• 5" paint roller
• 6" paint tray
• 1 quart Xylene
• drill chuck paint mixer
• 2-2" foam brushes
• 1 roll 3" masking tape
• 80 grit sandpaper

Next I pulled out the small electric sander and began sanding the cargo area, wheel wells, floor and tailgate with 80 grit. I hand sanded every nook I could not reach with the AC sander. It didn’t take much sanding, just enough to provide some tooth for the Durabak to grip onto.

I then vacuumed with the shop vac. I picked up all dirt and grime, as well as most of the sanding dust. After vacuuming, I put on rubber gloves and cleaned the entire surface two times with Xylene solvent. Use clean rags and soak them well. Use some pressure, but the surface should clean up without much effort.

After the thorough cleaning, I grabbed the tape and began masking off everything I did not want coated. I elected to apply liner to the entire tub, up to the vertical seam in the foot wells, and including the door sills and tailgate. I then let the Xylene dry and called it a night after three hours of work.

Application

I took a Friday off to apply the Durabak, and it took the entire day. I started about 10am by moving the Jeep into the driveway and cleaning it again with Xylene. I went in and ate breakfast and opened the can of Durabak at 10:40 am. The accelerator was added and I mixed it all for five minutes. After pouring some into the paint tray, I decided to begin by brushing in the tight spots.

The foam brushes I bought worked well. After just a few minutes, I had discovered that it was really easy to apply the Durabak. I brushed around the border of the tape I had applied and made sure to pick up many rubber particles with each dip into the tray.Durabak should be laid on thick, not spread thin like paint. I mixed the can about every 5-10 minutes when I ran out of liner in the tray.

After brushing, I mixed the Durabak for another five minutes. Durabak will last about six hours with the can open. Though I did not see the liner thickening throughout the day, small amounts of Xylene can be mixed in to bring the consistancy back to normal.  The Xylene also can be used to easily clean drips and oops's.

Next, I busted out the roller and aimed for the cargo area. WOW!, the stipple roller REALLY lays the rubber particles on thick, and textures the surface perfectly. In fact, it was so much better, I finished the cargo area and went back with the brush to recoat the border areas to match. I recommend doing the reverse, so you know what the roller texture will look like, and can duplicate it when using a brush.

After one coat, I ate lunch and came back after an hour to apply coat number two. This coat should be rolled on at a 90° angle, relative to the first coat. Ideally, that makes sense, but in a small Jeep, I found myself rolling in many different directions during both coats to cover every area thoroughly. After about thirty minutes (5pm), I removed the tape and had two friends help me push the Jeep into the garage.

The next morning the garage smelled really nice :). I opened the garage and took a look at the Durabak. It turned out to be much lighter grey than I thought it would be, almost looking white on the dark blue of the Jeep. It was still tacky, but close to being dry. By the end of the day it was much better and by Sunday evening it was completely dry and retained only a hint of the chemical smell.  The liner had dried evenly and cleanly.  It had a nice satin finish and looked perfect!

I put the front seats and center console back in for use during the week, and on Monday called up Jake to order two quarts of the dark grey Durabak, enough for one more coat over the light grey. The light grey is just fine, but in order to avoid a constantly "dirty" look between cleanings, I opted to roll on a darker third coat as soon as possible. I used towels and a blanket over the Durabak to make cleaning and reapplication as easy as possible. Turns out the dark grey is exactly the color of my Tuffy console and the center dash area on the Jeep.

The Durabak has performed as well as expected. It has a great texture, easy on the hands when in contact, and could even be called "soft", though it is thin. Two nice side effects are a bit of noise deadening and temperature consistancy (compared to months of no carpet, of course). I have loaded up the back end and the liner grips metal, plastic, and fabric well, eliminating all sliding.

The Durabak has also proven to clean up easily. Mud, water, and general winter grime come right off by spraying and draining, or cleaning with standard car wash soap and water. Scott Gomez' report on Durabak notes that sap and clay also come right off.

I could not be happier with my choice of Durabak tubliner. It was extremely easy to apply, and the time plus cost sure beats the cost of a professional job. I feel I got professional results doing it myself, anyway! I recommend buying a few packets of accelerator, and using the provided rollers for a quick, painless application process. You’ll have no more carpet removal or cleaning, no more sliding tools, and no more metal-on-metal squeaking while driving and carrying cargo.

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