HONEST 10 Year Review of U-POL RAPTOR LINER Black Urethane Spray-On Truck Bed Liner Kit DIY

How long does U-POL Raptor Bed Liner last when applied to the body as a paint job? amzn.to/2Tu3hgq This coat was applied to the bottom of my Sprinter van in 2011. I chose a truck bed liner to cover up the dents around the bottom. The rough texture does a great job of masking it. We prepped all the surfaces to be painted by scuffing them with abrasive pads and sandpaper but were cautious to not break through the paint to the metal surface.
Where to buy:
U-Pol Raptor Liner Black: amzn.to/2Tu3hgq
MonstaLiner Black and Tintable: www.monstaliner.com/
The places where Raptor Liner failed to adhere to the underlying paint were areas that we missed when doing the prep work and didn't get scuffed. These were concave areas in the body panel that the sandpaper and scuff pads can not easily reach unless you push them down in there. The rest of the surface that was properly prepped has a strong mechanical bond to the Raptor Liner. The Raptor liner is very brittle, like potato chip crispiness. I'm not sure if this is due to the thinness it was applied (2-3 light coats) due to being used as paint instead of a bed liner that would require a much thicker application. However, the brittleness and fragility of the Raptor Liner is not encouraging, and although it may be stronger when applied in a thicker layer, I doubt it will be less brittle. This brittleness has not been due to long-term aging. It was brittle shortly after curing.
The cosmetics of the Raptor Liner have been incredible. It is extremely UV resistant and looks almost as good as new after 10 years. It is still shiny (when clean).
Bare plastic surfaces must be primed with plastic paint primer prior to application. I learned this the hard way when I applied it to the bare, unpainted plastic bumpers, and it did not adhere at all, and easily flaked off.
#raptorliner #bedliner #paint
HONEST 10 Year Review of U-POL RAPTOR LINER DIY Black Urethane Spray-On Truck Bed Liner Kit
The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.

[@engineerable]

The issue I have with Raptor Liner is how brittle it is. Even on surfaces that were properly prepped, it cracks when impacted. It remains adhered to the surface, but it can not flex with the metal, so it cracks. Watch the video long enough to see that. It was brittle from the start, right after application. I followed the mixing and application directions carefully. It's possible that I received a bad batch, but that would be Raptor Liners fault.

[@navigatingthedestination]

With any of these bedliner coatings thickness is very important to stay flexible. Thats why their instructions say 2-3 coats, I always go with 3-4 coats . But it held up good for 10 years 👍

[@chrisb5839]

If you want flexibility, you need to use something like Speedtex/Speedliner which is a sprayable flexible polymer. Has all they toughness but flexible to take the knocks.

[@Prestwich208]

add a few coats ive never had that happen

[@_WADE13x]

You can't blame raptor liner for your lack of prep work... it probably wouldn't have flaked off had you prepared it properly.

[@engineerable]

I did not blame them. I clearly acknowledged that it was cause by my poor prep work in those areas, and that it sticks very well in areas that were properly prepped. However, Raptor Liner is potato chip crispy, which is why I would not use it again. When areas that were properly prepped get hit, it cracks and chips off. It should be more flexible and less brittle to withstand impact and flexing.

[@_WADE13x]

@@engineerable and the monster liner is more flexible?

[@engineerable]

@@_WADE13x I got a Monstaliner sample kit 5 years ago. They are still as flexible as when I got them. The material is tough, but you can bend it back and forth a few times before it breaks. My only concern is that Monstaliner doesn't have the same UV resistance that the Raptor Liner has. I think that's the only thing Raptor Liner has going for itself, that it is extremely UV resistant. I have purchased a quart Monstaliner kit to apply over the spots that Raptor liner has come off, and see how that goes. If it's good, I will recoat everything with Monstaliner.

[@JohnDrach]

This is exactly right. You can see your yellow paint is shiny. Thats supposed to be extremely scuffed for the liner to be able to grab to it.

[@engineerable]

@@JohnDrach Right, I get that, and I point that out in the video that not enough prep work was done in those concave areas, and don't fault the Raptor Liner for not adhering there. However, the Raptor liner should not be potato chip crispy, it should have some flexibility. There are areas that were properly prepped, but when there is an impact there, the Raptor Liner cracks. Even if it stays adhered, if it cracks, that is a place for water intrusion.

[@BlueJeansOverland]

What i took from this was raptor liner works for at least 10 years… unless you don’t prep it properly.

[@engineerable]

It has great UV resistance, but you may have missed the part where I show how brittle it is. This brittleness was since the beginning, and we followed the simple mixing and application directions to the T, so the batch of Raptors Liner I got was super brittle. It can not take impact without cracking. Since this video I've noticed a place that was properly prepped and had good adhesion, but got hit leaving a small dent. The Raptor Liner cracked in that area, which now leaves it open to water intrusion. It has no flexibility.

[@readyrepairs]

@@engineerable it seems like actually that is attributed to poor prep work.

[@navigatingthedestination]

For 10 years it's held up well considering like you said about not prepping it completely right. That's impressive though., With any of these bedliner coatings the prep is the key. The mechanical bond is what is most important. I painted an entire chevy Suburban in raptor liner. we sander the entire vehicle with 180 grit or it might have been a 100grit and primed any plastic pieces and it has held up awsome and still looks new. a solid two coats of raptor liner is needed, three would be even better for an entire vehicle. thanks for the video 👍

[@engineerable]

How flexible has the Raptor Liner been? Like if you get a ding, does it crack or flex? To be clear we thoroughly sanded and cleaned the painted metal surfaces, and it adhered well there. Only a few places were missed in the grooves that the sanding did not reach into. My main issue is the crispy nature of the liner once it is cured.

[@navigatingthedestination]

@@engineerable The only reason the raptor liner gets crispy is caused by not enough layers of product which usually happens on any body line or edge. Remember raptor liner was more intended for inside a truck box. When I sprayed the suburban I sprayed all the body lines and gaps before I sprayed 3 coats on the entire vehicle. The thickness is what gives raptor liner elasticity. Alot of ppl who spray their vehicle in raptor liner tend to not buy enough, so they spray it lightly. When I sprayed the suburban I believe we bought 3 raptor liner kits and paid extra for the better sprayer.

[@engineerable]

@@navigatingthedestination I used 2 kits and sprayed 2 layers on the metal, and 3 on the front bumper which I used plastic primer on. It still cracks when bumped on the front bumper in areas where it is quite thick. The 5-6 year old Monsta-liner samples that I have are about the same thickness as what I applied and they are significantly more flexible. I'm starting to think that I received a bad batch of Raptor Liner.

[@cyberflaneur9127]

Thanks for the video. I was thinking about repainting the plastic parts of my van with a black raptor coat. Hopefully it will work better with a adhesive primer.

[@engineerable]

Definitely need primer on plastics. I hope that Raptor liners formulation is less crispy now. Someone else commented that theirs is not crispy.

[@stevengonyaw1617]

Don't complain, most vehicles don't last 10 years in the salt of northern Vermont

[@engineerable]

Vermont's a beautiful state, but I'm thankful for no rust here. I drive through Vermont every summer, and the Sprinters there are all rusted out.

[@TDubsKid]

My van is 28 years old and the original paint was flaking off and the roof had a lot of surface rust. I have been mechanically stripping it down to bare metal. Applying raptor anti corrosive epoxy primer then raptor. Supposed to make the best bond and they are designed for each other, almost wonder if they have made a lot of chemistry changes 10 years later. Some guy on youtube did a lift test with and without their epoxy primer and it was a night and day difference. the epoxy primer seems to be a newer addition. Proper mechanical scratching then proper cleaning is the key to best performance anyways. Hopefully mine will last at least 10 years. Only time will tell. 90% was spent on prep 10 or less spent spraying

[@engineerable]

That's good info to know, thanks! The primer was definitely not available when we did this. I would have used it.

[@garybrady7245]

I've too used the raptor epoxy primer and it is bulletproof and I've also used 2k Urethane high build primer before raptor with excellent adhesion and durability.

[@jonahlowe7649]

What I have gotten from reading is do not be afraid to take 5 days to do the prep work and use a adhesive premoter before that though clean it really well with a pressure washer and get every scrap of mud off then apply rust converters and grind and sand any remaining rust is that all about right?

[@engineerable]

Sounds like a plan. POR-15 is a great coating on areas you cleaned the rust off of to prevent further chance of rusting. With the help of a friend, we spent about a day prepping it. The hardest part was masking off everything. We used a pre paint cleaner, but didn't use adhesion promoter, because that was not in the instructions. It would probably help.

[@richmyers416]

That was definitely not sanded at all and your lucky it lasted a yr, i can tell sanded metal i do it alot sanded metal would look dull. Id sand with 600 for body, you should sand the plastic also, im impressed 10 yrs unsanded , i seen a fender unsanded and psinted last 3 months

[@engineerable]

We sanded the paint before application, but missed a few places, especially ones that were down in the grooves. That's the spots where it didn't bond. The well sanded spots are bonded fine. The plastic is raw and needs a primer.

[@towboatjeff]

Need more coats to keep it from being as brittle. All liners will be the same since their all pretty much the same product just with a different brand name.

[@engineerable]

I either got a bad batch, or Raptor is brittle no matter what. On the front bumber there are a few areas where it was applied thicker like a bed liner. Although it is stronger there and more resistant to bending, it is still brittle, and cracks when bent or impacted. The samples I have of Monstaliner are no thicker and they are flexible.

[@richmyers416]

Also it is brittle because without sanding it has no bite and is falling off in chunks, I have heard bully made in Australia is a no prep liner just for your information, but I have no experience, want a durable last forever coating. Sand it with 220, clean with prepsol, spray or roll on epoxy primer and within 5 days spray raptor on it before the primer dries, if you get the tintable you can add 3oz of straight base coat unreduced toner and match the color of your vehicle , for plastic sand with 400. Use adhesion promoter then get base coat made for flexible bumpers, you could actually do that to the whole job if you wanted. But again 10 yrs unsanded is unbelievable, I think that is awesome, ilove 2k materials

[@crosisofborg5524]

Zero sanding causes the chipping. Use adhesive primer where you can’t sand

[@engineerable]

Thanks for adhesive primer suggestion where we can't sand. What brand do you suggest? I did use a pre paint cleaner. The Raptor liner is extremely brittle, and that is not a result of lack of sanding. It shouldn't be brittle like that. It should be flexible so that it can bend when impacted, instead of cracking.

[@scottjackson5430]

That paint underneath is still shiny, you can only blame yourself for that.

[@engineerable]

I clearly acknowledged that we had missed the sanding in a few areas where it did not adhere well, and that it did adhere well where it was sanded. However, the material is still crispy, and cracks, which is not a good quality for a bed liner.

[@towboatjeff]

Definitely not the raptors fault for not sticking when it wasn't sanded properly. All the bedliners even monstaliner would have done the same.

[@engineerable]

I never blamed the Raptor for the lack of sanding and even talked about how it sticks very well in the areas that were properly sanded.

[@towboatjeff]

@@engineerable have you redone the bedliner yet? If so are you gonna post an update video?

[@gunnerneikoify]

The brittleness of the raptor liner is 500% YOUR FAULT!! YOU obviously didn't mix the hardner/raptor liner properly and added too much hardner. We've got 7 company work trucks that we sprayed in almost the exact same place as yours (rocker panels and up the sides about 1 1/2 ft) and also did the box beds as well and almost 8 yrs later ALLLLLLLL of them are 100% fine with zero flake off or chips coming off and that includes the truck beds which all are abused on a daily basis out in the field. And all of the raptor liner on all of them are not crispy hard at all. If I try real hard I can ever so slightly dig my thumb nail into the liner on them. It's hard and durable on all of them but definitely not crispy hard at all.

[@engineerable]

It's good to hear that you had a better experience with Raptor Liner, and that the brittleness may be due to a bad batch. Their kit is designed to be fool proof, so there's no way I could have added too much hardener, and I mixed them very well. I used 2 kits that each come with 4 bottles of Raptor base coating and 1 L bottle of hardener. You fill the base coat bottle with 250ml of hardener till it reaches the marked line. If I had used too much, there would have been too little left for the last bottle, but there was just the right amount left. All bottles were evenly filled with hardner. I have a lot of experience working with polyurethane resins, and I know that there can be bad batches that don't have the same physical properties. I also wonder if the humidity in Atlanta could affect the curing and make it brittle? I'm willing to give Raptor Liner another try to see if it is more flexible this time.

[@bennewberry7572]

It wasn’t prepped correctly by looking at the paint under the raptor

[@engineerable]

Yeah, watch and listen to the whole video. I pointed that we missed a few spots in the crevices when sanding and prepping. My only complaint was how crispy the stuff is.

[@seanandlizzie]

Looks like it's not been prepped properly and not used adhesion promoter

[@engineerable]

I point out that in some places (in the grooves) there was not enough sanding done. The instructions did not say to use adhesion promoter, but we did use paint surface prep cleaner before applying. The main issue with the product remains the brittleness. Even in places where it did adhere properly, it cracks easily if hit.

[@seanandlizzie]

I've got a big project on and torn between raptor and novol cobra. Raptor seems the best so fat

[@engineerable]

@@seanandlizzie do a test of Raptor or whatever else on some samples first. My Raptor application turned out super brittle, but does not fade. Others have said theirs is more flexible. Maybe I got a bad batch. Take a look at Monstaliner too, I have some samples of that that are 7 years old and still flexible.

[@seanandlizzie]

My paint guy recommends novol cobra it's tintable like upol raptor it's hard to make a choice

[@engineerable]

@@seanandlizzie Monsta comes in a bunch of different colors and is also tintable. Test a few brands first to make sure you like it before your big project.

[@aaronmoore501]

“When you sand this large of a surface it’s easy to miss spots.” Smh 🤦‍♂️

[@engineerable]

When I do the Monsta-liner I'll invite you over have some beers and have you check my sanding to see if I missed any spots 😂.

[@RW-bi2rp]

So this basically proves that raptor liner is not flexible enough

[@itchylampost]

So no prep ? And blame the product ? 😆 no sanding down , no primer?

[@engineerable]

You missed the part where I show how it's crispy like a potato chip. That is 100% products fault. It should flex a little and not crack so easy. Other bed liner products remain flexible to absorb impact. We sanded it plenty. I honestly pointed out that we missed a few spots in deep grooves where the sanding pads did not get in enough. Even where the adhesion is good, and it gets dented, it cracks. It stays stuck to the sheet metal, but it cracks. Where I primed the plastic front bumper before application, it still cracks when it gets bumped a little.

[@BrokenSmokinSpokes]

Looks like no sanding done... Any urethane coating is going to be rigid...lol

[@engineerable]

If you watched the whole video, you would see where I explained that we sanded it, but missed a few spots, mostly in crevices, which is where it did not adhere well. It adheres well to properly sanded areas. Not all urethane coatings are rigid, especially bed liners. Bed liners are supposed to have some flexibility so that they can take impacts without cracking.

[@denverwood5290]

Raptor is impact resistant. That prep was very very poor. Super glossy.

[@engineerable]

The product I got is super brittle, regardless of the prep work. It was well prepped in most of the areas, it adhered just fine, but still cracks when impacted.

[@workforit2270]

Factory paint on vehicles don't last as long as your lazy prep job raptor liner job. Imagine if you put your heart into your prep job. That would last 20 years pluse.

[@engineerable]

We spent a lot of time prepping it and sanding. I admitted that we did not sand enough in the concave ridges, which is where it pulled away. It's held on strong everywhere else that was well sanded. That still doesn't explain why this Raptor Liner is so brittle. If you hit it, it should flex, but this just cracks and chips away.

[@workforit2270]

@@engineerable my background. High-end Custom home painter. If prep is skipped or a lack of to me that's lazy. Gotta be OCD on it. An A to Z perfection for proper results. Not saying you didn't work hard on it. I'm saying you were lazy on making sure you triple checked it before you sprayed it. "Check twice, cut once" check once, your lazy because you assume instead of know. That's how you skipped on some of your spots. Do one square section at a time. Check it with a light, feel with your hand and light sand over square and move on. These steps would have gave you a flawless job. So yes it lazy work. But thanks for your video. The surface you were diligent on looked great after 10 years.

[@ivideorandomstuff4591]

Wow man. Stop blaming raptor liner for your horrible prep work. Raptor liner is amazing when you use it right

[@engineerable]

How do you explain the brittle crispiness of the Raptor Liner? That has nothing to do with the prep work. I clearly explain that I didn't sand well enough in the grooves, which explains the poor adhesion there. I followed the mixing and application directions to the t. Used 2 packs of this and it all ended up super brittle. So the brittleness was not my fault. Bed liner should be flexible to absorb impacts without cracking.

[@garyoliver3374]

Ots coming off cos he was too lazy to prepare it properly

[@engineerable]

We spent a lot of time prepping it, but like I admitted in the video, the sanding pads we used didn't reach into the concave spaces, so that's why it pulled away in those areas. I didn't notice, because it's hard to tell where you've sanded in the yellow paint. It adhered well to the areas we sanded. The brittleness of Raptor Liner has nothing to do with the prep job though.

[@blu3novagaming779]

No offense but you fucked up my boy. It's not bad you just made a mistake.

[@engineerable]

How do you explain the brittleness of the liner? That wasn't my mistake. Even in areas where it was applied as thick as bed liner, it cracks when hit lightly.