Project Cross Trainer Gets Rhino Lining

The Jeep is covered and ready to be sprayed. The entry sill is masked off with tape and paper for a clean-cut line during spraying. A real paint booth is not necessary. A disposable plastic booth is used instead. Rhino Linings builds up on the plastic and becomes very heavy after time. The plastic makes clean-up much easier. After being sprayed, the tape and covering is removed and the Jeep is set to dry and cure. This process does not take very long at all. Once we were finished, we could rerun wires to their original locations. Holes were kept in tact during spraying. By pulling the pedals during spraying, we actually got the Rhino Lining further up underneath the dash than Jeep got the paint at the factory! Masking tape was used to mask off the hood and fenders. The result was clean lines throughout when the tape was removed. The flares were set on these frames so each surface could be sprayed completely.

Exterior
We decided to use the Rhino sprayed-on polyurethane lining to protect the other high-wear areas of the Jeep that we mentioned earlier, to cover up all of the trail damage and road wear, and to maintain a stylish look.

We did a spray on "bra," in black to match the factory paint, which would both cover the existing rock chips and protect against new ones. This covered the grill, the tip of the hood and the tip of the fenders. We also included the front bumper, fender flares, rocker guards, and the rear bumper, as well, to complete the look. This covered all of the rock rash and wear that we have given these parts over time, and gave the Jeep a very cool and unique look. We were concerned about the long-term looks and how well the Rhino lining would hold up. We asked lots of questions and here are Rob's answers.

The Rhino lining does stick to the factory flares and flexes just fine. Since they came with factory paint on them, it was an easy application.

We also have a wider set of Warn flares for the Jeep that had to be painted first to make the Rhino lining stick. The quality of the paint job is what will decide if the Rhino lining stays on these flares.

I expected this. I went right out and tested the flares on the trails and a sharp trail obstacle will damage the Rhino. The Rhino Linings dealer can patch this up very easily. The rocks also removed my powder coat and some metal too.

The Verdict is in!
The interior process took Maxair two days, which included an extra couple of hours to change over their equipment from the more typical black to my special tan application. They also removed my tail light wiring harness and throttle pedal to make sure to get the best application. During the process the Jeep was totally taken apart, and was in the Maxair Rhino Linings shop for over a week for the total application.

I was a bit concerned at first. Like most Jeep owners that are use to doing things themselves, I was not totally comfortable leaving my Jeep with someone. What if it looked bad? What if this? What if that? How do you fix a mistake? After all, the Rhino Lining is a permanent install.

When I went to pick the Jeep up I was very pleasantly surprised. Rob is a true artist, and the Jeep looked perfect. The color-match of the interior is exact. You almost have to reach out and touch it to see that it is Rhino Lining and not the factory carpet. This will allow me to take my carpet out in the summer time while retaining a factory look. The texture that I chose is smooth to the touch, but still supplies plenty of traction. The texture itself can be controlled by the person spraying, and I could have asked for a rougher texture. Maxair did an awesome job on the application. The Rhino lining fits every curve of the interior perfectly. The interior looks better with just the Rhino liner in it than with the factory carpet, and definitely better than the bare metal floor did.

Maxair made sure that I could reinstall all of the interior pieces with no problem. They cut out and ran a tap down all of the original bolt holes to make reassembly of the Jeep a snap. I took the Jeep home and within a few hours had the whole interior back in, minus the carpet, of course.

I threw a couple of tools around the Jeep to check for durability as I was putting things back together and could not even scratch the stuff.

The first test drive was amazing. The Rhino lining is the best stereo upgrade I have done yet. It keeps out more noise and vibration than the carpet ever did. It is now very easy for the backseat passenger to hear the front seat passengers on the highway.

The tan interior does show dirt, but it also wipes right off with a little soap and water. The light color should be great in the summer with a dog in the back of the Jeep.

The Exterior!
This was one of my main concerns, but the whole outside of the Jeep turned out very cool! The bra looks good, as do the bumpers, rockers and flares. We have put several thousand miles on the Jeep since the Rhino application was done and there are no signs of rock chips. As I mentioned, I had taken the Jeep straight out to the trail for some testing and was able to scrape the Rhino off on some sharp rocks. However, it is much more durable than paint or powder coating would be. Brushes with trees and other trail obstacles that would have scratched our paint or flares have not even left a mark on the Rhino lining. I have managed to flex the Sahara flares quite a bit and have not experienced any signs of peeling or bubbling. If I do I will keep you posted in the boards.

Final Words
The Jeep looks great inside and out. When I started to take the Jeep apart for the project I was very surprised at how much the interior of the Jeep had worn under the carpet. I had big scratches and whole areas where the paint had been worn off by the carpet. I was also surprised at how dirty and musty my carpet had become. I spent almost an entire afternoon cleaning the carpet to put back in. I plan on running with it in the winter months for added warmth and sound control, but it will come out when the hardtop comes off in the spring and get stored inside to keep it nice.

The Rhino lining has giving us a very durable, good looking, no fuss interior for the summer months. Being cool and easy to wash out is a big plus, as well. The new interior is so durable that I felt it would be a shame to reinstall the factory plastic console and glove box. It was only fitting to upgrade these to the durability of Tuffy Security Products.

The exterior of the Jeep is great. The Jeep has regained its factory-fresh appearance with a little bit of added flare and no more rock chips or scratches from tree branches or shoes on the bumpers or rockers. Since the Rhino sprayed-on polyurethane lining is very resistant to chemicals, too, it should fight off anything they spray on our Colorado roads and spills from trail fixes. This is one of the best all around upgrades we have done yet!