How to: Roll on bedliner | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

How to: Roll on bedliner

PLEASE DO NOT TURN THIS INTO A _____ VS. ______ ARGUMENT OR COMMENT ON HOW YOURS IS SUPERIOR, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT GO START ANOTHER THREAD.


Here is how I did my DIY roll on bedliner,

01.jpg

The first thing you are going to need is a nice clean empty bed, clean as in take a pressure washer to it and get out all of the dirt and whatever else is in there.

02.jpg

Now what you are going to need to do is to remove the metal tie down points and drain plugs from the bed. I forgot about the two little rubber seal pieces so they are not pictured here, but they can be seen in some of the other photos still attached. Those will also need to be removed.

03.jpg

The bedliner is not going to stick to the bed without a little prep. We are going to need to rough up the surface a little bit to give it something to grab to. I used 60 grit sandpaper for this, it was the lowest grit I could find locally.

04.jpg

As you can see it is pretty rough, it should do the job nicely.

05.jpg

Now the fun part! Sand your entire bed, anywhere that you plan on having bedliner will need to be sanded. If you skimp on this step plan on having crappy results.

06.jpg

After everything is sanded your going to need to blow out the dust, this can be done with an air compressor or even a landscaping blower. Once that is done you need to wipe it all down with Xylene. Only use Xylene, don't use Lacquer Thinner or Acetone.

07.jpg

After you wipe it with Xylene you will notice the bed has a matte look to it. Make sure you wipe everywhere that is going to get bedliner. Xylene is some pretty nasty stuff, so wear chemical resistant gloves and do this in a well ventilated area.

08.jpg

Now we are going to need to start masking, I strongly recommend buying a roll of this painters paper and using it like I did. If I had not used it I would have gotten bedliner on my paint.

09.jpg

Continue masking, making sure it is all stuck very well and you have nice straight lines. At this point you may notice that I chose to leave my tailgate attached. Doing this will make masking a little harder but overall not too bad.

10.jpg

Now we are ready to start putting bedliner down. Do not be cheap and use a stick to mix it, pick up one of the mixers that attaches to a power drill and use it to mix the bedliner. There is tons of little granules and textured pieces at the bottom of the can, your going to need to mix it for a few minutes until they are evenly distributed and floating in the can.

11.jpg

For the application you are going to need a paintbrush and a roller handle. The bedliner comes with some special paint roller covers that allow for a nice texture, only use these.

12.jpg

Here you can see the texture of the roller covers that are included with the kit.

13.jpg

Now get the first coat down. Don't worry about putting it on thick, your second coat will take care of that. Use the brush to get corners and little spaces you can't get with the roller. Don't brush with it side to side, you need to just dab it up and down.

14.jpg

Many people get scared after the first coat since you will see plenty of paint though the bedliner. Relax, this will go away after the second coat.

15.jpg

People also get scared after seeing the texture, it is similar to the sandpaper we just used to prep the bed. Also relax, this will go away after coat number two.

16.jpg

After that dries for a hour or a little more depending on the temperature/humidity where you are doing it it will be time for coat number two. You can really see things are starting to look better now, a nice consistent texture for the most part and less sandpaper looking texture.

17.jpg

Now you need to pull off all of the masking you did. Don't let the bedliner cure before doing this, you will need to remove it shortly after doing the second coat for best results.

18.jpg

Here is how it looks after pulling off the masking.

19.jpg

Texture looks very good, a lot better then after the first coat.

20.jpg

Clean, solid lines like this can be achieved with proper masking.

21.jpg

Here is how it looks all put back together and after drying in the sun for a few days and after putting bedrail caps on. So far I am very happy I did this to my bed and glad I ditched the plastic drop in that was in the truck before.

durabak-truck-bedliners-logo.gif

For this tutorial I used one gallon of Durabak-18. Durabak-18 has a UV coating already mixed into it that will resist fading, this costs a little more than the regular Durabak but I feel it is worth it. More information as well as ordering information can be found at http://www.durabakcompany.com/.

I will have a video up soon showing how the stuff in your bed won't slide around like it does with stock plastic bedliners, as well as a few pictures comparing texture of my bedliner with that of a spray in bedliner.


Edit, forgot one VERY important thing. Keep this stuff away from your hootus!
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Bravo! I give this 5 stars, a great write up. Especially good for people looking to save money by doing it themselves.
 












Nice write-up. I was going to go with the Rhino liner, but I think you have me sold on the Durabek now.

Thanks!
 


















Thanks guys. I used a tiny bit less than the full gallon, I put the second coat on pretty thick.

that is good to know. I was wondering about that. Thanks!
 






Nice job! I should have done a write-up when I just did mine. oh well.
 






korey,

First off, I would have went with Herculiner, it is far superior to Durabake..... NO Just Kidding!!!

Great writeup and great results. I have never heard of Durabak before. Will definitely look into it-I want to paint my rockers. Also good info on the Xylene, definitely use a ventilated area as you said. Or enjoy hallucinations... Interested to hear if the Durabak will stay glossy black over the next few months.

Post some pics of your Ranger, looks really nice!!
 






First, great write up.

Cannot emphasize enough the need to apply Xylol in a well ventilated area. I Herc'd my new 5'x10' steel trailer and finished with a nasty headache (and probably a few less brain cells).
 












She is a beauty-love the monochromatic look. Very clean!
 






very clean, i like it :)
 






Korey,

You left out one very impotant part.

Wear gloves and DON'T TOUCH YOUR HOOTUS :D
 






^^ hah :P ^^
 






Back
Top