[2 tacomas]

Well, I posted some pics of this in another thread and started to get some questions about it so I decided to start a new thread. Basically, I got sick and tired of having to tie down any and everything that I put in the bed of my truck to keep stuff from sliding around like a damn hockey puck on ice back there. I hate the look of the rubber bet mats that Toyota sells, and I wanted a permanent solution (not just a band-aid) for this problem.

I tested this stuff (Herculiner) by putting it on my tailgate a week ago and it had no problems sticking to the composite material our bed is made out of (at least no problems yet :lol: ). To prep the tailgate/bed I simply used a rag with acetone and cleaned the bed real good...the bottom of my bed and my tailgate were already scuffed up pretty damn good from me using my bed to haul firewood, hunting equipment and lots of other stuff so I didn't try to scuff it up anymore(plus if it all peeled off, my bed wouldn't look worse than before I put it on).

First, I went it bought 2 quarts of herculiner for about $18 a quart....you can buy it buy the gallon, but I just wanted to do the bottom of my bed and my tailgate- 2 quarts worked out perfect for me. I decided to test it on the inside of my tailgate to see how I liked it...after it dried I was amazed at the strength of this stuff!! The following day I put a few coats on the top of my tailgate, and then a week later I put a few coats on the bottom part of my bed. I found that using a roller w/ a foam head works much better than using a paint brush...you can control the texture much easier w/ the roller.

I'll have to get some daytime pics of my bed because it is really hard to see the herculiner at night (it also looks much better in person then compared to what it looks like in these pics- I think the flash makes it look funny). I used black and it blends in very well with our beds. Even in the daytime it is not very noticeable, the main difference is that the liner is more shiny than the rest of my bed- but that is probably just because the liner is new and I have not had a chance to get it dirty yet. Also for some reason it reflects weird colors when I try to take a picture of it.....I think it is just the flash in my camera because you do not see those colored specs when the light hits it.

Supplies (Beer is optional but recommend :chug:

Here is a picture after I completed the tailgate...I had not yet coated the bed at this point- this pic gives a good idea of how the Herculiner looks when cured on the composite bed material:

Here are a few pics after I completed the bottom of the bed:

Will this stuff last on our beds?? Who knows...but I seriously doubt I will have any problems with it.....it feels tough as hell on my bed. I will put it through a pretty good test in about 2 weeks when I go on a week-long hunting trip. I'll see how it holds up to firewood, hunting gear, mud, and hopefully a few deer as well.

 

[Pb]

Looks good. But I've heard that Herculiner fades from the sun after a couple years.

 

[2 tacomas]

Looks good. But I've heard that Herculiner fades from the sun after a couple years.

I actually hope it fades a little.....it is actually a bit darker than the rest of my bed. Herculiner covered up the nasty scratches that looked WHITE in my bed and on my tailgate (especially the top piece).......and I can now use my bed without having to tie every little thing down. If you ever have any fading issues (or are worried about it) you can always buy http://www.herculiner.com/topcoat.html- it is a UV protectant that they make ($20), you can put it on when new or after a few years, it will protect and restore the liner color....no matter what the condition.

 

[BillBrasky]

PB, the professional buzzkiller.

 

[Pb]

Just passing on info I heard. Herculiner looks like a good value.

 

[MINI2NUT]

I used the product a few years ago on my prior truck. Very happy with the results for the price. I like your idea of Herculing the inside of the tailgate panel for reinforcement.

 

[cj99si]

Looks like you did a pretty good job, but... the mat still wins.

 

[kooltaco]

Looks great.

Are you also going to Herculine the metal supports at the rear of the bed?

Has anyone done this on their front skid plates? I like the OEM color on white & Silver Taco's though most other colors would look great with a Herculined Black skid plate.

 

[Pb]

How well does it bond to the bed? I wonder if it can be chipped or scraped off easily?

 

[Deezz22]

How well does it bond to the bed? I wonder if it can be chipped or scraped off easily?

Thats the same question i have too. i would like to do this to my bed and also an enclosed dirt bike trailer i am about to buy. Im not sure how well it would bond to the wood floor in the trailer...

 

[jdwilson]

well, if all else fails, at least the "tool list" is complete.:lol:

in my opinion, the sun will fade anything, it's pretty powerful. i had an older taco with the rhino liner, it was soft and dirt got in it and turn it colors, i could take some mean green and clean it but then it would turn greenish colored. i don't know about line-x, not many people i know can afford one of those, and the cheap old bondo bed liner is worthless, it's no better than fingernail polish.

 

[goldmember]

2tacomas, let us know how it hold ups. I may look into this by spring to cover up the ugly white marks all over my bed as well.

 

[gahunter]

herc liner

2 TACOS .. It appears from the pictures you removed the Torx bolts from the tailgate cover to access the inside. I was wondering how you kept the Herc Liner material off the bed bolts. Did you tape them off or use a cap over? I hope this works because I may do the same. I was considering buying the mat but due to cost and the fact I don't like mats, the liner may be a good thing. I also hate the slick ^%(#%^&* bed. The only advantage I see to the mat is that you can remove if transporting a large object which when you need to unload the slick bed would be an asset in pulling to the back of the truck.

 

[remelad]

I spray bedliners at my shop using Spray On Products chemicals. Similar to Rhino. Both Rhino & SOP have done testing on the composite beds and does not recommend them being sprayed because it will peel. The beds are made using petroleum which does not allow the chemicals to adhere properly.

I also have never seen anybody have a Herculined bed that did not chip. Hopefully you will change things!

 

[Pb]

The guy at Line-X told me that the composite bed had to be sprayed with a primer first before they could spray on the Line-X coating.

 

[remelad]

We usually use primer on any bare wood, aluminum, steel, etc but with the composition of the bed material, we haven't found a primer that would adhere to it. I would love to know of one if its out there!!

Really sucks owning a business that does spray on liners and I can't eve spray my own bed!!! :sosad:

 

[Deezz22]

hey remelad, since you do this kind of stuff at your shop, what kind of primer is used on a wooden floor?

 

[remelad]

Yes, it should. Well...ours will anyway. Not sure about LineX as they use a different system to spray. Its high pressure compared to our low pressure system.

We have sprayed about half dozen enclosed trailers. The whole floor plus about 1' up the wall. We have also sprayed inside of boats that were wood. Wood just needs primered before spraying.

 

[Deezz22]

ok thanks a lot, im thinking of going this route when i get my trailer. Another question is black the only color you can do this in? Also how much does this run?

 

[2 tacomas]

How well does it bond to the bed? I wonder if it can be chipped or scraped off easily?

It feels like it has bonded really well....the stuff is hard as rock on there. When I was putting it on, I started with a thin base coat- let that sit for about 2 hours and then put on a much thicker coat, then a few hours later I put one more thin layer on top of that. I was messing with it a little today to see if I could get any to scrape of.....running my house key across it did nothing to the coat- even when I really laid into it and tried to scratch it. Anyone in the Northern VA area is more than welcome to come see my truck and check it out for themself.....just shoot me a PM.

Thats the same question i have too. i would like to do this to my bed and also an enclosed dirt bike trailer i am about to buy. Im not sure how well it would bond to the wood floor in the trailer...

Here is what they say about the stuff on their website: http://www.herculiner.com/index.html

"Because it can bond to virtually any surface or material, HERCULINER can be applied to wood, metal, concrete, aluminum, asphalt, rubber, fiberglass, and most plastics, including PVC."

2tacomas, let us know how it hold ups. I may look into this by spring to cover up the ugly white marks all over my bed as well.

Will do:thumbup: I hear you on the white marks in the bed....parts of my bed and tailgate were nearly completely white from all the scratches.

I will be giving it a pretty good strength test the first week of January when I go on a week long hunting trip....I'll post results when I get back and try to randomly post updates every month or so (or sooner if I happen to run into any problems).

2 TACOS .. It appears from the pictures you removed the Torx bolts from the tailgate cover to access the inside. I was wondering how you kept the Herc Liner material off the bed bolts. Did you tape them off or use a cap over? I hope this works because I may do the same. I was considering buying the mat but due to cost and the fact I don't like mats, the liner may be a good thing. I also hate the slick ^%(#%^&* bed. The only advantage I see to the mat is that you can remove if transporting a large object which when you need to unload the slick bed would be an asset in pulling to the back of the truck.

I removed all but one of them (I couldn't get the damn thing to come up and I didn't want to round-out the head). Use a #55 torx to remove the big bolts. For the bolt that I couldn't get out I just put tape over it and the washer and you can't tell a difference between it and the others that I removed.

I also have never seen anybody have a Herculined bed that did not chip. Hopefully you will change things!

Maybe I'll get lucky :lol: I've seen enough pics and read enough good experiences from people (on sites other than Herculiner's) to be confident enough to say the stuff seems pretty damn tough and reliable in most cases. I did a decent amount of research and comparisons to other brands before I went out and bought the stuff.
My friend's dad actually bought an old International Scout a few years ago and used Herculiner on the floor and plastic parts of the interior/dash. I haven't seen the truck in a few years, but when I called my friend last night he said that they have had no problems with the Herculiner at all. It's been on the truck for more than 2 years and that truck has seen some serious mud (they just use it as a beater/farm vehicle).

We usually use primer on any bare wood, aluminum, steel, etc but with the composition of the bed material, we haven't found a primer that would adhere to it. I would love to know of one if its out there!!

Really sucks owning a business that does spray on liners and I can't eve spray my own bed!!! :sosad:

Well then you better not look at the pics in this thread.....
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107440
This guy had his Tacoma's bed Line-xed over a year ago and has had no problems at all.

ok thanks a lot, im thinking of going this route when i get my trailer. Another question is black the only color you can do this in? Also how much does this run?

You can get it in black, grey, white, red and maybe even a few other colors- look around their website and I am sure you will find more info: http://www.herculiner.com/product_info.html
I found the stuff for $18 a quart. They also had a kit that contained 1 gallon of Herculiner, a paint brush, a couple of rollers, and a few other things...the kit was about $75 total. I didn't need a gallon for what I wanted to do, so I just bought 2 quarts.



Bottom line....I was just looking for a solution to a problem that I (and obviously many others on here) have with the bed. Someone has got to "pony up" and be the sacrificial lamb for pretty much every new idea that someone has with these trucks. Hopefully my idea will work out and I will be able to give another option for dealing with the slippery beds in these trucks. Even if I get minor chipping after a year or two I will be happy with what I have done...it is very easy to go back and touch up this stuff if ever necessary and my bed looks way better than it did with all of those WHITE scratches in it. -Hell, the line-x in buddies tundra has several chips in it after just one year (the bar on the front of his 4 wheeler hitting the front of his bed has really been hell on the line-x....he can get the liner fixed for free though). I will just have to wait and see how it holds up.....