im the do it urself self kind og guy i want a bed liner thats afordable i was looking at herculiner i know i know its all in the prep is there any tips out there or any other do it urself bedliners

 

follow the instructions, and do a good prep and it will look good, i put 4 coats, i use the hell out of my bed and after three years it dont look too bad.

 

I too am a DIY type of guy...and the money saving is awesome. As it goes for bed-liners it depends on what you are doing and if you have a cover or not. The tonnue (sp.) covers are great but you can't fit as much in them. If you go for a bedliner just to get rust and stuff eliminated look at the option of using it as a support bedliner and then putting a drop-in over it. I have a drop in and no problems with rust (besides the lip of my tailgate which a spray on wouldn't get anyway). Just know that a spray on or roll-on will not protect against dents (it is just like a piece of rubber-cement over your bed) therefore your bed will absorb the impact and dent WITH the liner. This is why I have stuck with my factory drop-in. As long as there is airflow underneath the drop-in there will be no problems with rust (just asthetic scratches no biggy.) I also abuse the bed (concrete...cement blocks...deconstruction of tiles/toilets/bathrooms etc.) so a drop in dents so my bed does not.
~Phil

 

Search the forum for herculiner, most guys agree that it's just heavy paint. Spray ins use 4 or 5 times as much material as they do. Depending how you use your truck, there's lots of options. Start with a forum search for herculiner and go from there.

 

hey guys thanks for the feed back im still not sur what i want to do but i know there is alot of prep involved im just not sure if i want to do it my self or not or put a drop bed liner in but i let u guys know how i make out

 

I'm using the dupli-color spray DIY bedliner and I've sanded down the whole bed and just got done with spraying the tailgate. So far she's lookin pretty good. Tomorrow when it's not so windy i'm gonna finisher her off and I'll let ya know what I think. I've also been takin some pictures so i'll make sure to post em when I'm done.

 

I would have to say that Herculiner is DEFINATELY more than just heavy paint. I have done a herculiner and if you follow the instructions perfectly (get the acetone also), this stuff is like permanantly intalling a textured rubber bed mat all over the bed. Im sure that the other commercial liners are "better", but dollar for dollar you cant go wrong.

 

anyone use the herculiner in a long bed yet? I just got an 04 and want to get the bed lined, and I'll need to know about how many cans I will need to buy to get the suggested 4 coats or better applied.

 

For those of you DIY'ers.

Here's what I found to be a perfect match. I put 3 heavy layers on the sides, 3 layers on the floor, Then I have a bed mat that I use to have for my old drop in bed liner. The bed mat will give you extra protection when dropping stuff into the bed, and 3-4 heavy coats seems to work out real well for the sides.

That being said. If you plan to drop gravel and beat the bejesus out of your truck you really need to think about spending the extra money and having a spray in applied. The herculiner is still a great product but it's not as permenent or tough as a two part spray in. I offset this by using the bed mat which I already had total cost for my setup was about 190 Bucks (this included the herculiner kit, an extra liter of herculiner, and the bed mat.

Duplicolor makes a roll on bed liner as well. I would stay away from that.( I'm not talking about the spray can stuff, don't have any experience with it.) The reason is it has a vinyl base, and hence the lower price compared to herculiner. This is the same stuff that the dip coating for tools and pliers. Herculiner is a urethane base which is much tougher and abrasion resistant.

For those of you who have the long beds, The kit will work great but more than likely you'll need to buy two additional liters of the herculiner. Which is about 25 bucks each. The nice thing is can keep building the herculiner up if needed and you can repair it if it tears.

Two things though for those who what to do this........DO IT IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.....This stuff stinks and it will kill brain cells. Also the Key to making it work is prep work. Throw that little green scotchbrite pad out and use and air powered sander or electric sander with 320 or 400 and lightly hit every square inch, then wipe it down with acetone at least three times.