The Herculiner bed liner seems like an easy way to save several hundred dollars. It’s much cheaper than a professional spray liner, but there are a few tricks you should know. We just installed a roll in bed liner and this is what we discovered.

1. Repair as you go…

Perhaps the best place to use truck bed paint is on older trucks with bed damage. This is your chance to repair minor damage and stop rust while you’re at it. None of this is that hard to do, but it does take some time. Spend a little time. You’ll be glad you did.

2. Clean it well…

Wax and grease on a truck will cause the paint to flake. Clean the bed carefully with an automotive cleaner. It will be acetone or a similar chemical. Do not sand the bed before cleaning it. Sanding causes grease and wax to soak into the old paint!

3. Scratching the paint is good…

That means you want a very rough sanding on the paint on the old bed. There is no reason for fine sanding. Bed paint will adhere much better to a very rough surface. Is that what you want.

4. Putting it on is the easy part…

Putting the paint on the bed liner couldn’t be easier. Look, the paint is thick and contains a lot of texture. That’s why it covers so well and also settles when it dries. That settling produces a surface that looks like it’s been sprayed even if you’ve applied it by roller or brush…

5. Do you want colour?

This is not exactly advice. One advantage that Herculiner has over most other bed paints is the choice of colors. You can get white, red, gray and black. That’s a plus if you want one of those colors.

The Herculiner Bed Liner compares in many ways to liner liners that cost much more. To get a layer that adheres well and stays in place, you need to do careful preparation. This is not difficult, but it takes some time.