Distributors for Durabak?

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Arya Ebrahimi

Arya Ebrahimi

Joined
Dec 2, 2003
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Location
Rockville, MD
Getting ready to do Durabak on a few areas of the 80, and was wondering where people are getting their material. I sent Durabak an email about a year ago asking for some samples and never heard a thing from them. Are there distributors for this stuff? I'd like to look at their colors in person before I spend the $$ to buy all the supplies.

Thanks,

Ary
 
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Order online and they ship Ary. It's how I received mine.
 
Didn't ask for any - I was using black for the flares.
 
Anyone use the smooth durabak? Thinking about doing the roof in white and using the smooth so that I don't have to climb up there w/ the pressure washer to wash the dust out of all the knooks and crannies.

Just wondering if it will look wavy or not. I want to use this instead of regular paint because it will seal and hopefully hide the stock roof rack holes.
 
durabak and herculiner are exactly the same thing, they are owned by the same company. I am 100% sure if this, I got it direct from durabak.. If you are using black no sense in paying shipping etc etc The only difference is durabak comes in different colors... And in general performs poorly in my opinion..
 
That's very interesting, you might be the first person on here that has spoken badly about Durabak. Not that I don't believe you, but it is odd to me because a LOT of people speek badly about Herculiner and how you have to be absolutely religious with the prep work or it will peel.

I was also under the impression that Durabak had a bit harder finish and was less "rubbery" than Herculiner. I guess I'm wrong.

May I ask how you came by this information that the two are of the same chemical makeup?
 
i have nothing bad to say about durabak. Mine has been on for a year now and still holding up fine. I do kinda wish i would have gone with the UV protectant black because spraying armorall on it all the time gets old and greasy.

Arya, i know you know this but prep is everything for something like this. So get up there and get that roof super clean before applying otherwise it's probably going to peel off.
 
I was told they are the same directly from Durabak.. I was in a pinch because I was spraying my 55 and got some bad advice about sprayer pressure so it was glopping up and too thick in some places so I had to buy a few more quarts when a gallon probably should have done the trick according to their estimates. Being 1/2 way through and not having to wait for shipping the guy felt bad for me and I finished with a couple extra quarts of herculiner and he was correct, there was no difference what so ever.. It looked great especially when first sprayed.. I also did *very* extensive prep work, but I expected it to be like "bedliner" in that it would hold up.. Unless you use at least 2 gallons, its very thin so that is a weaknes.. As soon as you put axles, loose metal objects, or even just dialy wear and tear, it will probably tear.. Even in high wear places such as under your feet it tore for me.. So that is my $.02 on it.. I would not do it again, I would spend $400 or so and have someone do it with the thicker rubberized stuff that is more durable... Just my $.02 on it...

Also I was at an autobody supply and they sell a kit for about $150 that is a "finally, a spray it yourself bedliner" that seems more like the real deal.. You have to wear a respirator and it at least seems more heavy duty.. You can proably find a review from somone out there on the net who's used it.. You need the "right gun" I remember from the literature but my guess is it probably the same $8 "Rock schutz" gun I used to spray my durabak...

If you search I have a photo somewhere of how it looked and how it didn't hold up...
 
Thanks for the info. I did confirm this also with the guys at Durabak. He told me willingly, I didn't even have to ask if it was the same stuff. Guess he didn't see any risk as I'm looking at the colored stuff and herculiner only comes in black.

For the two main areas I want to Durabak, namely my roof and my fenderflares/lower doors, I don't think the durability issue should be a problem.

The roof just needs a fresh coat of something to take care of some rust issues(still minor) and I want to use Durabak because it will waterproof the holes from the stock roof rack.

The fender flares/lower doors need it because in the parts of VA/WV that I travel most in the winter they don't use salt on the roads, they use rock chip which has done a number on my flares and rocker panels.

Durabak is supposed to be sending me samples. I'll see what the stuff feels like and if I like it I think I'll do the stuff mentioned above and see if I like it. If it seems to be holding up alright and I'm happy then I'll do the interior.

Thanks for your input!

Ary
 
another vote on herculiner/durabak being junk. i did the interior on one of my race bunnys and in a couple of weeks it was peeling up good under the feet. goes on really, really thin actually. i had a couple small holes in the pan from some screws of some sorts and even had a problem bridging gaps as small as that. had the consistency of a fruit roll up, and peeled just as well. try as you will to lay it on thick, it doesn't like to build. it's rubbery and fragile. and aside from longevity issues, i felt it looked cheap and home brewed as well.

and i was ANAL on the prep work, so that was not an issue. i don't cut corners but i sure felt i did by using herculiner. never again, do it right and get a real bedliner.
 
It's very odd to me to hear such conflicting stories between you guys in here and the guys in the 80 forum who have applied it with great success both inside and out on their vehicles. I wonder if maybe there is indeed a difference between Durabak and Herculiner that is not being brought forth.
 
MaddBaggins did his rockers and other parts about a year ago. It was applied by hand, three coats I think. Two coats of regular durabak and one coat of UV resistant. The only thing I think he said he would do different is to just use the UV resistant or go with on coat of regular and two coats of UV resistant as he thinks the final UV resistant coat went on a little thin.

It is wearing great and Alvin wheels the piss out of his 80 and there is no peeling or scratches. It is all in the prep.

Ross
 
you guys that are saying it's thin, YOU HAVE TO PUT ON MORE THAN ONE COAT!!! One coat is thin, that's why you give it an hour or two and apply another coat, and then another. 3 coats should be fine, that's what i did and it is holding up just fine. I had a little extra so i coated the bottom of my sliders with JUST ONE COAT, and it is peeling a tad. I also didn't prep that at all.
 
concretejungle said:
you guys that are saying it's thin, YOU HAVE TO PUT ON MORE THAN ONE COAT!!!
Click to expand...

no isht? :doh:

cut us a little slack. i don't take kindly to people assuming i'm an idiot. i don't knock a product if i don't follow directions to the T, and i certainly wouldn't complain about a product being thin if i only applied one coat.

i had a bad experience with this product, i'm terribly sorry i didn't agree with the masses here. i feel people should hear first hand experience testimonials from both sides of the fence before diving in to a product, even if nobody wants to hear the other side.

it didn't hold up to my expectations and i would not purchase again. you might have better luck, and it's certainly cheap enough to give it a whirl.

done.
 
weaver, i didn't assume nothing. I was stating i know what you mean. In the areas that i skimped and just applied one thing layer (one coat) like on my sliders, it is starting to peel away. It has the consistancy and thickness of a fruit roll up just like you said. But the areas where i prepped it correctly, applied enough product in layers, it is holding up like bullet-proof.

So easy trigger. :)
 
I may have missed it but of those that have experienced problems is there a contradiction between rolling it on and spraying it on? I mean those of you with problems - were these are spray on applications?
Asking becasue I am considering doing it myself on the underside and interior of my 40.
 
Same here, in the end I had two or three good coats. Still doesn't matter, it is basically a rubberized paint with rubber chunks in it, you would have to spray and spray to get it to actually be reasonably thick..

I started looking and here are photos of when I spray it. Of course when I was done I was psyched, it looked great.. But again, it did not hold up well at all.. I'm not sure why the 80 series guys love it so much.. Do they like just "Durabak" or both "Herculiner and Durabak?"

As you can see I did not skimp, there was 2-3 coats and definetely 3 where I figured were high wear and in the rear cargo area (where it ripped first).. I also waited as much as a day between coats...
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