So, I am looking to purchase a DIY coating for the inside of my boat. Yeah, I know this is not a truck bed, but based on my research so far one of the DIY bed liner kits should work.

I have read through a bunch of threads on here comparing the different brands. Most times its a comparison of the DIY kits vs professional Line X etc. I am not wanting to get into this comparison as I MUST use a DIY kit. I just do not have the funds for a linex type job. A boat of this size would be well over 1k to complete.

So I am now left trying to choose a DIY material. I am not set on any one product but so far I keep coming back to Monsta Liner and Als. If youh have suggestions please feel free to suggest. I will automatically rule out Hurculiner as I have used this in the past and was not thrilled with it.

One of my main concernes with this application is that I do not want one of the coatings which has ground up rubber in it. Im looking to get a smoother texture than the liners which have a really gritty surface. My MAIN concern is im looking for a product which is fairly hard. That was one of my main issues with Hurculiner. I could literally use my thumbnail to dig out hunks. I know I probably wont get a coating as hard as Linex but would like to find something that gets as close as posible.

Any thoughts???

 

I suggest you call the companies you're interested in and let them send samples to you. Most will be happy to do so.

I have samples of Al's and they are NOT hard by any stretch of the imagination. Some of the marketing hype that they sent along with the samples has a bunch if incorrect information.

 

I think adhesion is probably the most important thing for your DIY liner project. Typically the DIY liners are not very thick (unless you are planning on doing 5 coats?) so hardness is not that important.

I did a Herculiner on my old truck and it held up fairly well. There were a few scratches due to metal-on-metal contact (like with a shovel) but other than that it stood up well to general abuse from heavy use (hauling firewood, mulch, dirt, etc)

No matter what liner you choose - the prep work is the most critical step. Plan on spending hours cleaning and scuffing the surface before you apply the liner.

Here is my write up on Herculiner
https://www.f150online.com/forums/be...iner-tips.html

 

Is this a fishing boat? Prep is definitely the most important. If it's being applied straight to fiberglass, I don't know how it's gonna hold. But it needs to be prepped with a TON of sanding and then (probably depends on what the material is) have an acidic solvent to chew into it a little bit, to give the liner something additional to grab onto.

I have to ask, why do you need a coating at all? I think adhesive tape like grip tape on a skateboard could be something to look at too.

 

This boat is getting a new floor and other misc parts. So, its either replace the carpet, or cover the new wood with something else. I have noticed that several mfgs are now using some sort of coating instead of carpet so I am contemplating this route. Plus, im just not a big fan of glued in carpet. I may at some point go with a snap in carpet over whatever liner I choose but am seriously thinking about a liner type coating first.

Anything fiberglass would be ground pretty good prior to applying whatever coating. I don't see a reason it wouldnt stick to it but maybe I am wrong. If anyone has additional info on that aspect please speak up.

On another note anyone ever heard of or used indyblast. I think the website is indyblast.com.

Looks kinda like a linex system without the heat etc. 2 part almost instant dry liner. Seems ideal to me however the gun you need to spray it is quite expensive. Would be great if I thought I would sell the gun off after I finished.

 

Umm, no, it's nothing like a LINE-X system. LINE-X is applied with heat (150 degrees) and higher pressure (2,000 psi) and not with cartridges.

Those cartridge based product are low pressure at about 100 psi or less.

You will need one of these to apply LINE-X

 

Yes, I understand its not the same..

Anyone have any experience with the indy blast stuff. Seems kinda cool and maybe an alternative to the higer priced spray in liners.

If I could get a buddy who needed to spray a truck bed we could split the cost of the gun. Then hopefully resell the gun after all was said and done. Anyways just a quick thought.

 

How many feet long is the boat? I'm thinking a non-LineX liner could be done for around $600 comparing the surface area of 2 truck beds to the deck size of a 20 ft boat.

Just throwing an idea out there. Never heard of Indy Blast.

 

ITs a 24' boat... but I dont really have to do the engine compartment. So that would bring it down to roughly 20 I guess. typical open bow ski type boat so I also need to consider the sides etc.

Guessing I have somewhere around 200 sq ft.

I stopped by my local auto paint shop I usually buy stuff from and he recommended the U-pol raptor. He had a sample sprayed on aluminum I really liked. The stuff was much harder than the old Herculiner I first used years ago. Granted, this is the first sample of any of the new age stuff I have inspected, none the less I was impressed. it almost had the feel of plastic which is what I like about Linex.

I mentioned Al's and he said that he has heard great things about it, they just dont carry it.

Any thoughts on a comparison between Als and Raptor.

Thanks

 

Would epoxy paint work for your application?

 

Well maybe... I even thought about that. The reason I kinda like the bed coating idea is because of how thick they are. My hope is that the thickness will hide some of the flaws from replacing the flooring.

Granted, I understand the bed liner wont fill voids or cover large issues. Im just hoping it would do a fairly good job at blending transitions etc

If I could get a thickened epoxy coating I would be interested. Provided it would stay semi flexible and still contain some texture... Or at least as flexible as gel coat remains over time

 

Okay, we sold our 21 ft open bow wakeboard boat recently, so that's about what I was envisioning. Forgive me for probably not being able to picture your boat properly, but a lot of my boat was covered by seats, as was the entire bow area. But I guess you're coating everything on the actual surface of the boat, so hmm . . .

I think an 8 foot truck bed is around 80-100 sq ft (including the 4 sides) doing quick, rounded math. So, having it done by a shop that charges $350 or so per bed would be reasonable. But it seems like you want to do it. I just figure if it comes to $300 difference, it'd be best to have a shop do it, but not my money to spend!

I've never used either, but TruckGasm owns the Dallas LineX and really knows all his stuff on every aspect of bed liners, so if he says Al's isn't hard, it probably isn't. If your buddy like the Raptor stuff, and you've psychically felt it in person, I'd be inclined to just go with that.

 

The epoxy paint used for garage floors is thick and really tough.

 

The thickness can be whatever you want it to be. I've seen thick and thin epoxy floors.

Here's a formula for you to figure how much chemical you will need:

Mil thickness X square feet / 1,604 = gallons needed (assuming the product is 100% solids)

If the product has solvents, they will evaporate, so you need to increase the gallons to compensate.

So, if you have 200 sqft and you want a coating that's 1/8" (125 mils) thick then you will need 16 gallons assuming the product is 100% solids and you will have some waste.

Here's a good website for marine coatings: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/main.do

Which floor coating application do you think costs more?

 

No, I don't specifically want to do it myself. When I checked into having it done by a local guy I was quoted 10.00 per sq ft. So im estimating 200 sq ft which puts me WAYYY over my flooring budget. I havent had a chance to do any actual measurements so I may be estimating high but still seems to be out of my reach.

The Raptor stuff said one kit covered 125 sq ft so im guessing 2 kits should do the trick and be under 300.00. I know it wont be as thick as linex but unless I could figure out a way to get it a lot cheaper I just dont see it being feasable.

Believe me I would rather have a linex or similar product applied. Unless someone has other ideas I just dont see how its affordable for this project.