Today I sprayed U-POL Raptor Liner on my fender flares

That looks pretty similar to what's going on with my flares as well. I'm hoping that maybe someone used a lesser quality coating or just didn't do the proper prep before spraying??

Looks like prep issues. There’s no scuffing of the fenders. You can use ‘bulldog’ plastic prep which somewhat melts the plastic to promote adherence but it doesn’t look to have been used on that.
There is so much stuff that has to come out of all of those little dimples it’s quite a bit of work.

If I was to do it I’d take a smallish wire brush and a drill to the fenders, or anywhere I was going to spray first, that’d scuff it really well. Then cleaner, then spray.

I did the bumpers on my Lightning the same way but with bulldog and actual paint. 8 years later still flawless.


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The only complaints I hear is that bed liner is hard to clean. And that if you try to wipe it down you get towel fibers everywhere. Any truth to this?

Very true. My only problem with my own bedlined fender flares
 
One thing to think about with the home-spray liner. If you don't spray it heavy enough it wont lay down. In other words spraying light causes little craters from the spray hitting the fender and bouncing back like a meteor.

An idea here to try (which I can't ATM) very shortly after spraying, lightly go over the spay (from a distance of probably 2ft) with a heat gun on low. Previous experience I've had was that it either swelled the spray a little, thus cutting down on the pokey's that grab towel lint, or it would slightly melt the high thin parts, that grab the towel lint.

However if there is sand or glass or something in the spray to give it the grippiness like a garage floor, this probably wouldn't work. YMMV on the equipment, type of spray and technique. But it's an idea. Also if you were to run over it with a roller of some type as it's set up but not fully set, you can smash down the high spots/ towel claws.

Just thinking outloud from my previous life.
 
That looks great, exactly what I'm wanting. Is that just standard black u-pol raptor or have you used a thinner or what not?
Thanks.. I took it to a shop.. I had the windshield, hood , grill and flares done. He did it cheaper then I could have without all the prep and whatnot. It is line x Brand but I had him take some of the texture part compared to a bed liner and he came up with this finish.. I just use a scrub brush to wash it and have never had to “armor all” it to make it look black.
 
If anyone gets anything out of this thread, I hope it's this: prep is key!

Every time a flare thread comes up, I have to tell the story of the time I saw a guy on another forum crying up and down about his flares and how the paint sucked and it was chipping and blah, blah, blah.

Someone asked him what he did to prep. He didn't have an answer for that. Someone else pointed out a photo he'd posted in which he sprayed over a chunk of dried mud that was still on the flare. It was funny as hell.

Anyway: are textured paints much harder to clean than regular paints? I've always wondered that and I've never seen anyone actually bring it up.

You are absolutely correct. Painting or Raptorlining, prep is everything! It took me 50 minutes to spray Raptor Liner on my LJ, it took me 4 days to prep it, times two people! You must spray wash all the grime off. Scuff with 180 grit, clean with degreaser or alcohol, then apply an adhesive promotor. THEN apply the Liner or paint. Nice and slow. Don’t single coat it. Multiple light coats are far better. Especially with Raptor Liner. You need to give it a chance to off gas. I slowly walked around my jeep 5 times. Did it in my garage, and It came out far better than I ever imagined. Extremely easy and very forgiving as you go.
Good luck!
 
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I figured I’d chime in on this thread. I used duplicolor bed armor (in a rattle can) on both my jeeps and the stuff is awesome if you have some time and patience. Sand, sand, clean, clean again, prep w tack cloth or prep pads etc, adhesion promoter, then (in the case of the rattle can stuff) many light light coats. I tried spraying with a full coverage technique at first but it just gets gloppy and runny. The many light coats are key for the texture. It cleans easily, has had gas spilled on it many, many times, and it has lived outside for years in California sun. Here it is shortly after applying. I did the flares, the sliders and the bumpers.
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and here it is 6ish years later still holding strong and looking crisp.
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I figured I’d chime in on this thread. I used duplicolor bed armor (in a rattle can) on both my jeeps and the stuff is awesome if you have some time and patience. Sand, sand, clean, clean again, prep w tack cloth or prep pads etc, adhesion promoter, then (in the case of the rattle can stuff) many light light coats. I tried spraying with a full coverage technique at first but it just gets gloppy and runny. The many light coats are key for the texture. It cleans easily, has had gas spilled on it many, many times, and it has lived outside for years in California sun. Here it is shortly after applying. I did the flares, the sliders and the bumpers.View attachment 145841
and here it is 6ish years later still holding strong and looking crisp.View attachment 145842

Man. That turned out really nice. I tried a can of Rustoleum bed liner. But it just sprayed so weird. I went with SEM. Wish I had bought a can of that stuff.
 
I figured I’d chime in on this thread. I used duplicolor bed armor (in a rattle can) on both my jeeps and the stuff is awesome if you have some time and patience. Sand, sand, clean, clean again, prep w tack cloth or prep pads etc, adhesion promoter, then (in the case of the rattle can stuff) many light light coats. I tried spraying with a full coverage technique at first but it just gets gloppy and runny. The many light coats are key for the texture. It cleans easily, has had gas spilled on it many, many times, and it has lived outside for years in California sun. Here it is shortly after applying. I did the flares, the sliders and the bumpers.View attachment 145841
and here it is 6ish years later still holding strong and looking crisp.View attachment 145842

With those results I think I'll give duplicolor a go. Looks great with that colour too!
 
Would really like to do my flares but want to keep the khaki color scheme to match the hard top, can they get that close with color match?
You can get the tintable raptor and tint it whatever color you want. Get the factory color code from your VIN and take that to an auto paint store. They can mix the color you need.
 
I use Duplicolor and Rustoleum.
You can get a very high build w/ the Duplicolor and if you spray it from about 3 feet away a really good texture.
After it dries I go over it w/ Rustoleum, it has a nicer (more professional) finish.
 
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I figured I’d chime in on this thread. I used duplicolor bed armor (in a rattle can) on both my jeeps and the stuff is awesome if you have some time and patience. Sand, sand, clean, clean again, prep w tack cloth or prep pads etc, adhesion promoter, then (in the case of the rattle can stuff) many light light coats. I tried spraying with a full coverage technique at first but it just gets gloppy and runny. The many light coats are key for the texture. It cleans easily, has had gas spilled on it many, many times, and it has lived outside for years in California sun. Here it is shortly after applying. I did the flares, the sliders and the bumpers.View attachment 145841
and here it is 6ish years later still holding strong and looking crisp.View attachment 145842
The work you put into it really stands out. Amazing job.
 
Great info here. I raptor lined my 2011 Jeep JK in 3 phases. If you want to put in a good bit of work, you can save a bunch of money over having it professionally lined and still get amazing results with this stuff. I did the hard top (inside and out - didn’t like the white interior), tub and rails(got tired of the smelly carpets), and today I removed the stock flares, rear bumper and side steps and finished them off. As has been stated several times, your results are fully dependent upon the prep work you put in. You’ve got to plan several hours for prep work on flares and bumper. I spent one full day on the hard top. For the interior tub, I believe I spent 4 days between prep, removal of all interior, removal of sound deadening material, and then application and reinstallation. I scrubbed everything with soap and water, pressure washed the hard top, used a degreaser, sanded everything down. I used 120-180 grit discs on the tub and rails and 80 grit on the other parts. I then wiped everything down with mineral spirits and alcohol. Then I used self etching primer and adhesion promoter (2 coats of each) on tub and rails and plastic primer and adhesion promoter on the other parts. I set my air compressor to 60 psi and let it rip. 2 coats on everything and it has held up very well! Been through car washes and no chipping or flaking. I can’t yet speak for the bumper, flares and side steps, but I don’t expect anything less than what I’ve experienced thus far.

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I did my truck bed liner with same stuff last summer... It's great.

I did my Jeep with another brand before that and wished I used raptor liner.

Looks good