Al's Liner Basic and Advanced Techniques

Looking to learn more techniques on applying Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits? We will show you how.

Al's Liner Application Techniques

Reaching your desired thickness
Achieving Different Textures (Air Flow and Trigger Control)
Achieving Different Textures (Reducing the Catalyzer Mix)
Adding Metallic Flake or Aggregates to Al's Liner
Brush Techniques
Roller Techniques

Al's Cleaning Recommendations

Cleaning up over spray or spilled material
Cleaning your Al's Liner Spray Gun

Al's Liner Application Techniques

Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits can be applied in various fashions and can have the chemical ratio altered to achieve various textures. Below are our recommendations to achieve the textures and thickness you desire.

Reaching your desired thickness:

Al's Liner bed liner kits can be effective at various thickness. Depending on your application you will not always want the 65 mil application most bed liner systems talk about. With one gallon of Al's Liner truck bed liner you will get 20-50 mils thickness across a 60 SF area and 60 to 65 mils thickness across a 20 SF area. We have found that the easiest way to determine the depth of you bed liner, (without using a mil gauge) is to simply measure out your area to be sprayed and then determine the amount of material needed using the guidelines above. For example, 20 SF at 25 mils would require 1/3 gallon of Al's Liner. Please remember it is simple to make your own mil gauge using a piece of thin sheet metal, cutting it to a point and marking the required depth. This will help novice applicators get the feel for applying an even coat of Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner.

Achieving Different Textures (Air Flow and Trigger Control)

This will fall into two sections. The first being air flow settings and trigger control. When trying to vary the roughness of your texture, the simplest method is to play with your air flow and trigger. You can increase the air flow and reduce the pull on your trigger to break the material into smaller particles and get the rough grainy texture of sand paper. If you want to get an orange peel look or larger texture that will smooth our during the curing process, reduce the air flow and pull the gun trigger farther to increase the size of the particles sprayed from the tip. You can adjust these settings to fine tune the texture and still maintain the vertical hang of the bed liner material.

Achieving Different Textures (Reducing the Catalyzer Mix)

Another method used to vary textures is to reduce the amount of the C Component that is listed in the mix chart. The catalyzer is what provides the vertical hang in our mixture. It also causes the material to thicken and produces the standard texture you will see. You can cut the C Component ratio in half and reduce the thickness and increase the cure time of the material allowing for a smoother finish. Using this method and the air flow and trigger methods you can achieve a virtually smooth finish. The down side to reducing the C Component is the loss of vertical hang. It will begin to sag in the material on vertical applications. To prevent sag, simply reduce the thickness of your applications and apply multiple layers to get the depth you are looking for. With a 1/2 ratio of C Component, we recommend applying no more than 20 mils at one time. Allow it to set for 10-15 minutes and spray the second layer. The material will bond to itself and allow you to get a 65 mil thickness if you so desire. For more tips and tricks to varying texture and thickness with Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits, feel free to contact us at technicalsupport@alsliner.com.

Adding Metallic Flake or Aggregates to Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits:

Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits accepts large varieties of additives. Be it metallic flake for appearance or aggregates for non-skid and traction control. First let's look at metallic flakes. The easiest and most effective way to add metallics to you coatings is to spray your base coat with the color of you choice. Then mix a micro batch of natural material and add ultra fine metallics. It is very important to only use ultra fine metallics. An inexpensive place to get this type of flake is Lure Kraft. They provide ultra fine metallics for fishing lures. The amount of metallic mixed is up to you. You can go with a heavy mix and get a thick layer of metallic or lighten the load for a subtle flake overlay. Mix the micro batch and mist coat the entire area immediately after spraying the base coat. The thin mist coat will bond to the uncured base coat and dry clear to give you a brilliant metallic look.

Now lets look at aggregates. Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits will accept virtually any aggregate. The most popular are sand or pebbles and of course rubber granules. The only restraint is making sure the size of the aggregate is small enough to be sprayed through the port of your Al's Liner Spray Gun. You can find a large variety of size and colors at you local hardware store. Rubber load is commonly used on trailer gates and floors as well as decks and entryways. It provides a non-skid surface but can be hard to the touch. Our recommendation for aggregate mixture would be a 25% mix. If you are mixing 1 gallon of Al's Liner, we recommend approximately 4 cups of rubber granules. For more information of metallics or aggregates, feel free to email us at technicalsupport@alsliner.com.

Cleaning Recommendations

Al's Liner can be easily cleaned from the substrate and from the application gun. Below are our recommendations for cleaning spills, over spray and left over material in you spray gun.

Cleaning up over spray or spilled material:

Al's Liner can be cleaned in a couple of different ways. The easiest and recommended manner of cleaning up over spray or spilled material is to wipe the material up using denatured alcohol and any type of cloth that suits the surface you are wiping. This will remove the coating prior to it setting up and prevent you from having to scrape the dried material. If you have a spill or over spray on a finished surface, it should peel off once it has set up. Be careful as Al's Liner will adhere to scuffs and scratches that you might not see. We recommend getting the material off before it sets up.

Cleaning your Al's Liner Spray Gun:

Cleaning your Al's Liner Truck Bed Liner Spray Gun is as simple as it gets. Before pouring material into the Al's Liner Spray Gun hopper, spray the inside of the gun and hopper with a non-silicon mold release or simply wipe in a fine layer of Vaseline. Once you have finished with your application, turn the gun and hopper upside down in a bucket or on a disposable surface. This allows excess material to drain out of the hopper. Allow the left over material to set up for 6-24 hours and then simply dismantle the gun. You will be able to remove the hardened materials from both the hopper and the gun. If you are continually spraying the same color, there is no need to clean the gun between batches. Just be sure not to let the materials harden between spray applications. If you do need to switch colors and the fun has wet material left, pour some denatured alcohol into the reservoir to break down the remaining material. Pour out the alcohol and dismantle the gun cleaning each part to insure no contamination of the old color.

Brush Techniques

Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits can be applied with standard paint brushes. this offers the applicator the opportunity to apply Al's Liner just about anywhere. We recommend using a shed resistant brush to keep bristles from getting stuck in the material.

One thing to consider when brushing will be texture. You have to be aware of your brush strokes and pot life of the material or it will leave obvious strokes in the coating. You can mix smaller batches at a time to avoid getting too far into the pot life. We recommend mixing no more than 1/2 gallon at a time if brushing. Always try to maintain even brush strokes. This will give you a light orange peel texture. If you are looking to get a more aggressive texture we recommend using Al's Liner Rubber Crumb Additive.

Keep in mind brushing Al's Liner DIY Truck Bed Liner Kits will give you a thinner coating than spraying. It may take multiple coats to achieve the desired thickness. Average brush application will yield 10 to 15 mils per coat.

You can contact our technical support team with any questions on applying Al's Liner at technicalsupport@alsliner.com or calling your local Al's Liner Dealer.