I agree. I've had Linex in every pickup I've owned and completely understood that unless I went with premium, it would fade. I still think Linex is the best bed liner made.
Check underneath once in a while. Some here have reported their drop-in liner damages the paint.
That was the installers first excuse..... It's not possible though as it has never had soap sit in it, or not get thoroughly rinsed out.
I had mine factory sprayed. Have had it since June 2019 and it looks new (I do have a tonneau cover).
So why do they offer the UV protection for an extra $100 if it doesn’t fade?
As far as I know, Bullet Liners do not offer an extra UV protection... the shop I went to only offered 1 product level - and it already included UV protection against fade of the shine / finish. I've checked a few other dealers, and they all appear to offer the same - 1 single top-grade product.
Back in 2011 when I had my F150, I had the plastic bed liner removed and Linex installed. The truck was 8 months old and the owner of the Linex shop called me in to see the damage the plastic bed liner caused to the bed floor. It was unbelievable how much dirt and sand got under the liner and the complete destruction of the paint/primer. I vowed NEVER to use the drop-in liners again.
all you need to do is go to a used lot and take a look at 5+ year old trucks with bed liners. you can lift them up a little bit and they're a bit rusty under there. i'd imagine the aluminum F-150s don't have the rust problem, but the paint is beat up (but with the bedliner on, who cares, I guess). so yeah, i don't like drop ins.
i've owned a couple sports cars that i used to work every weekend to wash and wax and keep looking nice. so i get the desire to have your stuff look nice... lol, but with that many steps there's a point where i have to stop and say, "it's a friggin truck." to each their own though.
