Herculiner - Anyone have experience?

Thinking of buying some step bars and Herculining them myself to provide long lasting rust prevention to the steel step bars (not stainless).

I've priced getting them Line-X'ed, it's about $200. So if I can get almost the same results for less than 1/2 the cost, I'd like to do that.

Does anyone have experience with Herculiner? Does it look professional and does it work well as a rust preventer? Will it last if proper surface prep is done?

 

I did my truck bed with it and in no time it faded to a dark grey color and you get black shit all over you when you rub against. My advice, pay the extra money and get it done professionaly or you will be kicking yourself in the ass later.

 

Herculined the tub in my Jeep and it didn't hold up well at all. Wish I would of went with a better product and not used what was on sale. I prepped it correctly as well.

 

x2, I'd get the line-x but I've heard good results on raptor liner as well though. It's really hard (if not impossible) to make herculiner look 'professional'. Getting the texture consistent and not clump together when applying it can be a challenege.
I use herculiner on my armor but only because it was relatively cheap and when I tear it up on the rocks it's easy to touch up.

 

Does anyone know if Raptor Liner clumps up like Herculiner?

I've noticed pictures of Herculiner applications looking really clumped up too... Looks like crap IMO, but maybe using a spray gun instead of the roller would help?

 

The bad part about herculiner is that there is no UV protectant in it so it will fade and break down over time. I just used rustoleum rattle can truck bed coating on the floor of my boat and it seems to be pretty good. Its no rubberized just a rough textured paint. Pretty slip resistant.

 

AFAIK, you can't use herculiner in a spray gun. The texturing is quite heavy/chunky (looks like bits of polyurethane foam I guess) and you have to mix it frequently to maintain any consistency.

As far as the UV damage, it hasn't been much of an issue. As soon as I herculined my hood, I put down a coat of spray paint and it has held up pretty good.

 

go here... http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/detailing/246461-raptor-liner-anyone-have-experience.html

 

I prepped & sprayed my raptor bars after one winter in Vermont.
Originally they were black powder coated.
I used Rustoleum Bed Coating spray (two light coats) after sanding them down & using a rust inhibitor primer.
I also scuffed up the plastic steps & sprayed them.
No chips & I can touch it up anyway with a brush if it does.
They still look really good & have held up well after almost 7 months.
Here are before & after pics.

 

That looks pretty good! How easy do they chip or scratch now? Think they'll hold up to winter chemicals? Haven't thought about rustoleum...

 

Put 3 coats on my front bumper and on my skids...this stuff isn't going anywhere. Also put a coat of paint over it to hopefully prevent/resist fading in the Florida sun

 

totally agree.

 

Still not out of the question. And that's definitely the right way to do it.

Though, I'm tempted to try raptor liner to see how it holds up this winter. If it doesnt hold up and I have to go get them Line-X'ed, then I wasted $50-75 on an experiment, and if it does hold up, then I saved $125-150.

Afterall, they only need to hold up until Dec. 21 2012 (Mayans)....

 

They haven't chipped or scratched whatsoever. Really not much fade either.
I have used a powerwasher in DIY car wash w/o any problems even on the plastic.
one light coat of the rust inhibitor & two light coats of the bed coating.
I bought this little nifty hand spray gadget that pops on top of the can so it made it easy stay easy on the trigger.
It was hanging in Lowe's paint section for like $6 & 4 cans of spray, 1 can of RH & military discount less than $40

 

Man that bumper is sick! I want one

 

I've done my 96 tacoma truck bed.... my 96 tacoma rocksliders.... A 92 Jeep tub and a 94 Jeep tub.

For what it is, I'd do it again - depending on the situation.

On my 96 truck bed - I had a tonneau cover on it. It lasted a good 4 years when not exposed to the weather. If you drag heavy objects on it, it will scrape off. Touch ups are EASY. I had it 'over the rails' - and the stuff that was exposed to the weather wore off after a couple years. I had to buy more and re-paint it. No big deal... When you repaint it, there's no prep work. Just paint...easy.

On my 96 Square tube rock sliders - This was also exposed to the weather. I never fully prepped the flat steal, and that's where it would peel up. If you apply it to flat steal - make sure you either paint the surface first and scuff the paint OR scuff the steal somehow so the Herculiner has something to stick to.

92 & 94 Jeep Tubs: This was actually one of the best things I did to the jeep. With proper prep work (the jeep tub was completely bare when we prepped it) ...this stayed nice for years. It never got thin and I never had to re-apply it.

 

if you use a spray gun you have to dilute the herculiner by 10% with some kind of paint thinner. It can be done though. I have herculined the rocker pannels on the past 2 tacomas I have had and i love it. although it does fade over time, it is tough, easy to touch up, and cheap. but when it fades you can put any kind of tire wet on it to bring it back out.

 

Don't apply tire-wet to surfaces that you'll step on..... it'll make the surface slippery as snot!!

 

just did my rear bumper in line x

 

What kind of spray gun? I'm about to redo my rocker panels b/c I rolled on my Herculiner (chunky style) and the edges were rather sloppy. Bought a can of Rustolium (smooth style) to touch up the edges but the first trail and limb ripped a big part of the Rusto off. So, I'm thinking about a re-do and spraying a good edge but I don't want to deal with the clog factor [I like the more 'chunky' look of the Hurculiner and it's worked great on the front bumper.