2021 test10 productsHome & Cleaning
Which Truck Bed Liner Brand Wins?
We compared 10 truck bed liner options head to head. Durabak came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping bedliners, rhino liner, truck bed liners and truck bedliner land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
Durabak
Price shown in test: $45.95, or $1.44 per oz, the most expensive product tested
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Budget pick
EGC (European Genuine Coatings)
Price shown in test: $79.95 for a 4-liter kit, or 62 cents per oz; the transcript labels this the 'least expensive' product tested, which appears to be a captioning or narration inconsistency since it is priced above several other products in the video
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Cold impact test damage | Ambient impact test | Adhesion, bare metal | Adhesion, primered metal | Rubbing alcohol resistance | Gasoline resistance | Diesel resistance | Screw-drag scratch test | Dropped steel rod impact test | Cold impact test | Ambient impact test damage | Dropped steel rod impact test damage | Adhesion, bare metal (no primer needed per manufacturer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Durabak 18 polyurethane protective coating$45.95, or $1.44 per oz, the most expensive product tested | 1.34 mm | steel ball did not appear to penetrate the bedliner material | 595 lb, by far the best yet at that point in testing | 641 lb, very impressive | beginning to break down, same as POR-15 and Herculiner | no problem | fine | very minor visible damage, grouped in category two along with Rust-Oleum, Raptor, Herculiner, and POR-15 | tied for first place with Herculiner; the rod left a very small mark but did not appear to penetrate | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Herculiner$37.23, or $1.16 per oz | not tested | the warmer temperature seemed to soften the coating just enough for the steel ball to penetrate | 433 lb, best yet at that point in testing | 612 lb, best yet, described as very impressive | still sticking to the metal but beginning to break down | no visible damage | held up very well | very minor scratches visible under microscope, category two, about the same as Raptor | tied for first place with Durabak, did by far the best yet | did the best yet at that point in testing; the steel ball did not fully penetrate the bedliner | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3European Genuine Coatings EGC$79.95 for a 4-liter kit, or 62 cents per oz; the transcript labels this the 'least expensive' product tested, which appears to be a captioning or narration inconsistency since it is priced above several other products in the video | 6.16 mm, best yet at that point in testing | steel ball did not appear to fully penetrate the bedliner | 34 lb | 56 lb | tolerated very well with no visible damage | held up just fine | held up very well | best of all brands, category one; had to use a microscope to even find the scratch | 2.4 mm damage, third place | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Raptor bedliner kit$69.99 for a 64 oz kit, or $1.09 per oz | 5.12 mm | not tested | 48 lb, let go | 425 lb, described as a terrific job | not tested | no damage | held up very well | very minor scratch, hard to see under microscope, about as well as EGC | not tested | not tested | 3.2 mm | 3.94 mm, slightly more damage than Flex Seal | not tested |
| 5Flex Seal$29.99, or right at 94 cents per oz | 2.16 mm, helped by its soft and rubbery characteristics in cold temperature | not tested | 366 lb, best yet at that point in testing | 491 lb, even better | quickly peeled away | peeling | seemed just fine | the screw cut right through the coating, described as very soft and rubbery | not tested | not tested | 3.23 mm, slightly worse than cold but still described as doing really well | 2.79 mm, described as having very good adhesive properties | not tested |
| 6Rust-Oleum truck bed coating$18.97 for a quart, or 59 cents per oz | 8.15 mm | not tested | 48 lb | 89 lb; notably lower relative improvement from primer than most other brands | no apparent damage | held up just fine | held up well | a scratch was left but not as deep as Iron Armor's, category two | not tested | not tested | 6.35 mm, the warmer temperature helped quite a bit | 5.35 mm, a little better than Iron Armor | not tested |
| 7POR-15 bedliner$38.88, or $1.21 per oz | 9.74 mm | 1.5 mm damage, fourth place; the warmer temperature helped quite a bit | 41 lb, let go | 157 lb, primer helped a lot | sticking but beginning to break down | peeled away, along with the primer coating | no issues | minor damage visible under microscope, category two, described as doing a great job just like Herculiner | not tested | not tested | not tested | 6.18 mm | not tested |
| 8Dupli-Color Bed Armor (water-based)$36.56, or $1.14 per oz | 5.54 mm | not tested | 72 lb, let go | 42 lb; notably worse than the unprimered result, described as really struggling | peeled away | tolerated just fine | did just fine | the screw cut all the way through, about the same as Flex Seal | not tested | not tested | 3.21 mm, improved slightly | 3.1 mm, fifth place | not tested |
| 9Dupli-Color oil-based truck bed coating$28.29, or just 88 cents per oz | 13.61 mm, worst of all brands in this test | not tested | not tested | 256 lb, still great but slightly lower than the unprimered result | peeling, about the same as Iron Armor | began breaking down, just like Iron Armor | began breaking down | fairly deep scratch, about the same as Iron Armor | not tested | not tested | 2.16 mm, improved quite a bit at ambient temperature | 7.92 mm, the most damage of any brand in this test | 358 lb |
| 10Iron Armor40 cents per oz, the least expensive product tested, sold at Harbor Freight | 9.09 mm | not tested | 47 lb, did not bond well without primer | 281 lb, much better | broke down and came loose | did not hold up well | broke down | fairly deep scratch, though the screw did not cut all the way through | not tested | not tested | 9.42 mm, slightly more damage than at subfreezing temperature | 5.91 mm | not tested |
How it was tested
- cold-temperature (minus 40F) high-caliber steel ball impact test
- ambient-temperature (approximately 75F) steel ball impact test
- tensile adhesion/bond strength test on bare and primered steel
- chemical resistance soak test (rubbing alcohol, non-ethanol gasoline, diesel)
- screw-drag scratch and abrasion resistance test
- dropped 500 g steel rod impact test
“In my opinion, Durabak definitely won the showdown, but it is a very expensive product.”