????? about Herculiner

If you have Herculined your rockers or bed please chime in with your review concerning durability and appearance over time. I want to remove my mud flaps but want to ensure I protect the rockers from road and trail debris. Looked into Line-x - $1000.00 for 8" from rear of front well to the rear bumper - OUCH, so I need an alternative.
Thanks for the Help

 

Hurculiner seems to fade over time. Kind of dries out. But if you took your time and applied it thick to get complete coverage, it might be ok. X2 on Rhino and Line-x being way too expensive.

 

Herculiner is very pourous and lets water seep in behind. If you use herculiner, I would recommend using some kind of primer as a base, a couple coats of the herculiner, and then using a black spray paint over the top of that to "seal" the pores that it creates.
I used herculiner on my avid steps and within a year it was peeling off (no wheeling, barely any road salt from winter) and there was surface rust all over the steps. I spent several weekends grinding the herculiner off with an angle grinder and wire brushes and after that was done, I took them to line-x to be done the right way. My only regret was ever thinking of using the herculiner.
On a side note, I herculined my grille at the same time as the steps. Since the grille is plastic and after I figured out the water issue, I let it dry out real good, applied another coat of herculiner, sprayed with flat black spraypaint, then for good measure a light coat of clearcoat over that. It has held up well for the past couple years now.

Oh, and if you use herculiner and it gets on something you don't want it to, you'll probably never get it off. I ruined a tshirt and pants with that stuff and if you get it on your skin it may take a while for it to come off (it does eventually).

 

Yea I've seen pictures of the Herculiner and it looks sub-standard, what about those Raptor kits? I've heard a couple good things about it, thinking of doing my fender flares.

 

Well I'm gettin the feeling that Herculiner is NOT the way to go here. I read a bit on the Raptor stuff but would like some feedback on real world results over time. I am open to suggestions, tell me what is working for you.

 

I used rustoleum bed coating on my step bars. It has held up very well. I sanded it all down, used a primer/rust inhibitor then the two light coats. No chipping or peeling.
They sell it in a kit or spray can. I bought both in case I needed to touch in up which I haven't done yet.
It is not shiny though & has a slight sand texture.

 

Yea I painted my skid plates with it and was'nt really pleased with the texture, but hey I only have to look at it every oil change

 

How long has it been on, is it fading?

 

I'm guessing that is what they looked like right after painting. Have they been on the belly for any length of time, if so how do they look now?

 

Yes this is newly painted, sorry I hav'nt drove the truck in a month since I painted them, I did put a extra heavy coat in the front where road debris would be hitting it.

 

This is what it looked like when I did the project
close up




I will take a pic at lunch of now been on six months....

 

I've Herculined my 96 tacoma bed, rocksliders, and two Jeep interiors/floors.

If its exposed to the elements - it will fade overtime and you will need to re-apply it. Re-applying is simple...no prep work. Just buy a quart can and slap it on.

On the truck - I coated 'over the rails'. I had a tonneau cover. Anything that was underneath the tonneau cover, stayed pretty good for as long as I owned the truck. I had to re-paint the 'over the rails' section a couple times in 5 years. Same with the rock sliders...

I applied Herculiner to the floors of the Wranglers and it lasted as long as I had the Jeeps....

 

I did a small portion of my rear bumper about 2 years ago. It turned gray within a year and is peeling off now.

 

Thanks - this is a great shot of the texture and color depth, can't wait to see it now.

 

Just wondering, how much of this do you think may be attributed to prep?

 

I think herculiner holds up well for the cost. You can spend less than $100 and will hold up well and look if prepped and applied correctly. I've had my rocker panels herculined for a couple of years now it is holding up well. I get compliments on it all the time. I do need to recoat a few spots that thinned out a little bit but I think I didn't apply enough to certain areas. I think raptor liner would be a better alternative, but not everyone has access to an air compressor to spray their truck.







Herculiner did not hold up very well on my sliders though and I would recommend rustoleum spray on bedliner to do sliders.

 

Thanks for the input and especially the pictures. In the center pic it looks like the aggragate bunched up in a few spots, is that so, or is the finish relatively uniform? Its also nice that your in Ohio so I know your experiencing the same weather & road conditions. Do you get off road much? Truck does look sweet by the way.

 

Yeah it kinda clumped together a little bit when I applied it. It was my first time using the stuff and I don't think I mixed it or applied it entirely correctly. If I were to do it again I could probably get it pretty uniform and it may even look better after I recoat the rockers if I ever get around to it lol. I get off road occasionally and you can just power wash dirt and mud off the panels and take a brush to it as well with out any problems.

Thanks man