cheap and effective bed/frame/whatever protector

[big_truxx]

I hadnt seen a post on this before so I figured I would share. There was a small article in Four Wheeler that had a guy using (non fibered) aluminum roof coating to protect his frame and underside of his new bed. This stuff can even be applied to greasy metal since its petroleum based, and will still work good. The best part; the cost. $25 for a 5 gallon pail at the local Home Depot. That is just 1/8th the cost per gallon that the bedliner from walmart costs. $40 per gallon for the walmart bedliner. I have used the wal mart bedliner before and did like it for the price. The aluminum roof coating takes overnight to dry and is almost impossible to get off. That's what we are looking for isn;t it? Something cheap, effective and permanent?

 

[original balzer]

does it come in other colors or just silver???? i gotta point out the negitives lol

 

[big_truxx]

ya got me there. But you have to admit for the price it's awesome for trail rigs

 

[Russell]

I work with this stuff in the summer coating balcony floors with it. Its insanely sticky stuff, if you get it on your skin, its on you until that skin falls off, lol It remains a softer coating after it dries, so it will be very impact resistant. Only issue is that the stuff I buy comes with rubber crumble in it for traction on the decks. The stuff I buy comes in flat grey, flat black, and a shinier sandstone color.

If I could find the same stuff without the rubber crumble in it, I wouldn't hesistate to put it onto my frame / underchassis, I was considering putting the rubber crumble stuff in the box as a bed liner...

 

[original balzer]

flat black and not crumby for me thanks

 

[big_truxx]

When I get the chance to I would lik eot buy some just to see how it is. And I will let everyone know the details of what I find. But currently Im in a big mess with wife and all. Long story.... so doubt it will be any time soon.

 

[cbbr]

Would it be any good to do a trailer bed? How hard does it get? I have an old military trailer that I am going to use for camping trips - Gear hauler and a place to sleep. No real hauling very often. Been looking at bedliner, but this may work.

 

[rerun93]

u siad it stays durable and flexable still? so i would be a good sound dentner for the inside of the cab maybe? if it stays kinda rubery i might try this out real soon. i will but my carpet and paddin over the top of it though so i wont even see it. what do u guys think.

 

[cegusman]

Do you roll/brush it on or can you spray it on?

 

[big_truxx]

brush or maybe roll on. that stuffs THICK IIRC

 

[Russell]

Yep, brush it or roll it, I would highly reccomend against putting it in your paint gun, lol

 

[big_truxx]

yeah maybe a hot glue gun would work better?

 

[diesel4me]

I've used it before....

I painted the roof of my van with aluminum mobile home and roof coating,when I got tired of doing it every year with regular enamel--the heat peels paint off in short order,but the roof coating has held up well,only did it twice in 10 years since I did it --the stuff doesnt harden real solid,it stays flexible enough to stretch and shrink with the steel when it expands and contracts,so it wont crack---I dont think I'd use it on a truck bed or trailer floor,it would get scraped off rather easily--and I used some to seal concrete poured in the arches of my quonset hut garage,and it didnt adhere,you can lift it off in big sheets--it does stick very well to metal,wood,and other materials though..

I'm not sure it would perform any better than regular rubberized undercoating,but it is much cheaper,and no worse--the other types of asphalt emulsion roof coatings and foundation coatings might work even better--many contractors paint underground pipes and tanks with the black roof and foundation coating before burial,and I have seen 30 year old oil tanks unearthed that were still like new,and the coating still intact--its nasty stuff to work with though,I dont think you could spray it,even with an undercoating gun,you'd have to brush it on---R-M paints usued to make a "chassis black" paint that was basically the same thing,it said to thin it with gas(!) to spray it--I think Limco bought out the R-M paint line......

I bet I've tried everything known to mankind to prevent my trucks from rust,and guess what--mother nature always wins!!--despite all the undercoatings,POR-15,drain oil,grease,paint,roof coatings,driveway sealer,and many other things like linseed oil,white lube spray,etc--they ALL slow it down,but so far nothing I've tried stops the salt induced cancer,all my trucks in the past have rusted away despite my best efforts--I think a good bath of drain oil from a diesel engine with a spray gun is the best so far,but you must apply it every few months,and get used to turning black with soot every time you wrench on the truck!!--but its cheap,if not free,and effective!...ever notice how the ONLY rust free spot on a GM truck is where the transfer case heaved 90w all over the floor in the middle of the cab??

 

[darkshadow]

any one have some pics of this stuff?

maybe on a piece so we can see befor and after?

 

[rerun93]

is this it?

hhttp://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=12035-29-6215-GAttp://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=12035-29-6215-GA

or this?

also do u guys think this will seal so it wont rust. or should i lay from rustoelum primer down first
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=12034-29-6211-GA

 

[Russell]

http://www.ducan.com/products/roll_dek.html

This is the stuff I am gonna try. Apparantly they don't sell Top Cote in flat black like I originally thought, so I sent them an email asking if it would adversely affect the stuff if I added a black dye to it...

If they figure I am able to do so, I will coat my frame with it, and be your guy's test dummy

If it doesn't work, I can just take it off with a scraper, sand blast it, and re-coat it with Zero Rust, which is the best stuff for coating frames as far as I am concerned (with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator being next on the list, and POR-15 after that)

 

[Russell]

I just got a reply from Duncan about using the stuff on my frame. He sounded quite positive about the idea, he told me that I can add a tint to the coating, and that while I won't be able to get pitch black from it, I will be able to get a very dark charcol, which is close enough for me. He also reccomended that I scuff the metal where possible with a DA if wire brushing the frame, and to give the frame a shot of some epoxy primer to make sure that no rust will bubble up underneith the coating.