| Parts
List : |
Herculiner
kit - 1 gallon |
|
|
Herculiner
UV Protectant |
|
| Tools
Required : |
Socket
Wrench Set |
|
| Air
compressor (optional) |
| Xylene
or Acetone |
| Undercoating
paint gun (optional) |
| Torx
Set |
| Paint
gun (optional) |
| Painters
masking tape |
| Power
washer |
| POR-15
(paint over rust) |
| Painters
mask (aka Respirator) |
| INTRODUCTION:
I had my tub professionally repaired and my jeep painted a year
and a half ago. Since then, rain and rust have done a number
on it and major rust areas have surfaced. Not only
that, my jeep takes a beating with tool boxes sliding around as
well as getting scratched from various other items I use while
4-wheeling. I bought a Herculiner kit and sat on this
project for months until it got to the point where I was going to
lose my tub to the elements. |
|
| The
very first step is to remove everything from the interior of the
jeep. This includes the seatbelts, seats, hi-beam switch
(just tuck up under the dash), the main wiring harness going to
the rear of the tub, rollbar padding... you get the point. |
|
| Next
step was to attack the rust areas with a wire brush. Remove
the rust the best that you can. If you have a hole in the
tub from rust, this is the time to cut it out and weld new metal
in. |
|
| I
then treated every area that had rust with POR-15. Do what
you can to seal the tender areas of the tub. Powerwash the
tub really good with soap and water to remove all the dirt and let
dry. If you don't have a power washer, you can do what
I did and bolt the driver's seat back in and drive to a local car
wash. Be careful, you don't have brake lights !!!
(remember, you removed the harness?) |
|
| After
the tub dries, take the scotch bright pad they give you in the
Herculiner kit and scratch up the entire inside of the jeep where
you plan to apply the Herc. You don't have to go to
bare metal, just make sure the paint is not shiny
anymore.
Now blow out, sweep and or wipe the
dust out with a damp rag. When dry, take the Acetone
or Xylene and wipe down the entire inside of the tub.
This stuff is nasty, so wear your respirator when you do it.
Make sure you're in a well ventilated area.
|
|
| The
real pain in the ass about doing a bedliner project is taping off
the jeep. This step more than anything will dictate the
quality of the job when you're done. Tape off
everything you don't want to get Herculiner on. For any
threaded holes in your tub (like the ones that hold the seats in,
seat belts, etc), use masking tape and screw some into the
hole. This will keep the Herc from gumming up the
threads.
NOTE: I didn't remove my roll bar
because I have a full cage in my jeep, it's black, and I wanted to
actually seal up the seam around the roll bar cleats to be
absolutely watertight. |
|
| Notice
in these couple of pics that you don't have to remove the tailgate
as some would suggest. Just tape it off really
well. Herculiner when sprayed on, doesn't really over spray
much at all so using newspaper along the sides of the tub will
suffice. I found that I didn't even need to paper the
windshield after all. |
 |
| Ok,
now you're ready to spray (preferable method) or paint and roll
your Herculiner. Spraying this stuff is THE best
alternative and absolutely provides a much more professional
quality in the result over rolling or brushing.
If you can, take the jeep outside
in the sunlight. Herculiner is super toxic to inhale so use
your respirator! The sun will speed up the curing time
in between coats (you'll be doing 3 coats). |
 |
| Set
your air compressor at 40psi and spray the Herculiner 10-12 inches
from the tub. Herc kinda splatters out of the
undercoating gun, but that's what makes the rough texture.
It can quickly pool into small puddles, so keep the gun moving
back and forth. |
 |
| Ok
you may have noticed that I'm not wearing coveralls or even long
pants. Not the greatest idea, but I actually ended up
only wearing a little Herc on my legs and clothes. It's
tough as hell to get off your skin. Best thing is to use
water and literally scrub and pick it off of yourself. |
 |
| This
is the result after only 1 coat. What a huge
difference! Notice that there's hardly any over spray if you
take your time and don't get crazy with this stuff. Wait
anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before going on to the second
and third coats. You want the Herc to start setting up and
only be "tacky" to the touch. |
 |
| After
3 coats we're getting really happy with the
outcome! I pushed the jeep back in the garage
and let it cure overnight. The following morning I
used a regular paint gun to spray the UV Protectant over the
Herculiner. I did this because Herculiner fades to
gray from the Sun and this stuff is supposed to retain the glossy,
black finish. I'll let you all know after the Summer
:-) |
 |
| Here's
the finished product! The tub looks like new and now has a
tough, durable lining to fend off the elements and my size 13
boots... |
 |
| If
this picture doesn't convince you to go get a kit of Herculiner
tomorrow then I don't know what to tell you. I was extremely
happy with the outcome of this project. |
 |
| Here's
shot that shows how nicely the tailgate came out. You can
also see that I didn't go all the way up the firewall.
This was a terrific upgrade to my
Jeep. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at
jimadams68@comcast.net |
 |
