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Apr 8, 2001 | 05:17 AM

karljay

Thread Starter

Cargo Master

Joined: Jul 2000

Posts: 2,281

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From: Northern California

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I'm almost done stripping the bed down to bare metal, I've use Navel jelly and wire brush 3 times and have all the visable rust down to shinny pits. I ready to apply the actual rust converter and then a few coats of primer. I was thinking to apply the Herculiner directly to the primer because it might get small holes and let water thru and the primer would stop the water, but now I'm thinking that primer usually doesn't hold against water very well and maybe a few cans of regular paint before the Herculiner would be a better idea.

Any ideas? I'd really like this thing to last a long time, it's just too much work to restore a bed!

Apr 8, 2001 | 07:02 AM

jowilker

Fleet Owner

Joined: Jun 1999

Posts: 24,552

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From: Creedmoor, North Carolina

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Have you considered the Rhino Liner? It is sprayed in, and the sample that I have is fully 1/8" thick. The Rhino costs more but I believe you get more.

IMHO of course.

John
jowilker
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Apr 8, 2001 | 09:21 AM

karljay

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Cargo Master

Joined: Jul 2000

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From: Northern California

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Yea, I called them and they wanted $400 for inside the bed and another $100 for over the side rails, then they wanted it stripped / sandblasted. I didn't bother to ask about inside the cab.
So far I've use about 1/2 gal of Herculiner for in the cab and it looks great. I know it's not as thick, but the texture is excellent, you can't slip on this stuff and best of all it cost $161 for everything vs what would have been around $1,000

Apr 8, 2001 | 10:14 AM

weldman

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Feb 2001

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From: Toronto, Canada

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I've never heard of Rhino application needing the bed down to bare metal. Thats retarded! The amount of work that the Rhino guys would have to do would be worth 400$ without the product!

All they need to do is rough up the existing good paint.

Matt
1978 F250 Ranger 4x4 - 351M

Apr 8, 2001 | 06:42 PM

karljay

Thread Starter

Cargo Master

Joined: Jul 2000

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From: Northern California

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What they told me was that they wanted good condition factory paint, or good primer or bare metal. Mine looked to be can primer over can primer over poor condition factory paint, so my price was probably higher than most. If you have a truck in good condition, they can do it without stripping.

Apr 8, 2001 | 08:30 PM

proeliator

Post Fiend

Joined: Sep 2000

Posts: 8,238

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From: Oregon

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Karljay, I will be doing this soon myself. I'm not looking forward to it, beds are a pain to prep. Your right, primer doesn't hold the best against water. I would seal it with a strong enamel first, then rough up the topcoat with some steel wool to give a better bind with the Herculiner your going to spread over it. Let us know how it turns out.

If your knuckles ain't bleeding you did something wrong.

'72 F-250 "Hi-Boy" 4x4, Dana 60/HD44, FE390 @ 400hp(purt near!), 4-speed, custom suspension w 4" lift, mud on black.

Apr 19, 2001 | 07:38 PM

gsg1981

Freshman User

Joined: Mar 2001

Posts: 49

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I followed the directions with the Herculiner, making sure that the paint was really well scuffed up, and the bed spotless before applying. I used a gallon and a half for my 6 foot bed, bed rails, and first foot and a half of the roll-bar. It looked really good at first, and worked pretty well for light hauling.

It's been over two years, it looks bad, and it's tore up. Throwing tools and lumber in the bed, as well as hauling an aluminum boat in the bed, actually tore the Herculiner up off of the bed; it looks like a ripped T-shirt. It lost the shinyness after about a year, and the entire thing is covered in tiny holes.

I'd say your better of with Line X bed liners than any of the others. They're SO hard, hold up great, and, in my area, are the same price as the Rhino Liners. Just a thought. Good Luck.
Greg '77 F150 4x4