24
Jun

Speedliner Review: Is it worth all the hype?


Speedliner is another good name, but no actual equipment, and very high cost for only one product.

Overall, it has ok strength but requires 1-2 days to cure. Metallic substrates must always be dry and primed with their UltraPrime 450 before applying Speedliner. The price for Speedliner is over $60 / gal plus freight with only 2 & 4-gallon kits. Vapors from Speedliner 1000 contain isocyanates and solvents.

In order to put Speedliners products in perspective, I will explain what they offer and how it compare to ArmorThane’s ArmorLiner, which is a top-notch bedliner product you can purchase at a MUCH cheaper price.

ArmorThane’s ArmorLiner is a hybrid and Speedliner 1000 is 100% polyurea. Now, most bedliner companies these days, believe that the hybrid product makes the best spray-on bedliner. Here’s why: 100% polyurethane (like Rhino’s old Tuff Stuff) proved to be too weak of a product for truck bedliners. But, it had great grip. 100% polyurea is strong, but it’s way to hard. It does not keep your payload in place and it does not allow for very much impact protection. A hybrid is very strong but still allows for impact protection, and still allows for your payload to stay in place.

ArmorLiner has always been a hybrid; however, ArmorThane does have 100% polyurea products but they feel like ArmorLiner is a better product for truck bedliners.

Speedliner is solvent based and is not environmentally friendly. (ArmorLiner does not contain any solvents). The solvent in Speedliner is ethyl acetate (EA). EA is EXTREMELY dangerous, its vapors are literally explosive. Speedliner requires a primer to be applied to the truck first. The reasons for this are: 

  1. Polyurea alone does not have good adhesion and 
  2. Speedliner is applied using a brush, roller, or hopper gun at about 90-100 psi which is considered low pressure and 3. Speedliner is not heated which does not lower the viscosity. 

ArmorLiner does not require a primer for truck beds because: 

  1. ArmorLiner is a hybrid and polyurethane has much better adhesion properties than polyurea and 
  2. ArmorLiner uses high pressure at about 2,000 psi which forces the bedliner product into the scuffed surface of the truck bed and
  3. ArmorLiner is heated to about 130 degrees which lowers the viscosity and allows for better penetration into the scuffed surface. Also, I’ll mention that Speedliner’s primer also contains EA. ArmorThane dealers do have primers available for other applications, if needed.

Regarding DuPont Kevlar:  Speedliner dealers open a little packet of Kevlar fibers and pour it into the “A” side or isocyanate. Well, that’s not very scientific. It’s very possible that the fibers actually WEAKEN the Speedliner bedliner by interfering with the isocyanate/resin reaction. In order for the Kevlar fibers to actually add strength, it’s important how the fibers line up with each other and where they end up in the solution (like top, middle, or bottom). 

  1. Only Speedliner brand primer can be used.
  2. Manual mix only, cure takes 2 or more days.
  3. No 5-gallon pails, drums, or discounts.
  4. The gun is the same as the Wal-Mart model called Spraying Mantis, but it is sold at a higher price than retail.
  5. The pressure pot is like a Graco but requires premixing with no known method of cleaning it or purging hoses & guns.
  6. This pressure pot is not a plural component pump.
  7. The spray air needs to be less than 5% relative humidity as it leaves the gun.
  8. A 3-in-1 refrigerant dryer for your compressor is mandatory.

We suggest you stay far away from this bedline vendor!

Speedliner Equipment:

Speedliner 1000 Pressure PotSpeedliner 1000 Pressure Pot – $1,375.00·         The spray air needs to be less than 5% relative humidity as it leaves the gun.·         A 3-in-1 refrigerant dryer for you compressor is mandatory.·         Air membrane dryer is mandatory.·         Requires air compressor dedicated to this equipment.
Basic Speedliner Hopper EquipmentSpeedliner Hopper Gun – $127.00The recommended hopper gun for Speedliner is their gun, but at a higher cost than same Wallboard guns available online and through major hardware stores.