How-To Dupli-Color Your Tub

Irving

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2018
Messages
58
Location
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
2 years ago I decided to remove the carpet the PO had installed on the TJ, the job was poorly done and it kind of looked like a fabric puzzle, I also had a leak on the top corner of the driver door that made the carpet stink for days after a rainy day so I decided to check different options to protect the jeep's floor.

First I had to simply replace the bedrug with an OEM or aftermarket replacement but after I removed the carpet I found the whole tub had adhesive and foam/carpet residue from the PO carpet install (shown in the pictures).

After I removed all of the carpet from the tub and floor I knew it was time to commit to this new project and I saw the best 2 options to protect the tub before purchasing/installing a new bedrug:

1.- I really liked the sound deadening option from the threads but I found it too pricey and labor intensive for me ( How to sound deaden the interior of your TJ).

2.- Rust-Oleum was also an alternative at least for the trunk area, but after seeing some installation/application videos I knew this was also labor intensive if I wanted a professional look/result (cleaning and preparing the surface was the deal breaker) and with the jeep being my daily driver at the moment I decided on option number 3.

3.- After researching similar products to what Rust-Oleum had to offer and also what I had available in Tijuana (that's right, I live in Mexico 🇲🇽) I decided to give Dupli-Color Bed Coating a chance; I looked at some application videos online and I was confident enough I could pull it off in a couple of days.

Here's the list of items used:

- 1 Small foam roller or more if you are planning on giving it multiple layers or splitting the work on multiple days.
- 2 Small brushes (I would recommend at least a 1" and maybe a 2" for the tricky to reach areas, I can't remember if the product was easy enough to clean form the brushes if you are considering multiple layers or multiple days so use own criteria).
- 1 Joint knife to remove any gunk/adhesive (I would recommend at least a 1" for the tricky to reach areas).
- 1 Paint tray.
- Assorted sandpaper to prepare the surfaces (if you have a sanding machine/drill with the corresponding flap wheel or sanding disks, if not good old elbow grease will do).
- 1 Gallon of Dupli-Color (you can probably use less than I did, I ended up using less than half and I applied 2 layers to the complete tub).
- 1 Spray can of Dupli-Color (also for hard to reach spots).
- Additionally I got some cleaning rags, safety glasses and protective gloves (I also needed a knife to cut the old carpet).
- You will also need assorted tools to remove the rear buckles, front and rear seats, center console and any bolts or plastic drainage boots in the tub (I also removed my stereo equipment that was installed below the rear seat).

Dupli-color.png


The first step was to remove the passenger and rear seat to start cleaning the bed and tailgate surface removing any foam/carpet residue; as I mentioned before my jeep was my DD at the moment so I removed the driver seat and hardtop last:

B1 Trunk.jpg

B3 Trunk.jpg

B2 Trunk.jpg

B4 Trunk.jpg

B1 Passenger.jpg

B2 Passenger.jpg


The next step was to remove the driver seat and center console to continue cleaning the surface:

B1 Driver.jpg

B2 Driver.jpg

B1 Full.jpg


My next step was to start sanding the remaining adhesive, my recommendations for cleaning the tub is to thoroughly clean the most used areas of the vehicle (footwells and the cargo area), the rest of the tub will do OK with little to no sanding depending on your vehicle condition and use.

After sanding all the tub you will need to clean all the surfaces with a moist rag and let dry, I started with the tailgate to see how the product behaves, how much time it takes to dry and how many layers should I apply (I ended up applying only 2 layers).

Another recommendation is to cover all of the mounting holes that have threads on them with some silicon or tape to avoid any excess product falling in, if you are careful when applying the product you can avoid this and only cleaning up the opening of the hole with a pointy object, this also applies to the drainage holes that have a plastic boot.

I applied 2 layers to the complete tub from the tailgate to as far as the footwells as I could, you can probably do with 1 or 3 depending on your desired look/feel, this was the final result:

A1 Front.jpg

A2 Rear.jpg

A3 Rear.jpg

A4 Rear.jpg


My final tips are to let the Dupli-Color dry for a couple of days before applying anything on top or scratching the surface to avoid accidentally removing any of the product as it behaves like paint at first, I had some areas here and there that needed some touching up but were quickly fixed with the spray can, I drove the same day that I applied the product and the floormats were sticking to it a little bit but after a couple of days after it completely dried it feels very good, I'm happy with the final result and after a couple of years with regular use I have no complains.

If you end up choosing to start a similar project like I did take your time and maybe work on a parallel project involving the center console or seats like I did (I also painted the center console in between applying the Dupli-coat layers).
 
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Pictures don't work but I REALLY want to see them.

Make sure you use the "Attach files" button, right across from the "Post Reply" button.