UPOL RAPTOR LINER / Pros & Cons / Long Term Use

A very good video my friend. I felt that it was a fair and honest depiction of the product for general diy use and I didn't feel as if I was watching an advertisement or being sold something. Well done. Really like your workshop/paintbooth.

timely video .. i was going to raptor my wheel-arches , back to the drawing board

nothing last forever.....unless you buy it straight off the show room floor, soak it in oil, stick it in a controlled environment room, ect....but you definitely added years to its service life...when did you swap to 35" tires...and are you still running the d30 and chevy 8.25 ? what id miss ???

Well that was a very timely video. Yvette and I are looking to buy a Land Rover 110 from a friend this weekend and the paintwork is very poor. Looking at our options we are considering a full raptor re-spray for the body panels and a waxoil for the chassis and under body. I've seen other vehicles with Raptor applied on the under body and inner arches but because those areas are susceptible to stone chips they have corroded under the product which is why we're thinking of a flexible waxoil product for the underbody. Really looking forward to the next video.

POR 15 is amazing def have to do the metal prep u have to keep it wet for 15 minutes then rinse with water it etches into the metal

We love where we RaptorLined the lower parts of our doors on our XJ. However we just found where a small part of rust is showing through. So we need to address that very soon.
Great information! ❤️🐞

You spend more time working on that thing than driving it!

Nothing will stick to powder coat. Adhesion problems on the front bumper are more to do with prep than product failure.

I totally agree with your observations about Raptor. I'v seen a lot of people mention Raptor does flake off sharp edges, like the edges of doors, bonnets. That problem can be reduced with acid etch primer on those sharp edges. The biggest mistake people seem to make is not carrying the Raptor around the inside edge of the doors (by about an inch), If you go much further than an inch the door seal wont create a proper seal on the textured surface. Spraying the inside and outside of the door edge puts a slightly thicker coating right on the sharp edge. Then the Raptor bridges around the sharp edge. It will always struggle to bond to bare metal. So the key is to paint it first, with a strong base paint/primer. Two part plastic primer for bumpers and other plastic trim is the way to go before any type of paint or textured application.

My biggest suggestion...get the upol vari-nozzle gun & toss the one that it comes with in the trash. The vari-nozzle spray gun is a game changer. You can dial in desired texture ...from coarse to ultra fine like a sand paper finish & get consistent results.
Another suggestion is don't spray the bottom of the bottle. Toss the last 10% in the trash and mix a new bottle. Bottom of the bottle doesn't shoot as smooth & tends to gunk up & splatter.

Hi Mike.
So my Xj has line x coating over most of it.
All the coating was done at a facility. The company is called Tyro. It’s the same as line x. Just a different company name.

Here is what I have found/know about it.
It sticks best to new paint. The area to be painted gets sanded with around 180 grit.
It does not bond to surfaces that have just been primed or are rusty in any way. It will make rust worse.
I know this because I have had to have some areas re done.
The line x tore off in one big area. Front fender. Had to have that fender finish painted. Then sanded to make sure the line x stuck good.
It won’t stick to previously coated areas of do it yourself bed lines. I had to strip my entire roof of my xj with a chisel and a sander over two days before it could be sprayed with line x.
It won’t stick to bare metal unless it’s been sand blasted first.
I just had my front bumper baked in an oven. Then sand blasted to get the failing powder coating off. Then it was fully encapsulated with line x.
All the line x on my Jeep is nearly one 1/8 thick.
It goes on hot at 180 degrees in what I can only describe as a canyon lol.
Then I had all areas top coated with a semi gloss black paint. It goes on immediately so it bonds to the hot plastic line x. So it’s not paint adhesion holding the paint in place.
If line x is not top coated like this. The suns uv rays makes it fade and go grey in no time at all.
Mine has been on the Jeep for 6+ years. Not a scratch or a chip.
But line x. When coated with a top coat of paint comes at a price.
To get my front bumper blasted. And coated in line x with top paint was around $700CAD. 😭 the bumper cost that much new.
But it’s the only finish that will stand up to gravel roads and road salt which we have lots of here in Calgary.
I have the front grill/ rear bumper/roof and 3/4 up there sides on my xj done. That has cost me around $3000CAD over the years as I did not do it all at once. But hey. It looks the same as the day it went on.

To have the whole xj done completely I was quoted $5000 and that was 6years ago!

Some people get full size trucks done over here. It’s a 10k 🤑! 😦

This is a great explanation and description. I'm always excited to see another cherokee video from you, I think we have similar interests when it comes to working on jeeps. We talked a little in the comments section previously about bedliners I mentioned the trouble I've had with bedliner and rust.
Something you might be interested in is steel-it paint, it's weldable and seems extremely durable especially for a rattle can which I've been using, you can also spray it with a paint gun. It applies directly to metal. Usually I use the upol 2 weld through primer for things that can't be painted after welding like frame stiffeners but im considering switching to steel-it in those situations I think it might offer better protection against corrosion it welds very nicely I was surprised and it goes a lot further than the upol 2. It's expensive but it really does work awesome definitely worth a try.
You mentioned por15. I've researched por15 alot and I think it's a great product if applied correctly but I think it might have similar consequences as bedliner if water does get underneath it and water always finds a way eventually.
After everything I've been though with rust and using different products my favorite solution is seam sealer in all the right places and quality paint type products and cavity wax. Then of course maintenance and staying on top of things. I am staying away from any rubberized coatings or encapsulating type products. I do like powder coat though.

Awesome video man, looking for some kind of solution to the lower half of my truck, and this helped a bunch…thanks for the upload..:)

Have you heard of Lazard skin ?

100% agree on allowing undersides ( & channels & anywhere that can hold water ) to dry out rather than coat with, well, whatever product it might be. And having large drainage holes/channels so that dirt and grit can be sloshed out and away, and relatively cheap sacrificial materials such as the aluminium armour you put under your sills - it's light, doesn't rust, happily takes all the stones thrown up at it, and a lot cheaper and easier to replace than sills :) And waxes where useful too, yes; All good advice in this vid! :)

Does your front bumper even need Raptor..? I guess it's rare you're following close behind other vehicles. If so maybe consider just spraying the front of it then leave the rest and just smother with marine grease or something. I think whatever people do the main thing is regularly inspecting the undersides, wheel arches, sills etc. It's not a nice job without a lift or pit but if they can find a friendly garage where they can hire use of a lift on a weekend, twice a year maybe, they can get a really good look; best done when it's rainy (all the time in Britain heh) so folks in dry climates should use a hose (not a pressure washer) all over the undersides first. A bit oldschool perhaps, just the way I learned when I was young :)

WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING BUSHCRAFTING ANYMORE ??????????? i miss those days.........

This is a great build and some great info!!!! What fenders are you running? I am looking are getting a set for my wife's XJ?🤘🤘🤘🤘

prefer bully liner water based made in Australia

oh and because Bully liner is water based it is simple to do some touch ups

Hello Mike ! Good video as always ;) Which tools brand would you recommend to begin in mechanic ? For basic maintenance

Fc.​Thailand.​ 💯

i looked for a ton of people that have lived with POR15 for a long time. you can find so many videos from people who have just used POR15 or sales people and they say its great. just like you look for people who have lived with it for a few years. what you will find is the same problem. the paint is so hard, epoxy is hard, once you get a chip it rusts underneath. i would suggest regular paints without a hardner. zinc paint for really important areas, drying oils are the best solution from a bit of experience. i have also used some treatments for rust that convert it. was surprised by results. just a basic phosphorus solution. in the process of now. if you dont have time before winters, just spray the whole under side with fluid film. ive had amazing results with that.

Thanks!

I have a few different parts of my old truck with 2 years wear on POR15.
It seems pretty temperamental about metal prep. There's areas I know I cleaned, but apparently not quite as well, where the POR is chipping off in areas like cheap paint. The metal likely still had some oil, wax, or similar on it in a few areas, because on most of the part it honestly acts like it's part of the metal...
I know this because due to the flaking areas I decided to sand and recoat the entire part due to the spots that were chipping. I assumed most all of it was compromised. Using a grinder and flap disc I had to sand entirely through the POR all the way to the metal, and it was a pain in the a$$! It never started to flake, even when it was micro thin and I was almost to the metal. Tried to scrape the edges next to that once I hit metal and nothing. So with the right prep it's insane how well it holds itself to the steel.
Note: in direct UV it starts to turn Grey and the colors aren't UV resistant either, but it says that on the can. It weather's so bad in the sun that I wonder if that would cause it to be compromised. I always spray a coating over it if it's a direct sunlight part.
I've heard of a lot of people having success coating with POR15, scratching it up to dull it, then raptor lining it. I'm about to try this in the interior of my XJ, and CJ-7.
The CJ already has the POR coat, so we'll see how that goes.

Raptor liner is not a stone guard. Use the correct product for the task

OK, I watched 3 of your vids. I finally gave in & subscribed!
You do very good work, & you're good at explaining what you do, and a real big plus - no crappy music!

Any tips on how to remove raptor liner from plastic? A simple sanding maybe? Or do chemicals need to be used?

So you didnt treat the rust, im thinking all your problems are prep.

Por 15 is good for something but it's not uv protected does real bad if the sun hits it and line x does flex but when it comes off it dose it in chunks and only way to repair it is by taking it back to line x and that sucks. Rineo line that IV seen is really tuff but expensive 🤑👍👌✌️💯🇺🇸

Just found your videos, really enjoying the detail you put into your build. I wanted to share with you a product I used on my XJ. A shop originally sprayed my ARB front bumper with a product called Superliner about 15 years ago. I had them do the body of the bumper with the bedliner, and left the bull bar powdercoated. As I lived in an area that didn't salt the roads, but used volcanic cinder rock for traction, the powder coat is a bit hammered. However , the urethane is still amazing, still flexible and still black. My 13 year old son and I sprayed my wheelwells,rockers ,lower doors, jcr rear bumper and the roof gutters as a winter project 2 years ago. Lots of prep but actually really easy to work with. Low cost because you spray with a drywall texture gun($ 25 USD) that you can throw away when you're finished, if you want. The gravel Forest Service Roads do no damage to the wheel wells because the product is so flexible. This stuff is much cheaper to buy if you order decent quantities, so not as convenient as Raptor liner for little detail work. Make no mistake, I'm not saying the 15 yr old liner looks like the newer stuff, but it has not chalked and it is still gloss after all those yrs of our high elevation UV exposure. I can't imagine what it would look like if protected (garaged). Check it out. By the way , I am doing the same otk steering /brake swap you just did, only I have locking hubs not unit bearings. You put my mind at ease over a few of the steps ,though, thanks!

You can add plasisizer to two pack raptor to make it flexible

what kind of radiator is that? looks cool

It sounds like everything you didn't use the epoxy primer on first came out poorly. Unless I've missed something? Maybe adhesion promoter should be used under the epoxy primer for bare metal rather than the bedliner? Your video is very helpful and has certainly made me rethink using Raptor where I was planning to use it, but now I'm getting the impression that primer is key.

Check out a newer and stronger product from U-Pol called Dominator bed liner also tintable 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

the instruction said that if you put too much paint. then the plastic will crack more easy.

It would be interesting to find out if you added some flexible paint additive to the raptor, would that improve the chip resistance? Also por15 is basically like a thin powder coat, it's great when it's intact, but when it fails it can cause more problems.

I’m torn between using raptor liner on the floor of my 1996 xj or using a heavy duty farm and implement paint. I’m worried about the raptor cracking and trapping water against the floor but also want something tough and abrasion resistant. What’s your experience long term with the raptor on the floor of your jeep?
Thanks, Cole

Small world. I'd never heard of RAPTOR until today when a Russian Lada Niva I was looking at online said it was painted with RAPTOR. However, what do you think of this, his advert said it was first painted with a Bulgarian version of Hammerite (3-1 Protecta). My old White Niva has a few rust patches on the bodywork that I've been too lazy to address, but these Russian vehicles have some thickness worth writing home about and I started thinking of a quick way of protecting the old gal. I'm not the perfectionist like you are, a paint brush job would do for me, but just interested to hear your opinion of Raptor on top of Hammerite, would it adhere do you think?

Have you tried double coating?

Thanks to taking time to make this very extensive go through with Raptor. I just bought some of this stuff to give my Defender a touch up. It will certainly make me avoid doing some stupid failures. Keep up the good work !

Not to sound negative but I cant think of any metal coating that will suvive multiple direct stabs with a screwdriver.

Surley meant to use the upol adheasion promoter on all ther sharp corners where it sill struggle to hold. This is a great video tho and appteciate you showing what long term is like. Its all in the prep for sure.

Great job on xj I'm redoing a 98 xj my self and I was wondering if you could send me the details on them rocker rails you made and in staled on your xj thanks

Thanks, I've used raptor anti corrosive primer on my new footwells, and won't pur bedliner over as it will get some stones, being a Defender used off-road in my woodland all the time, and gravel roads too.
I need something that will be softer and absorb impacts I guess for behind the wheels. Any suggestions welcome

i found an industrial coating called Durabak years ago very very tough stuff they have rough and smooth finish's available with a boat load of colors.. i believe hard to the touch 2-4 hours fully cured 1-4 days depending on temp and humidity.. i believe this is the best for diy off road aplications.. great vid mike i really like when u cover options and the vid angles go well with ur examples..👍👍

What if you por 15 the bottom carriage first and then put raptor liner over that?

rust remover, primer and then raptor liner

I’m sure you or someone has stated this, but raptor liner makes an epoxy primer to go over bare metal then raptor over that, I would never apply raptor without the epoxy under it, epoxy is like a rubber/plastic coating that will protect the metal that is properly toothed with 80 grit on a d/a. Epoxy is the absolute best metal protection on the market today.

I've been using Upol Raptor Liner now for the past three years on the XJ. Mostly on key areas that see wear and impact from forest roads or offroad abuse. Its a durable bedliner paint that offers tough protection and it works well on DIY fabrications for 4wds to give a professional finish and long lasting protection.
Do the claims really stack up to the reality though with this paint and how does it deal with repeated impacts and abrasion.
I personally love Raptor paint but it has to be said that it has its weaknesses and should not be seen as a blanket solution for all areas of a vehicle. Its strengths can be its weaknesses wen it comes to impact resistance over thinner metals.
Thanks for watching.