I just got my 2001 4x4 Supercrew and was going to put a couple of coats of Herculiner on. My brother-in-law put it on his F350 and it looked great. But I was at Wal-Mart recently and ran across a product that also was rolled on or sprayed. It was by a Dupli-Color. They are the same company that makes primers and paints for vehicles and engines. I know Herculiner costs about $90 a gallon which also comes with a kit. The Dupli-Color product only cost $39 a gallon and it also came in a kit. For the price of Herculiner I could put two coats on. Have any of you had any experiance with this stuff?

 

I saw this product last Friday in Wall-Mart as well (it included the entire kit for under $40). I did a search on the web on this product but I did not come up with much. It seems that this product has been out on the market since 97. I wish to compare the ingredients of this product with that of Herculiner. Can anybody who has used the Herculiner product (and who might have saved the can) post its content? The next time I stop by wall-mart I will compare the content of both products.

Manny

 

Manny, I went the the Dupli-Color website to try and find out a little more. The website is nothing more than a lot of advertisement. Apparently the company is owned by Sherwin-Williams (paint store chain). Dupli-Color must be a big company with their background in automotive paints and primers for auto body and engines. Sounds good but I also e-mailed there service department and asked if they had done some comparisons with other brands. They responded saying that they do not compare their product to anyone else but have received a lot of positive feedback from customers. They also sell individual cans (aerosol) and also the actual spray gun to apply the stuff. The website shows a picture of the spray gun being used right out of the can that is packaged with the $39.00 kit. Heres what I'm going to do. I'm going to by the small aerosol can and apply it to the tailgate only. If that works out I will by the kit and finish off the bed. If it doesn't I will use Herculiner on the rest of the truck and cover the Dupli-Color on the bed. As a side note the sales rep said that they would send me some info in the mail. It doesn't seem like products of this type should be as high priced as Herculiner. They must be making a killing. Let me know if you find anything out.

 

Just so you guys know, Sherwin Williams is more than just a paint store chain, odds are you have Sherwin Williams paint on your truck. I know they supply paint to GM for at least some of their vehicles. I have a couple of friends that work in the automotive coatings reseach division.

 

I bought a spray-can of it and found it to be little more than flat black paint. It sprays on a little thicker, but you still have to build several layers to get any real protection.

They don't give a list of ingredients, but it does contain Toluene and Ketones as well as a bunch of chemicals that seem to be hazardous to those living in California.

I found it interesting that "Step 4" of the instructions says to "PAINT THE SURFACE-". One would think that "COAT" the surface would be more accurate. Hmmm...

 

I used Durabak on some work vans at my last job. Worked excellent. Cost about $90 a gallon. I used some Dupli-Color Truck bed coating on some other stuff. I liked the finished product, but it's smooth. It is tough, and does take a bit of abuse, but it chipped and damaged too easily. If you want to use Herculiner, use it. After all, at almost $10 a can for Dupli Color, Herculiner might not wind up costing more. Besides, you're gonna spend around $32,000 for a new truck, and then coat the bed with a $10 bed liner spray??? Come on, spend the extra cash for the Herculiner, or similar product.

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1997 F-150, 4.6, automatic, Dark Toreador Red, Supercab, Flareside, 4X4 Off-Road, Towing Package, Ford hvy dty rubber floor mats, Kenwood 10-disk cd changer, Ford bugshield, Chrome Grizzly Wrap Around Push Bar with 2 KC 100w Daylighters, Ventshades, Ford bedliner, Lund Premier tonneau cover, cab and bed professionally undercoated, Code Alarm Sure Start RVS remote starter, Ford alarm, Realistic CB with Wilson Little Wil antenna and Astatic power mic, ported MAF sensor, and Lots of TLC!! (Besides being an F-150 nut, I am a Ford auto technician.)

 

Belive it or not Durabak and Herculiner are the same product. I found this out when I was getting ready to purchase some Durabak and the rep told me to wait as they had licensed the sale of their product to Herculiner and it would be available in K MArts etc. soon. He said it would save me the shipping as it would retail for the same dollars and be local. That was a year ago and low and behold it was last fall. I just picked up a gallon kit today to do my new SD. This product has been around for years under the Durabak name so it is well tested.

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2000 F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab XLT, Oxford white with grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8(260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, 4 wheel ABS, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake control, K&N filter, "White-White" head lamps.

 

I used to work in the paint department at the dearborn assembly plant... the paint for all Ford Trucks is a solvent-based enamel manufactured by 3-M. Generally, it is applied in five stages: Primer, base-coat, and top-coat, then two stages of clear coat. The method of application differes from plant to plant (i.e. automated versus manual spray) but they all use the same paints, with only a few exceptions... The new Lincoln Town Cars and I believe the Crown Vics are testing a new powder-type application process, but it's still in the experimental stages, and isn't very good unless you do thousands of the same color car. Oh, well. Just my .02.
-Joe-

 

Thanks for all the responses. From what I have heard and all the feedback I will definately go with the Herculiner. It made me feel a little uneasy when the rep from dupli-color wouldn't tell me much. When they sent me the information on the product it was nothing more than a bunch of selling points. It didn't go into what the product was made of or the kind of finish it ended up drying to become. Thanks and I will keep you guys posted on how the finished product end up.

 

The Dupli-color stuff is alot thinner. unless you want to use about 15 cans and stand back. The further you stand back when spraying the more texture you will get. It also requires more prep work. It is more like paint. I used it on my other truck. Its not bad. I also used it on my door sills on this truck. That was the best for that job for sure, But I would recomend that you used something else in the box. Herculiner's kit is cheap and works well. That would be your best bet. The only thing good about dupli-color is it dries shinier.

My 2cents
Black 98

 

Yea I just bought a kit of Herculiner last Friday. I know this product and don't want to learn this Dupli-color thing the hard way.

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2000 F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab XLT, Oxford white with grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8(260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, 4 wheel ABS, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake control, K&N filter, "White-White" head lamps.

 

Here is the Herculiner product I installed yesterday. Bought the kit. Had a quart left over. Jarred it up ad put a little xylene on top of it to save it for touch up.



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2000 F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab XLT, Oxford white with grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8(260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, 4 wheel ABS, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake control, K&N filter, "White-White" head lamps.