I mixed clear bedliner with white tint for the van's exterior. The Rust-Oleum coating pooled, dripped and left areas of uneven texture that I needed to touch up.
My van with masking around the exterior areas prepared for coating.
Why I bought it
Rust-Oleum Clear Truck Bed Coating appears in my build materials and equipment for this work.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint for the van's exterior. The Rust-Oleum coating pooled, dripped and left areas of uneven texture that I needed to touch up.
How I used it in my camper van
I taped the boundaries and covered the areas that would not be painted with plastic sheeting. I then sanded the exposed areas with an orbital sander and 60-grit abrasive, blew away the dust with a compressor, and cleaned and degreased the surfaces.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint and sprayed the van. After it dried, I removed the masking. The tape and sheeting stage alone took around eight hours, and the finished edges still needed some touch-up.
The side of the van during the white-bedliner project.
My review
I was not happy with the Rust-Oleum result. It pooled, dripped and sometimes formed an uneven quilted texture. Trying to fix one area with a brush made the finish worse and pulled coating away from the glossy surface.
My notes favored RAPTOR for a thicker, more consistent sprayed result. I planned to use a foam roller for the remaining touch-ups and wrote that I would choose Herculiner or RAPTOR for future bedliner work.
Masking, preparation and application method each became a substantial part of the exterior-coating job.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
RAPTOR is a mixing-kit alternative; Herculiner aerosol is a spray-can format for smaller applications. My diary favored RAPTOR's more consistent sprayed finish over the Rust-Oleum result.
U-POL RAPTOR Bed Liner Kit
This urethane coating kit includes a spray gun for applying a textured finish. It offers a larger coating-system format than a small aerosol can.
This Herculiner aerosol applies a textured protective coating to smaller areas. It can be useful for compatible exterior van trim or coating touch-ups.
