Which DIY roll-in bedliner?

[JFlagg]

Here is my question guys. After 112K miles, I have ALOT of small rock chips behind my wheel wells, I want to have the whole panel, from the trim line down, Rhino lined, Line Xed, whatever. I would rather to this myself than pay a shop 250+ dollars. Which brand would work the best? I looked at Duraliner and Herculiner at AutoZone last night, but want to check out more options before I start. A side note... I have a Rhinoliner in my bed and love it, thats why I want to go this route. I see several guys in my area with the chrome adhesive panels along the bottom, and they look great, but I think this way would last alot longer. Any advice would be great!



PS. If any members out there actually work at one of the spray in liner dealers and want to cut me a deal or help, I wouldn't complain either:-laf

 

[JFlagg]

Anyone??? Sitting here bored at work, need someone to post so I have something new to read... .

 

[JFlagg]

I just found a site about some stuff called Grizzly Grip, anyone used this before? According to the site, this is exactly what I'm looking for, but of course, why would they make their own stuff look crappy

 

[sdstriper]

A friend of mine bought a roll on bed liner material from Walmart. He applied it with a paint gun I have set up for spraying traffic paint and it was the best result I have ever seen using the el cheapo materials. Binks 2001 gun with a 68 needle, 68 fluid nozzle and an internal mixing air cap with 709 air cap nozzle. Anyone in my area is welcome to give it a whirl, I have several guns set-up like this.

 

[Patriot Diesel]

I've seen many examples of the DIY Bedliner coatings... not seen one that looked good.



I had my bed Line-X'd when the truck was new. Over seven years later it still looks awesome.



Had the rockers, fender/quarter lips and 2" (body line) outside the fenderwell sprayed with Line-X a year ago... I've had more compliments than you would believe on the job done.



Do it right the first time and you'll be happy.

 

[JFlagg]

I have a rhino lining in my bed, but Linex looks the same to me. I went to the LineX shop this afternoon and I think they need to ventilate their shop better. They wanted a grand to do the sides like I wanted Said there was so much prep work involved they could do 4-5 beds in the same time! I'm calling BS, but hey, its their shop. All in all, I think it comes down to how well you prep the job as to how well it turns out. I have a buddy that would do it cheap at his Rhinolining shop, but its a LONG drive from where I live now. Think I'll probably order something and end up doing it myself some Saturday... .

 

[boatpuller]

Haven't used it but from all the looking around I've done I would go with this one

http://www.durabakcompany.com/index.htm



There stuff looks pretty good.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Having seen it done there is a lot more prep for doing the rockers than doing a bed. When I had mine done they did it for $600 I think it was and they said they'd have to charge more the next time because of the amount of prep and masking. If you think about it with a bed the only masking is around the top edge and the liner to paint transition happens either under the bed rails or in 4 easy straight lines on the top of the bed and tail gate. When your spraying the rockers you have to mask the entire upper part of the body, you have the seams at the doors to deal with, the break between the bed and cab, bumpers have to be removed so you can spray behind them, have to mask inside the door sills, under the body so it doesn't spray onto the tires, frame, etc, you have the liner to paint line in many places that are visible - wheel wells, etc. It's definately a bigger job than doing a bed.

 

[CRuth]

But you don't have to spray it on. I did the durabak in the bed of jeep. Brushed it on and I am happy with the results.

You do have to prep and follow the instructions. I had some leftover and brushed it on some areas that had just been hosed off and it wasn't long before it started to peel. The areas prepped according to the directions though, still working very well many years later.

 

[Patriot Diesel]

I paid $500 last year when I had my rockers and fender edges sprayed with Line-X.



I thought and still feel I got a fantastic deal. It looks great!

 

[JFlagg]

Yeah, I am planning on rolling it on, so the masking would be minimal compared to spraying it on. figured this way I can just mask all my borders and put some trash bags over my wheels and tires. And take off the rear bumper to get that last bit of rear fender and that should about cover it. When ever I get around to it I'll take plenty of pictures and let everyone know how it turns out. Thanks for all the advise guys!

 

[AKives]

Your first red flag with Herculiner and Duraliner is that they cure without an activator meaning its either lacquer or enamel based and a wet wipe from a rag with wash thinner on it will wipe it right off. Strength, holdout and UV protection will be a joke.

In other words you are buying a gallon of cheap paint.

Even the better real polyurethane (have an isocyanate activator because polyurethanes require iso's to crosslink and begin the curing process) roll-on liners don't look too hot in appearance when rolled vs. sprayed and for what your going to pay for a good 3:1 activated polyurethane DIY bedliner you might as well find franchised bedliner dealer.

The franchised bedliner business is so ho'd up and over sold in most areas its not uncommon to find a Line X dealer to do a 6' pickup bed for $275 and all you have to do is let your fingers do the walking.

 

[JFlagg]

I really wasn't to confident with the Herculiner and the Duraliner I saw at Auto Zone. After reading the cans didn't seem like they would work as well as they advertise. I did find some stuff called Grizzly Grip that I am leaning towards, it is an oil based polyurethane which you mix an accellerant with which can be sprayed or rolled on. Advertises that the more humidity in the air, the faster it sets, not sure how that works though. I'm going to contact them and ask what kind of accelerant they use(isocyanate?) All in all, I just like having projects to do, and if I let LineX do it then I have to look for something else to do.

 

[CRuth]

Especially on wheel wells, I'll think you'll be happy with diy job. Word of caution though, be very careful about getting it on anything you don't want it on. My Jeep (1960) bed had a few holes in it. You can still find some on my frame and even on the driveway. It sticks to concrete really really well. Years of driving on it havent removed it.

 

[SSwords]

Hey call Extreme Accessories in Rolla, Mo 1573 426 2882 if you could stand to drive that far ( about 75 or 80 miles from and ask for TJ or Travis and tell them scott swords sent you they are just about as cheap as I have Found for Rino linnings.

 

[AKives]

I really wasn't to confident with the Herculiner and the Duraliner I saw at Auto Zone. After reading the cans didn't seem like they would work as well as they advertise. I did find some stuff called Grizzly Grip that I am leaning towards, it is an oil based polyurethane which you mix an accellerant with which can be sprayed or rolled on. Advertises that the more humidity in the air, the faster it sets, not sure how that works though. I'm going to contact them and ask what kind of accelerant they use(isocyanate?) All in all, I just like having projects to do, and if I let LineX do it then I have to look for something else to do.

Let me preface this with I manufacture at my cost 7 digiits of actual polyurethane (FWIW-Polyurethanes are the best automotive refinishing products made BUT there is no such think as the polyurethane verification police so this desirable term is used loosely to say the least) paint coatings for living and I've painted a vehicle or 50 but I forget.

Without getting into specifics the grizzly homepage is full of contradictory nonsense such as 'moisture cured polyurethane' which could easily mean hybrid lacquer like unactivated basecoats and the most peculiar thing is they will warranty its 'pot life' 30 days from the day it was shipped.

Even an opened can of lacquer or straight enamel has a shelf life significantly longer than this and do note that pot life is an industry term for how long a product such as a true polyurethane that requires activation from a separate Part B isocyanate based activator and once part A is mixed with Part B and crosslinking begins so does your pot life. In other words when the activated product begins to gel to at a predetermined point which is usually when sprayability no longer exists you potlife is done.

Run because straight enamel/hybrid lacquers/moisture cured polyurethanes can be made for $5 per gallon including the . 40 can and the . 20 label.

Now if you stumble across any 8:1 bedliners you are buying activated enamel paint which was da bomb on 70's era cars at least for the first six after application and even today activated enamel is perfect for throw away lawn mowers or mailboxes.

The problem with epoxies such as Gator Guard is they lack flexibility, you can't add enough UV inhibitors to epoxy products for long term weathering which is why black Gator Guard chalks out from a shiny black in 3-7 months on average.

Tell me this: since you like your Rhino Liner which is a 2 component activated 'hot spray' polyurea how close in strength, durability and thickness does what you are looking for to apply in your wheel wells need to compare to Rhino Liner because every DIY bedliner previously mentioned in this thread wouldn't achieve 10% of what the Rhino offers and I say this as a causal Line X fan that personally wouldn't own a Rhino Liner if they were both free and given a choice.

Here is an example of a moisture cured ie glorified lacquer product that I'm familiar with, costs less when shopped locally than your previous choices, is a moisture cured 1 component product and is marketed ethically meaning they state its basically a glorified undercoating and nothing more. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/U-POL-GRAVITEX-ROCK-STONE-CHIP-PROTECTOR-UNDERCOATING_W0QQitemZ200095520513QQcmdZViewItem

While I'm unfamiliar on the current list price of this product I can tell you for the last 10 years UPOL has given its warehouses and it's auto paint store retailers a free applicator gun as shown here with every 3 liters purchased so keep that in mind.

Am I saying this makes a great DIY bedliner? NO WAY!

Am I saying compared to the moisture cured single component 'polyurethanes' mentioned above that were probably on the same page if not close? Absolutely!

 

[JFlagg]

Hey call Extreme Accessories in Rolla, Mo 1573 426 2882 if you could stand to drive that far ( about 75 or 80 miles from and ask for TJ or Travis and tell them scott swords sent you they are just about as cheap as I have Found for Rino linnings.

Is their shop just north of 44 on your way into Rolla going west bound? I had my Rhinoliner done in Rolla when I was stationed at Ft. Leonardwood at a place that was called Tops something or other. The dealership paid for it when I ordered my truck in 02. He is the guy that quoted me 250 bucks to do my lower panels, I just didn't want to drive my truck to Rolla from South STL and go pick it back up a day or two later. Normally I would find a shop that does this type of work and just let them do it since I'm pretty confident they would do a good job but now that I am married my funds are alot closely managed than they used to be#@$%! I figured if I hunted around long enough I could find a product that would do what I am looking for.



As for the previous post by AKives, you seem to know what you are talking about, this being said, I know very little about this subject and can only base my knowledge on what I read. And since most of what I have read is advertising, its hard to tell what is the best product, everybody seems to think theirs is the best. I looked at the product you mentioned on Ebay and am still caught straddling the wire. I don't want to pay someone to do something I can do myself, I am just ignorant in this subject and couldn't tell you the difference between a polyurethane and an enamel. It also comes down to what brand offers its product in more than just black, I was hoping to stay with the dark gray of my truck, though black wouldn't look bad if my already Rhinolined steps and bedliner were already black. I was just hoping to find some people on here with some experience using any of these liners (hopefully professionally) and what their first hand opinions are. So it comes down to, If you were me, which product would you use?



Once again, thanks for all the input, there have been alot more posts than I expected, only to further my confusion Seriously, Thanks everyone. I am slowly learning...