I decided to tackle Herculining my middle bed this weekend. After reading up on the spray bedliners I decided that the roll/paint on would be a better match for my uses. The cloth in the back has driven me nuts since I got it, I have a dog that sheds a ridiculous amount and tracks all kinds of nasty-ness into the back during the winter. Because Herculiner is more or less tarring asphalt and easy to clean I went with that route. Here's the step by step.

Materials list:
-1 Can Herculiner roll/brush on bedliner
-99% isopropyl alcohol or Xylol(Xylene) solvent
-60/80 grit sanding paper/block/optional dremel
-1 Metal stirring rod/drill paint stir attachment
-1 3/4 & 15mm sockets for seatbelts and sub, #27 torx screw for clip fasteners
-Painters tape (.75" width)
-Painting plastic/tarp/whatever cover you can find
-Stiff bristle paint brush or 6" rough surface paint roller (both is a good idea)
-Latex/Nitrile gloves (8+Pairs)
-Patience & Time



*Disclaimer* I am no expert painter and I'm sure I did A LOT of things wrong, but it turned out nicely, follow these instructions at your own risk.


I live in Oregon and this is the last few days before real winter comes. The day started @ ~70deg with no wind, by 6pm here it was 53 with a 15mph gust, luckily this was all set up in our shop so there wasn't anything flying into the wet herculiner. However my curing time did double from what the can suggested (1-2hr until non-tacky for second coat). I ended up waiting 4 hours to do the second coat and I let it cure overnight for another 9 hours before reassembling - I still haven't put the top on because it's not raining and reeks of fumes.

The Problem>

1) Take off hard/soft top and set aside all fasteners in a safe spot.

2) Remove all carpeting, sub, jack and wrench, and fasteners. Set them aside in order of where they came from.


3) Begin painters taping off the areas you want to paint to. Also tape off the seat belt bolts, sub posts, and clip fastener holes. Make sure you remove the drain plugs on under the rear seat brackets, the storage tub, and the jack tub. I also spread a painting tarp over my front seats and roll cage bars to prevent any sanding dust/metal from covering everything in front and to prevent any herculiner drips from reaching my front carpeting. Take the time to do this now instead of after sanding.


4) Have the shop vac handy and begin sanding with 60-80 grit paper. I used a combination of a wall sander for the relatively flat areas, a sanding cube, and my dremel for the real pain in the a** areas. Vacuum up as much of the dust as you can. I then used 99% isopropyl alc instead of xylol because I'm not a big fan of painting solvents and this wasn't the most open area in the world. The alcohol worked just fine. Make sure all areas are clean with no residue and the surface is fairly textured. This pic was about half-way through. Take the time to sand everything well.

 

5) Have your roller/brush and tray ready and organized how you want them before you crack the can of Herculiner. Once the can is open to the air or the paint is in the tray you need to work quickly. In hotter weather it sets (becomes tacky) fairly soon and then you have to deal with thinning it out with Xylene. I used a 4" stiff bristle synthetic brush to paint the entire bed, there are so many odd angles and ridges that a roller can't get to I didn't bother. I worked in quadrants starting with the passenger side front, then the drivers side front, and all the way back to the rear. I also lined most of the inside of my Jack compartment. It would be impossible to do right with a roller. Make sure to stir the can of Herculiner well before you move to the next quadrant.


6) After the first coat - seal up your can well and keep the brush either wrapped extremely tight in plastic wrap or wash it with brake cleaner, xylene, or alcohol. Any Herculiner still on the brush in 1-4 hours will have made the brush a rock. If you're using a roller pitch the used one and attach a new one, they're not worth saving.


7) After you are sure the first coat has set properly and there are no areas with tacky-ness repeat the quadrant painting and let the full 2 coats either cure overnight or wait at least 5-6 hours before attaching anything back into the bed.


8) Once the Herculiner has set, reattach all of the carpeting/hardware. I found that I had nearly double the storage room without the carpeting inside of the storage tub. I fit my 3"x30' tow strap, winch remote, wheel lock, 2 knives, hypertech speedo adjuster, 2 shackles, spare license plate, and a dog leash all relatively easily. The cover needed to be sanded down (i made quick work with the dremel) on the tabs that slide under the brackets. Because I Herculined EVERYTHING on the ground including the underside of the brackets the cover tabs wouldn't fit.


(Dremel the Tabs)

 

Any reason why you didn't do the sides also? Where do you purchase this product? Does it stay sticky? Do people use this INSTEAD of the carpet like the Line-X?

Thanks!

 

You can buy Herculiner roll on bed liner from most local car stores. I got mine from a shucks/o'reilly. You can also order it online but because of the weight of the product unless you're ordering a lot you won't get much of a break off the $30 price. They will try to sell you the Herculiner "kit" for $99 but IMO it isn't worth the extra roller, tape, and tools you get for it.

The Herculiner has taken around 20 hours to cure in constant 43-60 deg F, now it is completely hard to the touch and not sticky/tacky. Herculiner is MUCH thicker than spray on (Duplicolor) bedliner and can take more of a beating without chipping, but it is more expensive.

Most of the people who do their tubs or entire jeep do get rid of their carpet. Herculiner is the DIY version of Line-x, rhinoguard, etc. All are different variations of polyurethane plastic blends that have a hardener and a resin. In open air the oxygen activates the hardener, once the reaction is complete you basically have an inert block of plastic protecting whatever is underneath it.

I didn't do the sides because of a time constraint, and I would've needed another can of Herculiner. The other thing I don't like about getting rid of the side carpet is that there are runs of corrugated wiring that go to the hard-top and brake lights. I could live with exposed corrugation but I don't really like the look, I'm trying to figure a way to conceal it a little even if that means wrapping it in something else and using some black aluminum fasteners instead of zip-ties. The other downside to ditching the carpet is having a lot more vibration sound, I deleted my muffler and I can definitely hear the difference without the tub carpeting in.

 

Thinking maybe gutting my jeep and doing this or line x someday.

 

ok i did this tom my whole tub this weekend. and do i have some hints.

what not to do:
-dont put herculiner in a plastic cup. it eats it and it will melt.
-dont use the roller in the kit. it doesnt coat very well.

What to ensure you do:
-cover all bolt holes and tape what you dont want painted.
-Buy 4 paint brushes 2'' wide. if you have 2 of you are doing it. if not youll need 3 paint brushes
-buy some acetone from walmart. youll need it to clean up and it will remove the herculiner from your jeeps outer body.
-rough everything you plan to put this stuff on, the herculiner will run and not coat if it isnt rough.

now i want to thank my wife for the help. without her i would have been doing this all day. but 2 hours for the first coat and 1.5 hours for the second coat with her help. here are the photos.
Everyone tells me it looks like i had it sprayed in at rhino linings or line-x. so i am pleased with the outome.

 

I striped my jeep down last weekend and sprayed in Upol Raptor bed liner. It came out great. I will post some pics when i get home from work tonight. Line x dealer wanted$1000 to spray a four door.....That's with me doing all the work striping it out. So for about $130 i sprayed it myself. The prep/taping time took the longest. You get a much better coat spraying and it looks like line x, with a smoother finish. The coat is hard not rubbery. Ill get the pics up soon

 

Fyi to anyone planning on doing this. I was going to just paint over the Heatshields as my jeep is only a few months old and only got rained in once... I've been letting the jeep dry out for a few days now, no water anywhere. But under the heatshield was puddles of water. I highly suggest chiseling these off before it starts rusting