Plasti-dip car respray
Discussion
Late last year I purchased a Mustang with a few “issues”, one of which was a poor paint finish. It had clearly been badly re-sprayed at some point and then not looked after resulting in poor paint matching on certain panels, numerous small scratches and blemishes. I decided to try “plasti-dip” - a system using a type of “sprayable rubber”, which costs less than a traditional re-spray, is easier to apply, and is also reversible. A friend of mine had used this system on his car a year earlier with good and (so far) long lasting results, and as he also needed to spray his new car we decided to try to spray the two cars in a day - this turned out to be too optimistic but we managed to spray my car and the first three coats on his Saab.
The procedure is similar to normal spraying:
- mask the parts which do not require painting (although unwanted overspray can be peeled off (see pic of lights below) after spraying so this doesn’t have to be as accurate as with paint)
- mix the base (I used black to deepen & darken the resulting blue colour but any base colour can be used)
- spray 2-3 coats of base to achieve full coverage with 15-20 mins drying time between coats
- mix the clear coat with the colour and spray 3-4 coats to achieve full coverage
- after 1 hour it is cured enough to peel away the excess from lights etc (see pics below)
- after 24 hours it is cured enough to drive & wash with soapy water
- after a month it is cured enough to take through an automatic car wash without damage
The benefits are:
- any overspray can be removed from the car after spraying
- the plasti-dip can be removed easily at any time in the future without any damage to the original paintwork
- the cost of the plasti-dip rubber paint is approx. GBP 300 - 350 (more if you want to add metallic flakes or other finishes), plus the one-time cost of the spray gun
- additional coats of plasti-dip can be added at a later date to change the colour of the car again
The result can be seen on the pics below.
For the record I am not associated in any way with the manufacturer of any of the products – I thought that this information may be interesting to other PHers with cars with poor paint finishes who want another option as opposed to a traditional re-spray.
Cheers
I found it very difficult to work with. I live in a big city with lots of pollution and lots of rain, i'm fairly sure the acidity in the rain has created pits. As soon as a stone even looks at the dip it rips a small hole which peels and you can't really patch it properly. It's awesome in theory and maybe great for small trim pieces but would still go vinyl for a temporary finish especially the new 3m air release stuff.
Hi Muncher
We masked off the interior, and sprayed the door shuts with three coats of black, decided to leave the door shuts black in case I decide to change to another colour in the future, when the black had cured after 15 mins we removed the masking and closed the door onto the initial latch - so not all the way closed - then we sprayed the blue... Here's a couple of pics...
We masked off the interior, and sprayed the door shuts with three coats of black, decided to leave the door shuts black in case I decide to change to another colour in the future, when the black had cured after 15 mins we removed the masking and closed the door onto the initial latch - so not all the way closed - then we sprayed the blue... Here's a couple of pics...
mikeyr said:
Guessing you can't (haven't?) lacquered it as that would make it permanent?
This is interesting;http://www.cardipuk.com/
Claims the gloss finish they offer is strong enough to be waxed.
Hi otolith
Yes, the plasti-dip I applied should be waxed after a couple of weeks to seal the finish etc... After approx one month it can go through an automatic car wash "street" without damage (although I must admit I won't try that - but then again I don't take any cars through those prefering to hand wash).
Yes, the plasti-dip I applied should be waxed after a couple of weeks to seal the finish etc... After approx one month it can go through an automatic car wash "street" without damage (although I must admit I won't try that - but then again I don't take any cars through those prefering to hand wash).
There's a company on my FB who do a lot of advertising of these, but have been a bit light on details when pushed so it's interesting to see/hear/read from someone who's had it done
How hard wearing actually is it? And I take it you can still pressure wash the car after the first month, or no?
How hard wearing actually is it? And I take it you can still pressure wash the car after the first month, or no?
Mr LoTo said:
Hi otolith
Yes, the plasti-dip I applied should be waxed after a couple of weeks to seal the finish etc... After approx one month it can go through an automatic car wash "street" without damage (although I must admit I won't try that - but then again I don't take any cars through those prefering to hand wash).
That company is offering a clear gloss coating to go on top of the dip - but which can still be removed. I don't think it's the same as the Plastidip glossifier. Yes, the plasti-dip I applied should be waxed after a couple of weeks to seal the finish etc... After approx one month it can go through an automatic car wash "street" without damage (although I must admit I won't try that - but then again I don't take any cars through those prefering to hand wash).
See photos here:
http://www.cardipuk.com/clear-gloss/
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