Hey everyone,
I finally got around to doing a lining on my trunk this weekend. 10 years of no carpet in the RS took its toll on the paint for sure. I had searched over and over for anyone that had done a bed liner or anything like that in their trunk (in an evo... found plenty of old muscle cars that had done it), but only found a few anecdotal references, so I figured I'd put mine here in case it comes up for people down the road.

I used a product called Durabak, which is just like rhinoliner, line-x, herculiner, etc, except the primary market is marine use. The Navy actually uses the stuff on a few of their ships. It is more or less the same concept, hard *** liner material with captive rubber bits.
Anything short of Line-X looks like crap after a year and knowing they weren't going to do my trunk I had to go a different route. I went away from the traditional herculiner and other cheap over the counter stuff not just because I have heard way too many bad reviews of it, duplicolor, etc parts store ones. I figured the stuff the Navy uses is good enough for my trunk, plus they offer it in colors

The bright red is definitely close enough for me. It is very bright/reflective(?) though and taking photos is very difficult as it turns orange/yellow in pictures where the sunlight is strongest. Probably need some dusk photos.
Anywho.... here's the beat to hell trunk:

First coat still wet:

And second coat nearly dry... I ran low on material as the can could not be resealed and I lost a good bit to drying. Sucks. I will probably get more and do the strut towers too anyway though.




24 hours cured:


Over all I'm quite pleased. One of the big hang ups I had that kept me putting it off was the look of black linings in a red car. I was concerned about how crappy it would look. This lessened the effect quite a bit.




............in before "why didn't you just buy carpet" and "ZOMG you added 1.9 lbs to the vehicle you're going to be slooooooooow"

 

I have always liked this for function. I have seen it done on a few drift cars, as well as engine bays. I went to formula D and spoke with a guy that did it to his engine bay and he loved it. I also know a guy that sprayed his whole F250 super duty. Instead of cleaning it he just spays as he goes. How much do you think it weighs though? I'm sure not much at all but still curious.

 

A few pounds tops. I should have weighed the can before I started using it but I forgot. If I had to guess I would say about 2 lbs wet. Not sure if it gets heavier when curing (I think it is moisture activated from humidity rather than aerobic), but obviously it would be a very small change if any.
The next can I get I will weigh before opening. I used about 2/3 of a quart in there for reference. I will probably do a few spots again and then the strut towers unless I get lazy and decide it looks good enough :P
The last two pictures are the most accurate representation of how it looks now with minimal lighting issues like the pictures ahead of them.

 

I have seen trucks completely linex'd on the outside, and remember a guy back in the mr2 forum days where he gutted the interior and linex'd it all. It turned out really nice actually. Looks good, did it also quiet down any road and exhaust noise any?

 

Ya Line X is the bomb... expensive though, and getting them to do something like this isn't terribly easy.

I want to say there is a tiny muting of the muffler and rear road noise, it might be wishful thinking though.

I was considering mixing up some lizard skin (latex and ceramic microballoons) and doing the floors.... that is supposed to be really good about quieting things down, like at dynomat levels, but at minimal weight. Being latex though it isn't for wear areas... under the carpet and seat etc only... otherwise I might have tried that in the trunk. I just knew it wouldn't last.

 

That's actually a very good idea, any idea how well it holds up in the heat?

 

The durabak?
Considering they use it on aircraft carriers I would say it should hold up fine. Keep in mind the target audience for this stuff is boat owners doing their decks. That is pretty intense heat out on the water in the summer, at least down here anyway.

While 3 days is certainly no indication, I can tell you that 3 days in ~85-90F weather.... then closed in a trunk probably hitting 130F, it does not soften in the least. It is rock hard even when stupid hot.

 

So you don't get any peeling or scruffs from the heat easily huh? well that's good to know. The red is definitely a vibrant color but it looks nice even with the slight color change in the sun

www.durabakcompany.com

 

Ya ya, it is tough stuff for sure. I had a small lump (~2mm) where it globbed a bit by a hole, i figured I'd just peel it off.... nope. I'll take a knife and trim it.... nope. I'll slice it off with a razor blade... nope. I'm OK with the little glob being there now, it earned it.

I have tried some typical wear conditions (throwing/dropping heavy metal, right angle objects etc), and it just doesn't show anything or any signs of give. It would be difficult for me to be much more pleased with the decision.

Great product, to say the least.

 

My uncle uses this on his landing craft/ scuba boat. It's incredibly tough we move tanks all day across this stuff. He coats it about every other year . It's mostly uv exposed all year long too.

 

I like it, definitely will keep the trunk from getting rusted on parts that the paint has chipped off

 

So six odd years later, this **** is still pretty much exactly was the day I applied it to. The only thing I could possibly have to complain about is that it isn't the easiest to clean, you pretty much need a pressure washer to clean it since it is so porous.

The reason for an update, I ordered some more but without the granules in it for refurbishing an old diesel titan generator which brought this back to mind. I ordered smooth finish (no granules) for the application and they were sold out of the quart containers and sent me a gallon instead. I'm seriously considering doing the whole exterior of the car as a result, but the clock is already ticking on the stuff (it's moisture cured all is only a matter of time before it hardens after you open the lid). While I'll likely recoat the trunk rather than let it go to waste, I'm not super thrilled with the results from the smooth finish on the generator though.. Am I completely insane thinking about doing the texture finish on the whole car? Difficulty: single stage red is fuu-uuh-uhhhhhh-ucked and one of the last (professional) touch ups I had done ~5-6 years ago is already failing again.