Rhino Line the Interior?

[TheITAdmin]

Any thoughts on Rhino Lining the interior? Pro's and Con's?

[JackMcCornack]

Hello The, I'm approving your post out of curiosity--you must have some thoughts re Rhino Lining the interior or you wouldn't have brought it up. Why would you want to do that? Are you building a Locost and considering RhinoLining on your own build?

And welcome to LocostUSA. Take a quick look at the guidelines in Forum Announcements and dive on in.

[TRX]

I've considered it myself. It's a lot tougher than paint, and the interior of a 7 is a lot more like a pickup truck bed (exposed to the elements) than a sedan, or even a convertible.

I don't know about "Rhino Liner" specifically, but there are newer bed liner coatings that aren't nearly as thick and heavy as the old ones, and seem to be just as tough in service.

[TheITAdmin]

Im thinking of a Rhino Liner type of interior for a number of reasons. Yes this is for my own build and yes its a Locost 7. I am considering it due to the following:

Improved durability for the interior
Its an open air vehicle so its better for weather and sun
It will provide increased sound deadening
It is waterproof
It is way cheaper than upholstery
It comes in different colors

[JackMcCornack]

Interesting points, The.

The only negative that comes to mind is it's heavier than paint. That, and it makes future modifications (at least those that call for welding) more difficult. Two things then. And for the interior it's probably more expensive than paint, so three things. Would you paint first, and then Rhinoline it?

How's you Locost project going so far? Are you ready to start a build log?

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

I was considering bedliner material, vinyl mat, or molded carpet for the tracker.
I decided against the liner because future welding/repair can be a nightmare and the coating shows every imperfection in the floor (not a problem for a locost).

Since the tracker is more miata than jeep, it's keeping carpet.
Instead of molded, it will be old-school unmolded berber low loop with the thinnest felt rug matting for underlayment/jute I can find and contact cement.

If you perforate the floor, condensation/dew will collect under the dash and on the bottom of everything.
You could just fit an aluminum floor with a few rubber plugs but put the electronics under the bonnet above the foot well and use marine sealed switches. There is an adhesive backed rope edging for carpet that works great for custom fit floor mats.

[ZiG]

I used POR-15 roll on bedliner for the floor (and underbody) on my build. I see many cars with the paint worn away in the footwells, and hope that the bedliner will help with that, though it's too early to make that call. I don't think the weight difference is measurable in my case, and it's easy to touch it up later if need be.

[rx7locost]

Steel or aluminum floors can be very slippery surfaces This makes getting in or out a bit difficult, especially with wet shoes. I also found that the heels of my feet felt unplanted on the pedals. I simply bought indoor/outdoor carpeting and glued it to the floor. That solved all of my perceived issues.

Bedliner on the sides could possibly solve one other problem I found. The stones that get kicked up to the car can find their way into the crevices between the frame members and the sheet metal. They are very difficult to remove once they vibrate deep into the crevices. A heavy bedliner could seal those gaps. I had one such stone find its way such that it actually made a convex dent thru my 0.040 aluminum side panels and could be easily noticed, at least by me. I ended up caulking all of the top joints to prevent this from occurring again.

[Roadog7]

I used about a half quart of Kustom Kolor liner rolled on. No regrets - holds up well and made a "fresh start". Be sure to treat rust, clean, and prime first. Also use a good respirator. It's toxic stuff.

[TooBusy]

I did my Mini inside and out a few years ago when I had it all blown apart. Talked with the guy who bought it a while back and he loves it. Car is much quieter. Nearly all of the rattling and buzzing is gone.