another bed floor?

I have been working "buff" a lot lately do to me being layed off and i am getting to the point of tinning out the box. it is a short box fleet side. so here my question's 1. 14 ga diamond plate or 16 ga flat steel. 2. how much of bitch is it to paint diamond plate. 3. if i do a spray in liner will it hide the diamond plate(the place i called was not sure and said they could do a test piece if i had a chunk. )4.what would a good all round color for a liner with the color combo's listed below.
a little more on the truck,it is being built kid friendly, so i will be hauling the kid stuff and parts. the tail gate is welded shut with a bed depth of 16". the bed floor frame is 1" sq tube and jeep style trailer fenders installed. final color is still up in the air but it is narowwed down to chome yellow with wood grain stripes,dark dark gray, or satin black with blood red flake stripeing. Thanks for the input Trout

 

Trout,
Sounds like you've got an awesome ride in the works

 

If you are actually going to use the bed to haul stuff, the 16 G will dent and ding way to easy. Is the bottom side of the diamond plate smooth? I presume you want the smooth look? If you install the diamond plate bottom side up and have the bedlinner installed it should fill any dips in the metal. When I did my truck bed, I used 12 g diamond plate, bumps up. Still got a couple dents....Gene

 

opps, i should of spelled out better. i would run bumps up on the diamond plate.all i plan on hauling will be like coolers, suit cases, playpens, spare tire for long road trips. also a 4x8 sheet of 16 ga is $65 vs $100 for 14ga diamond plate, so there is a big cost diffence.
gene, how did you attach your floor?
inxs, the truck is actuly a '78 chevy suburban that is being converted into a crew cab unibody short box. it now sports blazer quarters and a 10" longer wheel base but is 3" shorter over all than a stock sub. i realize that it not hamb material but the hamb has helped me figure out a lot of stuff when it comes to sheet metal. so let the flogging begin. Trout

 

1st Diamond plate is heavy
2nd Diamond plate is ugly
3rd Diamond plate has no business on a streetrod/hotrod/ratrod

These are just my opinions, but I believe the lie with the majority.

16 gauge would be the way to go. Or go find a latemodel bed and cut the floor out of it to get the corrogated look and ridgity back.

One thing I've wanted to try is a stainless bed kit, but rather than running wood stringers run sheet steel.

 

I went with the late model style corrogated 2' X 4' panels. About $25 each.

 

Throw in a marine plywood. It'll wear well and look good.
Stain it to match the other wood accents. If you want to get fancy you can buy regular steel runners (there cheap) and cut the plywood into boards and those runners will protect the surface.

 

Where do you get the corrugated panels? That's what I'd like to use in the bed of my truck.