Question:

I am looking for 2 different projects. 1) is a standard truck bed liner. 2) is to put on my fiberglass travel trailer. I’d like something durable, and that has more of a shine than matte finish. It doesn’t have to be high gloss, but that would be ok. It doesn’t have to be smooth, but I don’t want it rough and scratchy. And I’d really like a dark red crimson/maroon color that matches my truck as close as possible.

There seems to be a fair amount of info on Durabak and Monstaliner as to their pros and cons, but I can’t really find as much on the Spray Linings and Coating product. How do Spray Lining and Coatings products compare to Durabak and Monstaliner?

Answer:

Durabak is a 1 part product which (in addition to drying by evaporation of VOCs), is moisture cured. It requires a minimum of 40% relative humidity and the cure rate will vary based on this. Monstaliner is also a moisture cured polyurethane, but is a 2 part product which also uses a catalyst.

Both products are less than 100% solids (75% for Durabak, and 70% for Monstaliner) and will be thinner when dry than as applied. This means that you require more coating than you would if applying a 100% solids product such as SL&C.

Both products have a limitation on total mil thickness, but Monstaliner claims that it can be applied up to 40 mil thick (which requires 5-6 coats). This relatively thin coating limitation is typical of all polyurethane products (including the ones we offer for other applications).

The products we market for truck bed lining are intended to be able to provide a thickness comparable to professionally applied coatings, not to be simply painted on to cover. Any quality spray on bedliner shop would be applying a truck bed at a minimum of 60 mils on the floor, and 40 or more mil thickness on the sides for true impact resistance. Quickly achieving that mil height in a DIY product is what our coatings are targeted for.

Although our products can be varied in any manner you like, general application can obtain the 40 mil thickness on verticals in as little as 2 coats, and the floor can even be applied in 1 coat as there are no limitations to how thick a single coat can be. Also, if you read the information for coatings like Monstaliner, they indicate that light duty use is about 2 days, and full service use is 7 – 10 days. While our tests indicate that even this amount of time is usually overstated and requires much longer, the 7 – 10 days simply isn’t acceptable for a product we would market.

At any rate, our products can certainly take care of not only your standard truck bed liner, but we also have the Tintable Bed Liner, the Custom Color Bedliner option, or the Exact Match Bedliner option to allow you as much control over the finished product as you would like. While these, or other products displayed on our storefront can easily be combined and purchased there, we are always available to provide a custom quote based on your specific needs. We are not a “one size fits all” business, and more than 60% of our sales are custom packages for specific applications.

We always welcome you to contact us directly with any questions. You can enter extension 902 at any time from our main greeting on our 1-855-545-4900 support line. By providing some additional details such as square footage, thickness, intended use, we can make more accurate recommendations.