Back in the early 90’s, there was a Bronco parked near my house that had a textured paint finish that looked like flexstone. Since then, it’s been something floating around in the back of my mind. Having a black FJ and having taken it off-road a bit, I had quite a few scratches. Add to that the typical parking lot dooring, and that was my paint’s state. Correctable but inevitable. I’ve also really despised the silver/gray bumper wings, mirrors, and door handles on the FJ.
I did a lot of research over the past year or so. A number of people have posted pictures or video of their process. This is great but I didn’t find a lot of detail and, after talking to another guy who had one of the same issues as me, I wanted to document as much as I could here.
Materials
Here’s the break down of materials with source and price.
- 8L Raptor liner, hardener, and gun (Amazon)
- U-Pol Grip#4 adhesion promoter (Amazon)
- Xylene (Ace) $8.99
- Degreaser (Ace) $8.59
- 120 grit Sanding discs (Ace)
- 120 grit Sanding Sponges (Ace) $6.99 and $4.79
- Scotch scouring pads (Ace) $5.99
- 6pk Gloves (Ace) $2.99
- 6pk Tack cloths (Ace) $8.99
- 3pk Masking tape (Ace) $12.99
- Paper for masking (used paper Amazon includes in packages mostly and other left overs)
- You’ll also need an air compressor.
I ended up with 2 extra liters of the Raptor but I did not do my roof so 8L probably covers an FJ about perfectly.
Why Raptor Liner?
I went for Raptor because it reportedly holds up in the sun due to its UV resistance. I live in Arizona and the difference between a generic brand shade sail and a Coolaroo is one summer vs. about a decade. I’ve repeatedly learned this lesson. Here, I don’t have to worry about rust but the sun destroys everything eventually.
A word about the finish: satin. I would’ve preferred the more matte appearance of other bed liners where Raptor has more of a satin sheen but, again, the sun… .
Prep
As with painting, the time is mostly in the prep. I spent the first day cleaning, degreasing, and then sanding the clear coat. Most of the second day was spent on cleaning again, masking, and spraying the adhesion promoter.
Spraying
There is not much overspray and the wind seemed to have little to no effect. I sprayed from about 18” with some exception getting behind things.
Issues
Clogging
The first issue was one I had read about in Amazon reviews mostly. The gun can get clogged up and I found I had to run Xylene through the gun between each coat. For this, I used my first spent bottle of liner, put a little Xylene in it, and sprayed it through the gun. Then, after attaching the next fresh bottle of liner, I sprayed a little on some pallets to be sure I got the Xylene out.
Missed a Spot
In the end, I missed a spot where you can still see some of the effects of the sanding. I intend to either use some touchup paint or ignore it completely—it’s very hard to see.
Too Heavy
I’m not sure if it was getting too close or just hitting the same area too many times but, to get behind the door handles and mirrors, it got too thick which is noticeable. I might’ve rather have had some lack of finish behind the handles.
Leaves and Debris
It got windy right before I started spraying so some mesquite ended up landing on the wet liner. My advice is to leave it. The pieces I pulled off seemed to take some liner with it. The pieces I decided to wait on seemed to float to the surface. My guess is this is due to the off-gassing. After about an hour, I was able to just blow the pieces off.
Unmasking
Opinions vary over whether it’s better to unmask shortly (an hour) after spraying or after it’s more dry. I sprayed in the evening and unmasked the next morning (it was cold for AZ: in the 30’s F). The tape came off pretty easily but I did use a razor in a few spots—most often where the liner was thicker.
I forgot to unmask the bumper reflectors for a few days and they required some serious razoring. That was clearly too long.
Curing
It takes 5-7 days to fully cure. Even in the dryness of AZ, I avoided using the vehicle for the full 7 days although I did make a couple trips.
Final Finish
The final product is reportedly durable, flexible, and sound-deadening. I can’t say I’ve noticed the latter but I’ve made an effort to brush up against mesquite, palo verde, and creosote with no noticeable affect.
I met someone the other day who said he could attest to the ding resistance; however, apparently the dirtiness is constant. We will see.
With Rain
Questions?
No problem. I’ll do my best to answer or update the post.
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