Plasti Dip

[chris1htx]

after learning about plasti dip a few days ago, i have become very fascinated by what it can do. has anyone used plasti dip on our trucks?

[egaray281]

theres a post on this website that a few people talk about plasti dip and a few pics of some that have done it and i know what you mean when i read it i started doing all kinda research and prices on this stuff im thinking of doing it on my truck also! you can probably do a search and find it

[tcastro0706]

I've done the bed of mine so far. I like it. I need another coat to make it all blend.

[tcastro0706]

Cost me less than $20 to do bed

[BR3W CITY]

Don't use aerosol dip, use the Sprayable Rubber dip.
I did a 3 part video on my channel doing a complete color change. We have upcoming "wear and tear" and "Repair" videos coming in the thaw.

350z PlastiDip Color Changeover Pt1 - REV J HD -...

350z PlastiDip Color Change Pt 2 - REV J HD -...

350z PlastiDip Color Changeover Pt 3 - REV J HD -...

[egaray281]

Originally Posted by tcastro0706

I've done the bed of mine so far. I like it. I need another coat to make it all blend.

did you use spray cans or gallons with a paint gun?

[tcastro0706]

I just used spray can. Bought cans at local hardware store. Did it in my front yard.

[BR3W CITY]

Guys, with all respect, do not use the rattle cans for dipping a car.

1. It ends up costing more, per oz of volume because you pay for the propellants as well.
2. The amount required to do a car, or even a large part of one, will usually end up being more than 1 gallon, so even for smaller jobs you don't save much.
3. The dispersion and amount of material applied from the gun (tankless sprayer, NOT HVLP paint gun), is much better. Most rattle can applications of Rubber dip is VERY thin, causing the stuff to easily become patch, brittle and ripable.
4. Colors
5. There is a tendancy with most spray can jobs, to minimize prep. Doing plastidip correctly does involve prepwork to be ideal.
6. In CA where you can't buy some of the sprayable products, you can order JUST the pigment and thin it yourself for spraying, making it a viable option in all states.

We had to learn all this over time, but the experience has allowed us to get really good results. That 350z pictured is driven year round in WI, and has done a great job holding up and keep the crap OFF of the real paint. Seriously, take a look at the videos.

[tcastro0706]

Well no offense to u. I spent $50 for some plastidip cans an have enough to do the whole truck. Daily driven truck. Washed a several times already. Still holding up. Even if I do go over it again another $50 for cans not a bad deal. I mean if you have the equipment to use a sprayer go for it. Or to pay somebody to do it go for it. I don't have a shop to do it in an don't have a air compressor to power a sprayer an don't have $500 to pay somebody to spray it for me. So cans work for me.

[Sabaka454]

This stuff peels right off. Why would you waste your time and money doing this? If anything hits it the whole deal is ruined.

[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by tcastro0706

Well no offense to u. I spent $50 for some plastidip cans an have enough to do the whole truck. Daily driven truck. Washed a several times already. Still holding up. Even if I do go over it again another $50 for cans not a bad deal. I mean if you have the equipment to use a sprayer go for it. Or to pay somebody to do it go for it. I don't have a shop to do it in an don't have a air compressor to power a sprayer an don't have $500 to pay somebody to spray it for me. So cans work for me.

Thats about 6-7 cans....which just isn't enough to make a substantial layer of the stuff. The rubber dip spray builds a good few mils thick, which the aerosol does not. I used the rattle cans well before the gallons, and it just isn't the same.

The gallons spray using a tankless sprayer, which does not use a compressor...its a wagner painter basically, and you can use anything form the Harbor frieght cheapies or rental units if you don't want to spend the money for the actual "recommended" sprayer type.

We don't have a shop either.


As for the comment about it peeling off; well thats kinda the point...its not paint. A good coating of the stuff doesn't "just" peel off. You have to start an edge and peel. The thickness of it actually gives it some resiliency and light impacts and scratches don't break the surface.
We have an upcoming video on what DOES happen when it gets nicked, because it just happen to us. Its fairly easy to touchup, or worst case re-spray a small section.

Its cheaper than vinyl, and not permanent so using it on high end, leased, or promotional vehicles is safe.

[68C15]

hmmm, I wonder how many different colors I can get it in for my truck.

[andrewmp6]

If you want a kit that uses a spray gun https://www.dipyourcar.com/Pro-Car-Kits/ he has a long list of colors and its always growing.
How to do it with the spray gun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNY9Dx617N8
And if done right it will stay on tell you pull it off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfQSgoDp-JQ

[ERASER5]

So BR, what does it FEEL like? Is it rubbery? Smooth? Just a hint of rubbery? Is it a 20 footer? 10 footer? The final look/feel is hard to tell in the vids. I can see some good points.

Of course it also occured to me that this could be a quick change color for the get away car, but I may have watched too many movies.

[tcastro0706]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Thats about 6-7 cans....which just isn't enough to make a substantial layer of the stuff. The rubber dip spray builds a good few mils thick, which the aerosol does not. I used the rattle cans well before the gallons, and it just isn't the same.

The gallons spray using a tankless sprayer, which does not use a compressor...its a wagner painter basically, and you can use anything form the Harbor frieght cheapies or rental units if you don't want to spend the money for the actual "recommended" sprayer type.

We don't have a shop either.

I appreciate the info. I didn't mean to come off as an ass or anything. I mean I just explaining my personal experience lol. Again I'm sorry. An thanks again I'll look into one of those Wagner sprayers. I was on a very tight budget an just wanted to try it out cuz I had never used it before so that's y I went with the spray cans. Yes I'd like to have it sprayed an coated a few times with a sprayer. But for now this works for me. Haha.

[tcastro0706]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

So BR, what does it FEEL like? Is it rubbery? Smooth? Just a hint of rubbery? Is it a 20 footer? 10 footer? The final look/feel is hard to tell in the vids. I can see some good points.

Of course it also occured to me that this could be a quick change color for the get away car, but I may have watched too many movies.

Mine actually feels pretty smooth. Not as smooth as glass or body but again my truck is 25 years old lol

[G8DAN]

Plasti dip works great on trim and wheels. Thats what I have used it for mainly. Its a good temporary solution to change the appearance of your truck/car.

[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

So BR, what does it FEEL like? Is it rubbery? Smooth? Just a hint of rubbery? Is it a 20 footer? 10 footer? The final look/feel is hard to tell in the vids. I can see some good points.

Of course it also occured to me that this could be a quick change color for the get away car, but I may have watched too many movies.

So on the 350, its got a texture similar to ABS plastic, that just slightly textured, yet mostly smooth finish. It doesn't really lay down glassy, unless you use the "glossifier" additive. The final texture will depend a little on what gun you use, and how much flow the nozzle has. The "specific" gun the recommend is actually an economy version of a much more expensive type of machine, and its a pretty good deal. Doing it with the wagner like we did yields good results, BUT its more finnicky about the pot life on the rubber. You really don't want to add extra thinning solution (which they don't usually sell), because of the way the rubber sort of re-tacks the previous layer.

A sheet of it (sprayed, dried, and peeled off), feels like a sheet of latex. If you peel back our spray job, its nearly as thick as a business card in areas.
Even from 5 feet away, it looks like a satin painted or vinyl wrapped car. Only in certain areas can you notice any change in consistency. For example

here is my 66 which is all real paint and satinized clear.


VS

The 350z with a plasti-spray job.


The only real difference (aside from lighting in the pictures), is the amount of light absorbtion. The rubber dip seems to suck up light, making it look very striking. It does crazy stuff with shadows because it doesn't blur and reflect at all, so edges look very "hard". This is cool on a car like the 350, but might make a car like a Porsche have a 2d look. If you look, the satin clear on the truck still has a certain amount of "sheen" to the light. The plastidip treats light more like a TRUE matte finish, like the Hot Rod black or Primer, which has a "tooth" and doesn't reflect light normally.


We are actually re-doing the 350 in summer with something that no-one has done yet with Plasti-Dip. We have found thermo-reactive pigments that still react when mixed with plasti-dip...so we wanna try and make the 350 into a life size color-change hotwheels car.

As for the getaway driver thing; I had that same thought late one night while watching Gumball 3000, when the hot chicks wash the paint off that Lambo. I think its a great idea...I mean, you can get twice the mileage out of your drive-by cars now.

Tcastro- don't worry about coming off like a dick lol, I come off that way all the time, I just don't apologize about it haha. Only reason I kept trying to talk past the rattle cans, was having done that already myself, and found a better way.

The company that makes the stuff is called Performix and can be had in a ton of different types. The special colors and kits for auto use are sold ONLY to Dipyourcar due to a none-compete contract which they won't let me violate. I tried to get Performix to sell it to me, and they refused saying the DYC was the official retailer. You can buy it outside the us through other retailers.
And as I said, Cali guys don't despair - you can mix it yourself for spraying if you need to avoid the CA voc laws.

If you in the Midwest, we'll do full car and custom part dips in pretty much any color, but we need a heads up since we don't run a full time shop.

[chris1htx]

I wanted to test the plasti dip on my car before i put it on my square. i applied it to the window trim but it did not break off correctly, does anybody have any insight on how to plasti dip window trim? without taking off the trim. my next attempt will be trying a razor blade

[BR3W CITY]

What exactly was the problem? What were u "breaking off"?

Don't just try to spray flat over the trim and the panel, then cut your way back, this can leave you with a "wrinkley" edge. Like paint, trim is better taken off. If you can't, then try to put a layer of tape over the panel, spray the trim (go a little heavy towards the edge)..then right when you finish spray, peel the tape off. That helps the dip shrink over the compound edge. You can't really fully wrap a piece, if its still left on the truck.
- in the video we spray over the emblems then trim them back out, because trying to do the trim pieces by themselves while attached makes for a tricky transition.

If you look at the way DipYourCar does door handles and such, it might give you a better idea of how to coat the trim.