SuaveGato

Hello,
Just wondering if there is such a thing as a Quality, Do It YourSelf, Spray in Bed Liner? I have a compressor, I have a gun (several actually) and am willing to sacrifice a nozzle if I have to modify it, drill it open etc. I have tried the Herculiner kit, it’s crap really. Is there any way to get professional results, or at least close to it at home? Anywhere to buy the “one part” material? i.e. Speedliner, Scorpion Liner, Mega Liner, Super Liner etc… instead of the two part components? Or is it just not worth it and am I better off to just pay a professional place?

The reason I ask is that I want to coat some pretty unorthodox things and so would have to find a pro place that is willing to work with me… And, as I build and weld stuff, I’d like to find a way to coat it myself instead of having to go back to a dealer.

Thanks,
biGjOhn

rimpainter.com

I used to work for Rhino Linings. If you think Herculiner is crap, then you aren't going to find anything else that meets your standards for "unorthodox" items. Take a look at this thread. Do you still think Herculiner looks like crap? If so, then go professional for your items.

If you are looking to coat items that will be considered high wear, then go for something professional, such as Rhino.

SuaveGato

So are you saying then that Herculiner is as good as Rhino linings? I'm not sure what inference you are trying to draw by stating that you used to work for Rhino linings?

I tried it on several different surfaces and didn't have very good results with adhesion, longevity or "evenness". And I prepped everything better than directed and used the xylotone stuff or whatever it's called?
that's looks pretty good for DIY but still doesn't look nearly as good to me as professional? That's kind of why I posted here, to see if anyone has tried spraying on anything at home, instead of rolling?

yeah, some will be high wear, some will be "cosmetic"... Have you ever tried doing rims on a truck? I was thinking of trying that? Just for S&G?
I often want to coat various things that I weld up... varmint shooting stands, motorcycle & atv racks and parts, etc... but I have also been toying with the idea of doing the lower third on my 1996 Tacoma, the floor pans and maybe the rims too? also thought I might try doing the plastic fenders on one of my old Honda ATC's that are cracked?
thanks,
John

hosh

I've sprayed duplicolor on a truck bed. Its looks nice, but isn't something for high wear. You will need a spray gun designed for spraying liner material. Mine has about a 1/4" nozzel. And your compressor needs to be able to keep up with that size spray gun. With my little pancake compressor it took awhile.

rimpainter.com

No, definitely not. However, for parts in low-wear areas I think Herculiner is just fine.

That's cool. It's hard to get a feel for exactly what others want over the net. My Herc job is far from perfect, this I know. A spray gun would have been more even, but the end product just isn't as durable as some of the professional liners out there. So there lies the dilemma.

No, haven't tried that. However, I have painted my rims. I don't think I would like textured rims, but that's just me.

SuaveGato

I still have 9/10 of my can of Herculiner, maybe I will try spraying some and see if I get better results? I don't have a gun specifically for spraying liner material or undercoating though. I will poke around online and see what I can come up with without breaking the bank or I may play around with drilling out the nozzle on one of mine?
thanks,
biGjOhn

SuaveGato

Hello again. Ok so check this out. I found this “hopper” style texture sprayer at Harbor freight tools on sale for $19.99. http://tinyurl.com/nak7u It has Nozzles of 4,6 & 8 mm. I’m gonna give it a try with the Herculiner that I have left and see how it goes? If I can get “decent” results by spraying it with this hopper gun I may do the whole dang truck! Will post results but it will be a while before I get to it, too many projects in the hopper… Just wanted to share that “find” with others…

Thanks,

Tanto

coating your rims with something like herculiner is going to get ripped up. Since you don't have your location filled in, I'll just say that sand will destroy anything short of linex or rhino.

CoedNaked

I don't think "quality" and "do-it yourself bedliner" can be put in the same sentence. I just have yet to hear of anything that can even compare or stand up to the abuse my Line-X Over the rail has stood up to. The line-x liners have a warranty on them, they look great, they are durable as hell, and it's done right the first time so you won't have anything to worry about. Perhaps a spray on yourself might work again as mentioned above, in a low wear area, but otherwise I say go hard or go home, and suck it up and wait til you have the cash. There is a $20 off coupon you can print off of the Line-x website that dealers should accept.

fnrunner

Any luck using the hopper gun yet?? Just curious as to how it turned out.
I'm not sure herculiner is thick enough, but it might be. I've personally never seen the stuff after it's mixed, but what a friend tells me is that's it's thicker than say house paint. Might work well with the 4mm nozzle - should produce a "fine" texture.

Bob_98SR5

i dont have a truck, but if i did, a spray on bed liner would be one of those areas where i would NOT skimp. it will get abused like no other, so why go cheap? furthermore, what if you decided that the cheap stuff was not a good investment and then decided to get a real bed liner sprayed in? i am sure that shop would charge you up the yin yang to have it removed too

rimpainter.com

^ that is correct Bob. Back in '97, we used to charge $300 or so to take out junk DIY liners. In fact, not to start a war here, but I also stripped a significant amount of Line X liners from trucks to put in Rhino. Maybe their process has changed, but in the past Line X was crap.

fnrunner

I can't imagine trying to remove any "professionally" installed liner....$300 is cheap in my book for that kind of work!
So any updates Suave? I'm just curious....

SuaveGato

Hello all,
Unfortunately, no updates yet… Been busy with other projects around the house… pouring concrete, painting etc. I have the hopper and the 9/10th or so gallon of Herculiner left. I am going to try it on some other things before the truck, if I do it to the truck at all? I have some widgets that I have been wanting to coat anyway, we’ll see how it goes? If I could find a Line-X or Rhino here in California for $300, I’d just do that for sure… but everything is more $ out here! Plus, I want to do the floor pans and lower third “rocker” panels too… all of that would probably be bucks out here! Haven’t gotten any quotes yet, but I’m guessing $600 - $800? We’ll see. I did find another product that was recommended to me by someone else who has used it. Might be worth a try too? It’s called Raptor Liner made by U-Pol. Some guy on eBay sells it: http://tinyurl.com/g5x2v And they have a website too: http://tinyurl.com/gven2
I talked to the guy today and said that he has sold it to numerous people for floor pans and bedliners and he also has a rock chip prevention coating that is popular too.. said it is a little more pliable, thicker and more “rubbery”. I’ll post more info. and or pix when I get going on this project but I have a long list of “honey Do’s” right now…
Thanks,

dewey

does anyone have pictures of a red truck with the bottoms of the doors herculined? i have a red 2nd gen and i think this might be something i want to do.

also, can this stuff be put on over rust? maybe used as a rust stopper? thanks for the info

ecchamberlin

I have done it both ways. I did it myself in my 99 Taco and it was okay but to keep it from scratching through to the metal I had to put in a rubber mat which is a good idea anyway. On our 04 Taco I took it straight over to LineX in National City CA and had them do it. I am really happy with it so far 2 years later.

Why did I do it myself the first time around? Because I could not afford to do it right in my opinion. Not trying to be a jerk but that is honestly what drives most of our purchasing decisions.

The guys at LineX did an outstanding job with the prep work which is what makes or breaks this stuff IMO. They also gave me a written guarantee that says if it gets dinged or comes off at all to bring it in and they will fix it free. They had a truck in while mine was there that a guy had accidentally dumped hot grill coals on and melted it. They were fixing it for free. They said they were fixing it because it had their name plate on it even though it was his mistake. That is the type of company I want to do business with.

I have friends who also say Rhino linings are excellent.

You get what you pay for IMO!

fnrunner

It will adhere to rust, but I would HIGHLY recommend removing & treating the areas first. Spray in liners will just trap rust in & it WILL continue to rust/ munch away at the steel.

Stomis

If you completly cover rust it doesnt keep going. When Oxygen is cut fromt he rust it stops because it require it to continue. Now if the rust is coming through the other side and you only do one side thats a different story.

fnrunner

so how would you explain a rust bubble in a relatively fresh paint job (1-2yrs old)? Where there's no top surface paint chip or otherwise solid steel on the back side. It came down to prep work & making sure ALL the rust was killed (converted to black oxide or completely removed with new steel) prior to spraying the epoxy primer/sealer.

cheers!

gilby4runner

I had an 87 truck and they supposedly got rid of the rust... 1 year later it was back. If you dont cut it out and rid the truck of all of it the rust will return. Maybe in your case maybe the rust was in early stages and they didnt catch it. That was the body shops excuse for my truck...just my .02 not sure it helped much