Has anyone used the do-it-yourself Dupli-color Bed Lining kit? And if so, did you like it? I see it selling pretty reasonable for a DIY, and was just wondering if anyone here has any comments on it. I was thinking of using it for wheel well protection and possibly on the bed of mine if it is decent.

 

Funny that you should ask this, I just finished doing mine about 6 days ago.

I have a roll up cover on my rig, but the bed was literally beat to oblivion.

I plan on taking a picture, but I do not have a before picture.

I feel that it turned out really well for the price, sure makes the bed look a lot nicer!

The key is to get a good and clean prep surface, that is well masked off, and plenty of dry time between coats and the final coat before use.

I have not had any heavy use, but I did drop a boat motor holder on it a few times without any ill affect this past weekend.

 

Does it come in diff colors or black only?

 

As far as I know it is Black only.. but according to the dupli-color documentation I read, it is paintable to any color you wish....

 

How many coats did you apply superrangerman? I did the inside of my tool box with the rattle can type and got about two coats out of the can, but it will scratch off.

 

I know Dupli-color recommends 3 coats to assure a good tough surface. But also if it scrapes off, then It may be that the inside if the tool box was not rough enough for the coating to adhere to. I have never used this stuff, but I was a painter at a ford dealership for some time, and if the surface isn't rough enough, it wont hold, and you can take it off with your fingernail.

 

I have a 5.5' box and ended up with two coats on the sides, and 3 on the floor and the wheel wells and tailgate. That was the most that I could get out of the large can.

I would only reccomend the rattle can for the corners and other hard to reach spots.

I used a drill mounted stripping pad rather than that puny 4''x8'' piece the kit comes with.

I know that the kit won't hold up like a rhino lining, but I really dont use my box that much other than hauling my motorcycle to and from storage, a couple of tool boxes, and the ocasional deer and antelope. I really just wanted something that was nice looking and cheap, and with my roll up it is covered 90% of the time any way.

 

This was not a problem, I took a wire brush to the toolbox and it was plenty rough. It was cleaned well before applying the coating. It doesn't come off that easily, but you can scratch through it.

 

I used it on the angle I built my trailer with last week. I primed it first with Rustoleum's "rusty metal primer" and in a couple of places when I peeled off the masking tape near the edge, it lifted the dupli-color from the primed metal. Maybe I shoulda ruffed up the primed surface??

 

according to the instructions I got from Duplicolor, they say yes, even rough up if you prime it, it gives it more to hold too...I have since I posted this, learned more from a few others as well, and found that it works great if you use the roller kit instead of spraying, you get a rougher texture, and it tends to help make it more durable... Also
get a rubber mat to drop in on top of it if you are hauling anything real heavy or it might dfamge the coating, Same recommendation I got from a Rhino lining dealer, so make me feel a little better.. But over all for $40 bucks versus $400 bucks I guess it makes sense that you may have to re-do some areas after a bit and need to be careful with it....but it will definetly give your truck a nice look...

 

Jim,

Thanks for the info...my brother gave me 2.5 gal of the Dupli-color liner and I only had the directions on the can (shoulda been enough) but I asked my brother (he'd used it before) if it'd stick ok to the primer and he said yes...so I didn't bother scuffing it up...I will when I repair that spot! I've still got two gallons left!

Scott

 

Here is a bit of history: First on the scene were epoxy based products. They were not very durable, they cracked, peeled, etc. Then, ONE-part polyurethane products (also referred to as "solvent based") came along. One-part means that the polyurethane is suspended in a solvent. A catalyst is added which starts a chemical reaction that removes the solvent so that you have just polyurethane left. The catalyst can be a liquid chemical or even just air. One-part polys were a significant improvement over epoxy based products. Examples of today’s one-part polyurethanes include Herculiner, Duplicolor, Durabak, Superliner, and Speedliner. The newest technology is TWO-part polyurethanes. Two-part means that a resin (usually a polyol resin) is mixed with isocyanate (a hardener) which renders the polyurethane. Two-part polyurethanes are harder and much more durable than one-part polyurethanes. Two-part polys are used on today’s boats, airplanes, etc. Examples of today’s products that have two-part polyurethanes include LINE-X and Rhino.

 

This "series" should answer most of your questions. Good luck!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...er_Part_1.html

 

I used the Duplicolor (i think, bought it at wal-mart what ever brand it is). I followed the steps as in the post above except the acetone. It looked great but did fade a little after 6 months of hot texas sun. I had it on for about two years. I have moved to Seattle where it rains alot and the bed liner went to crap in a month. I think the sun dried it out but with no moisture I didn't know. Now the rain is in and it is just flaking off.

 

I used it and it worked well for the year i had the truck, i didn't have enough to put a very thick coat on either. just be sure you scuff everything really well, some spots i missed, peeled.