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.