bedliner and rustproofing on underside

I'm trying to prep the underside of my XJ to prevent rust before the snow flies, and the salt flies. I'm gonna get under there with a wire brush wheel, take care of some little spots (I got lucky when I bought it-almost no rust) and i'll finish up with sandpaper and a hand-held wire brush to get the little stuff. I plan to prime and paint the underside with flat black rustoleum, and I have a few cans of the Rustoleum bedliner. Would bedlining the entire underside be good for rustproofing this winter? I've heard mixed opinions. On one side, I've heard that it is a good protectant, and I've also heard that it can trap moisture and collect salt from the road.

If the bedliner isn't a good idea on the entire underside, can I do the rockers? Will this make them more protected to Syracuse road salt? I plan to do it up to the door line.

Thanks in advance

I just herculined my rockers, and underneath to the pinch seem. Clean it really well, get a red scotch brite pad, rub them for a while, ice your arm, rub them some more, then clean it up really well. Tape a line and bedline away. Looks great and no more paint chips/openings for new rust spots on the rockers!

I agree with bedliner traping moisture. I believe a cleanup and good repaint is your best bet. I would not use flat paint though. I would use a gloss to repel water. The bedliner on the rockers is a good idea. It will help to stop rock chips. Some of the MFGRS sell it in colors other than black. I painted my old YJ about 9 yrs ago and lined the inside of the tub with Durabak. It faded after a couple years but does NOT peel or flake off. GOOD STUFF. Underneath before I lined it I painted it with epoxy primer. As With any painting project every thing is in the prep work. The more prep the better.
When your done shoot some pictures.
Ron

I prepped one rocker. taped everything off, sanded with a rough paper, got the one tiny rust spot down to bare metal, sanded with a finer grit, then a really fine grit. Then cleaned it of all grease. I've been shooting a few coats of primer in between traveling for thanksgiving and whatnot. The directions on the Rustoleum bedliner said it sticks to primer, so i'm just going to give them a real good primer coat. I'm bedlining down to the pinch seam.

Is it okay to clean a surface with rubbing alchohol (70%)? Will this damage the paint? I used it on a small spot before applying a sticker and it looks like the clear coat is turning out okay. are there other cheap alternatives?

pics when rockers are done. once i'm home from vacation, it'll be a two-day thing to get those finished.

Use Xylene to clean up. It's also one of the few things that will clean up the bedliner if you happen to get some somewhere you don't want it (and trust me, you will). I wore gloves, long sleeves and everything, and I still had herculiner all over myself...took about 3-4 days before it finally all washed/wore off.

got one rocker 90% done, just have to check the bedlined rocker tomorrow to see if it'll need another coat or not, and to see how its drying. The rustoleum rattle-can bedliner is GOOD stuff and comes out with a REALLY nice texture, i'm really happy with it. Also the color blends nicely with a black XJ. I got a little white overspray from the primer on the one inch I overlooked in masking. its like in the door sill, between the doors. Should I sand, and touch-up with paint, or use a laquer thinner to get it off?

What rattle-can color matches the factory XJ black color? is it Rustoleum Satin Black?

I'm wearing gloves doing this, too. luckily I haven't gotten any on my clothes or anything. When's the best time to take the tape off? before it fully dries?

Hootus, there, someone said it.

Stallacrew said:

Hootus, there, someone said it.

Click to expand...

Hahaha, I knew that was coming.

:roflmao: yeah I was waiting for that.

From another thread (and from how thick/tough the stuff is...) I would pull the tape after an hour or two, or right before it gets tacky, whichever comes first. Don't want to be in there cursing with a razor (razor nicks in paint would kinda negate the whole advantage, too) nor do you want to pull half the stuff off when trying to get the tape off.

One trick I like to use when painting something (like the black paneling along the bottom of a pre-97 Sport) is to put a couple layers of tape down where I don't want to paint, then sand after that instead of before, keeps the scuffing from going past where it should.

Okay so somehow there's one little spot of primer overspray, a light dusting on the door about the width of a piece of masking tape, like 3 inches. Its a black jeep, white primer.... What will get this to come off?

Lacquer thinner.