roof rack. He also suggested, as an option, to PlastiDip it. I guess the guys next to him are authorized PlastiDip installers. Apparently they are shooting entire trucks with that stuff.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:53 pm

He was telling me about the plasticdipped place next door. I think though LineX is the way to go. I have had to touch mine up 4-5 times over the years from hauling stuff up there

Gageraid · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:02 pm

IMO plastidip would be a horrible idea. I love it for my rims and other things, but if you're going to actually use the rack, it's going to get removed from the contact and constant rubbing. Great cheap stuff, but I wouldn't use it for that.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:17 pm

Bedlined mine,much better then paint or that junk they call plastidip.I'd rather let it rust being bare steel then use plastidip.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:39 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Bedlined mine,much better then paint or that junk they call plastidip.I'd rather let it rust being bare steel then use plastidip.

Troy, I remember seeing yours right after you sprayed it. Back then you had a few toolboxes on top, which would definitely require bedliner of some sort to hold up to that abuse. :lol:

Okay, so Line-X is the way to go. I'll contact RL to find out if he has a local Line-X place close by.

MoD · **Joined:** Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:53 am **Posts:** 1343

mine is coated with rubberized undercoating let's see how that holds

Gageraid · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:21 am

tjkj2002 wrote:

Bedlined mine,much better then paint or that junk they call plastidip.I'd rather let it rust being bare steel then use plastidip.

Trust me, plastidip actually serves a purpose rather than being called junk.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:23 am

Just like bedliner, there are various degrees and qualities of plastidip. I'm sure a high quality plastidip would be fine for a roof rack assuming the roof rack was going to be used for luggage and other types of nonabrasive cargo. I don't think Rock Lizard would have recommended his neighboring PlastiDip shop if he didn't think it would be purposeful for my application. Either way, I'm going with Line-X! :mrgreen:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:31 am

tommudd wrote:

He was telling me about the plasticdipped place next door. I think though LineX is the way to go.

We are looking at a place called "Impact Coatings by LINE-X" located in Springfield, not too far from his shop.

mredmond · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:18 pm

Would you guys recommend bedlining rock rails as well, or will it tear off of those upon contact with a rock?

I had Line-X in my last truck and that stuff seemed indestructible, but then again, I never banged my truck bed against rocks. And if it did ever come off, it wouldn't be quite easy to touch up...

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:36 pm

mredmond wrote:

Would you guys recommend bedlining rock rails as well, or will it tear off of those upon contact with a rock?

I had Line-X in my last truck and that stuff seemed indestructible, but then again, I never banged my truck bed against rocks. And if it did ever come off, it wouldn't be quite easy to touch up...

Personally I would never LINE-X rockrails
I've seen it done and once its gouged its harder to touch up, unless you have the tools and mix right there
hammer tone paint is pretty tough, easy to respray and keeps them looking good
just my opinion, which is worth less than a cup of coffee at Micky Ds :wink:

mredmond · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:48 pm

tommudd wrote:

Personally I would never LINE-X rockrails
I've seen it done and once its gouged its harder to touch up, unless you have the tools and mix right there
hammer tone paint is pretty tough, easy to respray and keeps them looking good
just my opinion, which is worth less than a cup of coffee at Micky Ds :wink:

That's actually what my concern was, but after seeing so many people Line-X bumpers and other armor accessories on Wranglers, I didn't know if the stuff was like impenetrable. But maybe they're just using that military bomb-proof grade Line-X

Ted15 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:53 pm

mredmond wrote:

tommudd wrote:

Personally I would never LINE-X rockrails
I've seen it done and once its gouged its harder to touch up, unless you have the tools and mix right there
hammer tone paint is pretty tough, easy to respray and keeps them looking good
just my opinion, which is worth less than a cup of coffee at Micky Ds :wink:

That's actually what my concern was, but after seeing so many people Line-X bumpers and other armor accessories on Wranglers, I didn't know if the stuff was like impenetrable. But maybe they're just using that military bomb-proof grade Line-X

Or they're not taking them off road :shock:

mredmond · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:00 pm

Ted15 wrote:

Or they're not taking them off road :shock:

Good point. I guess most of those that I've seen equipped like that have been the $50,000 JKUs down at the dealer. Not sure how many people would want to go out and stress test the durability of their newly bought beautiful $50K machine. Such an ironic tragedy that the most capable vehicles spend their days looking good at the mall while we blaze the wilderness in our lowly Libertys... :-)r

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:23 pm

Line-x is extremely durable. I've seen my Dad use his frontend loader to dump a full bucket of large rocks (small boulders) into his line-x'd truck bed with no ill-effects. He has also used the frontend bucket to move the rocks around with no ill-effects. In the above scenario, the rocks freely moved and the line-x did it's job. Now, If you're off-roading and hit a boulder that isn't budging, then the slider rail will rub much more harshly and could potentially damage the Line-x.

I personally didn't buy rock rails to rock crawl, instead, I bought rock rails to keep logs from flipping up and hitting the side panels and to keep high vegetation from rubbing the side of my Jeep. I also ordered mine with the outer slider bar for added protection but also to give me a platform to stand on when getting stuff off the roof. When painted, the rocks rails are slick. The Line-x gives you a little more friction making them less slick.

I plan to Line-x my rock rails sometime soon. If I ever needed a touch up, my line-x dealer is fantastic about doing small projects for little to no charge.

I think Tom has a valid point for those who plan to abuse their Jeep or who don't want to fork out the cash for Line-x. It doesn't take a lot of time to touch the rails up with hammer tone paint while keeping the cost minimal. I've had my rock rails since 2008 and I'm ready to be done with it! I find that my outer bars gets hit with rocks frequently, so I'm tired of touching it up.

arengant · **Posted:** Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:05 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

The advantage of Line-x is that I will be done with it and won't have to worry about touching it up.

have you seen USAFcop's rack? I believe he sanded the roughest parts of line-x down. Looks good on his rack!

Gecko Basket Rack - Line-x or paint?

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