Industrial Polymers Speedliner protective liner: 4x4 product test

BACK IN 2015 we conducted a five-year product test on Speedliner, a two-pack polymer with a chemical make-up that’s more secret than the Colonel’s herbs and spices.

The product was invented in 1995 by US company Industrial Polymers as a UV-stabilised, spray-on liner for ute beds. It has since been used in a range of other applications including hospitality work areas, floors, horse floats, livestock trucks, mine vehicles, caravans, boats and in health facilities. In fact, it’s used anywhere where a flexible rubber-coated surface is needed to resist abrasion, impact, corrosion and to provide a non-slip surface.

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Since we sprayed Speedliner on the back tray of the Hilux it has now travelled an additional 100,000km on some of Australia’s greatest tracks, and, despite some pretty harsh use, there’s still not a rip, tear or blemish to be seen.

A while back we started thinking about how else we might use this product, and it wasn’t long before we found people out on the tracks who were making the most of what the Speedliner has to offer. For example, we found an old Holden Drover that was being used as a bush basher and gun buggy; its footwell had been sprayed with Speedliner to make it easier to hose out the dirt and grime after a long day in the back paddock.

We also found a supercharged V8 Land Cruiser Troopie with a Speedliner stone guard sprayed below the vehicle’s belt line. Then there were the bullbars sprayed with the product. In all cases, the Speedliner was doing a solid job of protecting against scratches, dents, rust, paint oxidisation, and general wear and tear.

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What’s next? Our fibreglass hybrid camper was showing signs of oxidation and cracking after 10 years on the corrugations past whoop-whoop. The city runabout then got sprayed head-to-toe with Speedliner and, for a vehicle that was starting to look like a candidate for the knacker’s yard, it has become a real head-turner.

Then we turned our attention to the 30-year-old Land Rover 110 6x6 Perentie that’s sitting in the back shed undergoing a makeover. We had the entire cabin treated with Speedliner for less than half the cost of what we’d pay for a more conventional respray. A happy by-product of using Speedliner was that it also dulled some of the Land Rover’s panel vibration and associated noises.

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Speedliner can be used for a range of 4x4 applications at a far lower cost than what you’d pay at most paint-repair shops, so it’s a great option for protecting (and/or masking) cosmetic damage to vulnerable panels. After all, there are approximately 913,000km of roadways in Australia – with only 353,331km paved. That leaves 559,669km of stone-chipping byways and back tracks. Not to mention scratches from tree branches and other vegetation that line many narrow stretches of track.

Even when our rigs are being used as city runabouts, a bit of extra duco protection goes a long way. Particularly in city car parks where an endless line of zombie shoppers seem intent on opening their car doors or pushing their grocery trolleys into vehicles. Scratches in paintwork lead to rust, and rust and dents devalue our rigs.

RATED
Available from: www.speedlineraustralia.com.au
RRP: Varies depending on the size of the job.
We Say: Ingenious and great value for money.