Herculiner Installation

Once upon a time, when I owned a Nissan Hardbody, I decided to try my hand at
a DO-IT-YOURSELF Herculiner Roll On Bed Liner Kit.
I kept this page up because I always run across people wanting to see how these kits come out.

I bought the Herculiner Kit from Pep Boys for $79.99. Then Pep Boys offered a $20 Mail-In rebate. In addition to that Herculiner has a $20 Mail-In rebate (kind of like those weird best buy store rebates in addition to the manufacture's rebate). The Pep Boys rebate doesn't require the cut out barcode, and the Herculiner one does. So I submitted both. So it looks like I scored $40 in rebates bringing the kit down to $39.99!

I received both $20 mail in rebates; one from Herculiner and the other from Pepboys. That brought my total for the kit down to the $39.99. Wow, I got a good deal. But it is such a sneaky charge. Little does one realize just how much work it is to install. Yeah, I guess it could be installed easier and within less time than my install took, but I really did it by the book and tried to do it right. And the end result was so nice.

I give this thing about a 6.5 out of 10. It is good, but NO WHERE near as durable as my Speedliner I had on my Tacoma. This kit is perfect for the DIY who plans on light duty usage of their bed. However, after hauling a refrigerator, 13 sheets of plywood, concrete blocks, ceramic tile, and trees which I have cut down, it started showing its "budgetness". Fortunately, a nice can of flat black really helped dress up the BoBos.

It held up well, but all I am saying is, it is obviously no where near the quality of a pro job. And I know, without a doubt, I ULTRA prepped this installation.

This is just for all of you who are curious about the roll-on stuff. Again, it is good and cheap, and PERFECT for light to medium duty. And for the HUGE savings, I was 100% satisfied for the money I spent.

 

Well, here it is after taking the drop in liner out. The first thing to do is to clean it all out and wash it. And then remove the tailgate.

Here's another shot of it before

Here is what it looked like after getting all cleaned out and washed (with the tailgate removed)

Just another look at it cleaned (but still wet)

All dry now

I masked off the latch access (after removing the plate). I don't think this is completely needed. Just be careful when applying the liner.

Here is the masking on the tailgate accomidating the Over-The-Rail (OTR) liner.

After about an hour of masking, measuring, and protecting, here is what the truck looked like.

Another look

Another

Next step - SCOTCH BRITE! This is where all of the elbow grease kicks in. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR - Don't use the rinky dink pad that came with the kit.

Just showing you how it looks while you scuff it all up

Tailgate all masked and scuffed

Yep

Ok, so here it is all done and scuffed. After that I blew it all out with the compressor and used some Goof Off (Xylol) to clean the surface.

Here is the upgraded scuffing pad I used. This makes it a million times easier. Buy about 6 of them.

FIRST COAT looks like CRAP. I decided, since the instructions only recommended a very light coat to act as a primer, to use only the brush.

The first coat is easy. You can get inside the truck (as long as you work from the front to the back)

It sure does look terrible. But don't worry.

Tailgate gets some love too.

Now, time for the 2nd coat. Hmmm, What to do? How about the push broom handle (since you won't be able to get inside the truck again).

Here it is after the 2nd coat! WOW what a difference! The masking MUST come off ASAP.

Masking is one of the most important aspects of making it come out clean.

Prep work is even more important in making sure the Herculiner sticks to the surface. Cutting corners on prep will not work!

Kind of blurry, but just to give you an idea of the OTR coverage and the result of using GOOD masking such as blue painter's tape.

You will have some left over (maybe). You will need this the next day when you can climb into the bed and do all of the touchups.

You may have missed some spots. The left over herculiner will come in handy for those areas.

Tailgate is done!

Here it is put on the truck. Now I just need to install the hardware again!

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