ACS Linings Vortex Spray-in Tub Liner

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Another iZook Review ACS Linings Vortex Spray-in Tub Liner With Bill Johnston

My Samurai is older than some but newer than most of what we see on the road here in the United States, but after years of fun on the trails the carpeting had lived long past its prime. Wear spots, tears and tufts of ragged threading were everywhere. Knowing that a new carpet set would look the same in a few years, I decided to go with something a bit more ‘trail resistant’. I decided a spray-in tub liner (like the spray-in bed liners you see in pickup trucks) would not only clean up the ragged mess, but it would be easier to clean out after an afternoon spent having fun. There are a few ‘Do It Yourself’ kits out there, and some are very high quality, but they are very messy, smelly and they are not ‘clothing friendly’.

I opted to go to a friend ‘in the business’ to check out what kind of a job the Pros did. The rest is history!

The only dirty work I had to do (and this is a money savings) was to pull out anything I didn’t want to have sprayed. Seats, seatbelts, shifter boots and loose change – all had to go. The only tricky part was getting the factory asphalt based insulation off of the floor and transmission tunnel. I had heard there was a trick to this, but didn’t realize how easy it was until early one morning I went out to the Zook with a hammer… The cold morning air had chilled the insulation enough to harden it. A few whacks with the hammer and it came out in huge chunks! The Zook went to Clint Swearingen of ACS Linings, here in El Paso Texas. They have a system called Vortex that creates an “incredibly durable surface coating of extremely high impact resistance”… That’s what I needed – something I can’t mess up very easily! When we got the vehicle back it was just a matter of putting the parts back where they went. Here you can see where Clint carried the spray across the door threshold to form a non-skid step that blended into the rocker protection. He also sprayed the lower part of the door to match for those time when we have to keep the rain out. You can also see where he carried the spray up the roll cage. Behind those diamond plate panels are a thick coating of liner to keep the road noise a bit quieter. One of the major problem spots for my Samurai was the inside of the tailgate and the floor just inside. I had used some straps to across the tailgate to make a place to store oil, brake fluid and other liquids when out on the trail. These containers leaked when they were put in ‘not-so-normal’ angles out on the trail. The spray-in liner gave the back area – as well as the whole interior a great new look. Clint did a few ‘extras’ for me to show just how versitile the product was. On the left you can see where he took my spare stock steering wheel and gave it a coating from the sprayer. It is like a new steering wheel now! Not only does it make it easier to grip, but it doesn’t heat up like a stock wheel out here in the desert southwest sunshine. And for simple cleanup, you can’t beat just popping out the drain plugs and hitting it with a shot from the water hose. Check out the website below for a look at a few other projects Clint has done. Source: