Entries : Category [ TJ 97-05 ]

Regarding all Jeep Wranglers manufactured from 1997--2005

Herculiner

Getting Rid of the Carpet

Well this summer after being caught in a few afternoon monsoons with the doors off, I decided that I didn’t want my carpet anymore, but I also didn't want to scuff up the tub and watch it rust. So I decided to put in a bedliner. At first I attempted to find a reasonably priced professional bedliner and I soon discovered that bedliner installers must be crazy. I was quoted 500-800 for Rhino Liner and 700-1000 dollars for Line-X and both places wanted to keep my Jeep for about a week.

I couldn't have that so I decided to spray on Herculiner myself. I was told it wasn’t that difficult so I decided to bit the bullet and do it myself. First I decided to spray it on rather than roll it on because I was told that it makes it look 10 times better and now that its all said I done I would have to agree.

Getting started wasn't hard at all, first you have to get everything out of the Jeep. This is just a little wrench work. However sanding the paint was a major pain. Maybe I overdid mine a little but I wanted to make sure it would stick.

I then rented a compressor from a tool store for 20 dollars and bought a spray gun from Harbor Freight for 5 dollars. In hindsight I would suggest that if your not going to roll the Herculiner on that you don’t buy the gallon installation kit, all it includes is a few rollers and a gallon of Herculiner. If you buy the quart cans of Herculiner it is about 1/3 cheaper per volume.

After sanding you simply wipe down the tub with thinner, then mask everything off. Now pay attention, this is the most important step especially if you’re spraying. Mask everything off carefully, take your time, doing a good job here will save you hours of tedious cleanup afterwards.

So now all that’s left of the installation is the spraying. It took me less than 30 minute to spray the tub. My gun had a very large nozzle and it sprayed the Herculiner on very thick. When it was all said and done I used 2 gallons of Herculiner. If I had a better gun I could have easily done the tub with a single gallon but honestly I wasn’t bothered by having to spray it on so thick as I'm sure it will make it more durable. My liner is about as thick as a quarter, yes a quarter, no joke and I've already put a beating to it several times and its held up without fail.

Now all you have to do is let it dry and cure then put your seats and such back in.

All in all I really like the Herculiner, but there are two downsides that you should be prepared for. #1 This stuff smells terrible for about two weeks and even now on hot afternoons it is still stinky. #2 When you feet are wet the Herculiner is actually slippery, not dangerously slippery but its definitely doesn’t grab your shoes like it does when its dry.