So I'm building myself a custom bumper and wanted opinions as to whether I should use Raptor Liner on the bumper (similar to Linex) or just paint it flat black?

 

I think raptor would look awesome. I want to do my grill and front/rear aftermarket bumpers (once I get them)

 

The raptor liner holds up really well and looks great! I did my last two bumpers with it and have zero complaints. The only time I had any issues with the stuff was when I didn't use the correct primer for my hood louver(Alloy.)
Here is a pic of my last Jeep (Bumpers/Grill were done with the Raptor Liner.)

 

THAT is what I'm talking about. Holy shit, looks great.

 

I concur!

Might have to use that stuff myself when/if I ever decide on which front bumper to get! I'm pretty much set on the JCR standard rear. Looks great and it doesn't weigh much.

I'm eyeing the shrockworks stubby or mid for the front. I just dig the big fat bull bar they use. The 4 month lead time doesn't matter to me, I'm home off work for the next few months after torn pec surgery. That raptor liner makes me want to order it bare so the finish will match front & rear.

 

Thanks!
Here are some pictures of the bumpers on my new Jeep, also done with the Raptor Liner.

 

How does it hold up in the rocks? My biggest concern is durability in real world abuse. This jeep is going to see the Rubicon, Fordyce, Dusy...etc.

 

I don't think any coating will hold up to sliding on a rock, but there were a few occasions I used my front bumper/skid to push me over a muddy wall etc and it didn't flake(It did flatten out the coating a bit.) The good thing is that if you do slide on a rock touching it up is fairly easy.
I had to push over that muddy wall, and it didn't take the coating off.


In the pic below I hit my sliders on a rock, it did take off the coating but it was really easy to fix when I got home. The center section on the slider was merely gloss black paint, and that had to be sanded all the way down to get it to look good again.



Here are my buddies sliders also done with the liner

 

Ok, that's about what I figured. I'm just going to use some matte black paint so I can rattle can it after each wheeling season. Keep it simple and cheap.

 

Just a note if your using regular paint you will probably need to sand the paint down and fix the metal if it has scuffs etc. to get it to look good again. The nicest thing about the liner is the texture and its ability to hide imperfections in the metal. The kit comes with 4 bottles of the stuff for $100. I used 1 bottle to do both bumpers/skid from bare metal(Would require less to touch up.)