Bedliner Wrap-up

I’ve had the liner in for a total of two weeks, and here’s my report.

1. Don’t let it get too old. I’ve had this kit sitting in a climate-controlled cool, dark corner for two (three?) years while I got my act together to spray it in. In that time, the primer hardened to a solid in the bottles, the main component skinned over about 1/2″, and the black activator component looked like it was beginning to go bad. The folks at Al’s were very helpful and suggested I buy more activator when I ordered replacement primer. When I got the order they even threw in a spraycan of mold release, which helped when cleaning the spray gun out (the excess basically peels right out).
2. Mix it really well. I used the mixing attachment they supplied with the kit, which probably works fine for brand-new materials, but I could have used something with a wider paddle to really get things mixed well. I sprayed the primer on the bed as instructed and then mixed the first batch of liner. When I test-shot it on some spare door panels, I got a white foam for the first 30 seconds or so and then the liner started coming out–some of the C component may have been bad as well. This was after 5 minutes of mixing. My liner looks good but there are little boogers here and there where the main component hadn’t dissolved all the way, and they’re still sticky.
3. Dial the pressure in early. The pressure on my compressor was set very low to begin with (around their recommendation) and I got a very thick, gloopy spray at first. It was so bad that I was getting random puddles in different areas as I tried to clear the nozzle. I shot about 1/2 the hopper worth of liner before I got wise and increased the pressure, and at that point the spray went on smoother. I’d also recommend having a thick-nap roller handy to smooth out the puddles; I wasn’t thinking ahead that far but in hindsight it would have made a big difference.

So it’s in; I’m relatively happy with the results but I wish I’d had more time to experiment with the compressor and think through the application.