plastidip

[desert_sailing]

WOndering if anyone has experience with plastidip?

I would like to get some all over paint done..it isn't super bad but needs some attention for sure.

I can not at this time afford the 2500+ for a cheapo maaco job. I also have seen alot of mixed results with regular rattle cans and I am not really interested in doing tons of prep.

The vids I have seen on the plastidip whole vehicle paintjobs looked fairly decent..  and certainly better than my current situation. I also like that at least as I am reading that not much prep is needed and ie no need to scuff.

I am estimating the 5ish gallons is what I would need for a full deal..but think I can economize that a bit.

Would love to hear of your experiences with the plastidip rattle cans and your vehicle.

 

[bullfrog]

The colored bed liner in spray cans has worked pretty well for a textured finish for me. Plastidip sort of melts and starts to soften when exposed to mineral sprits as in cleaning tools with in on the handles as it drys out it stays sticky for some time but it is one of the few things I never tried on a vehicle. I brush painted a VW bug with Sherman and Williams Industrial paint (baby blue) and won a car show with it, so anything is possible. Usually the prep will determine the quality of the finish no matter what you use although I did paint a desert Baja bug with cool coat roof coating (white) which did make it cooler inside and never burned my arm resting on the door again even though my arm had a little white chalk type deposit the first few times and would blind you in direct sun light.

 

[desert_sailing]

My buddy was jsut telln me about that reflective roof paint. I was thinkng how to incorporate that.

I picked up a case to start, of black plasti and one can of white to test. I had at one time wanting to go with the bed liner. It seems as tho the plasti is a bit easier to apply and fix considering I can just pull it all off... not sure how that will work if i get snagged on a tree somewhere. It will look like a cartoon sweater unwinding.

Below is the current all white.. and the black is what I would like to do. I am keeping my eye out for a visor and maybe a light bar or something a brush guard as well wouldbe great!  I think I will probably just get the factory mix of white to touch up and fix the main white body.. mabe when it is all polished up it will be ok.???

 

[Sofisintown]

Why don't you buy the smallest can possible and try it first on a metal surface to see how it behaves after two days or so.
Before you shell out money for 5 gallons, which is too much to begin with.

 

[bullfrog]

Black is hard to keep looking clean, especially out west. I would recommend a desert tan body with a white roof if spending time in the desert and something that sticks as the sage brush and vegetation out here is like a knife blade. Even if you make it pretty and shiny it won’t be for long if you boondock.

 

[sneaks]

A few years ago I bought a 2003 Focus to flip from a 17 YO kid who plastidipped the wheels in red. For the most part, it looked like it held up pretty well. A few stringers from curb rash after they had been coated, but otherwise the finish was in good shape after who-knows-what the car suffered through over 2 Maine winters at the hands of a kid that thought the best way to improve the sound was to completely remove the exhaust from the cat back (including the cat), didn't realize that spark plugs are specific to an application so when one broke, he took one from the lawnmower to put in, and a few other gems. I'm not a fan of red so my plan was to strip the wheels and paint them black. Have to say getting plastidip off is a !$#@#$. Took longer to strip the wheels than it did undoing all the things that were messed up with the car. If you are planning on this being a long term solution, I don't see why it wouldn't be ok. If you are thinking of later removing it and doing something different, be prepared for a fight.

Before:



During:



After:

 

[desert_sailing]

Thanks for the responses!

That focus looks pretty good...for me anyhow. I certainly am not looking to win any shine and show.

I would like to do a tan color . I just cant handle the plain white and need to find a fairly cheap and low effort solution.

I have no intent to keep this rig beyond 2 years at the maximum. I just want it to be a little nicer  for the time I do have it. I figured a long term solution could be handled by the next owner.

WIth all the craziness in the country I keep reading the news alerts about white vans with Washington plates being the source of trouble makers... I am not interested in being the target of someone who gets their news from facebook.

I am gonna clay bar the rig today.. sand and remove any little bits of rust.. apply the rust converting primer and picked up a colormatch white... Ill do the the whole polish and wax bs and see how it goes.

Maybe just do the whole darn thing in tan plasti. I almost think the whole thing was black at one time as peeling paint on the roof has an undercoat of black.. and I have seen a couple spots on the body with black underneath. They clearly did not scuff it properly on the roof because when I scrubbed I scrubbed a few "large" areas off...I also discovered I have a leak somewhere....  and I keep resisting the urge to jsut flex seal the whole darn thing!  LOL.

Thanks again for sharing your wisdom!

Love your VW van.. its awesome!.. I need/want to put in a cb as well.

 

[Sofisintown]

Here some ideas (you can tell I've got time in my hands)
Tan  blue
Pink  If all else fails...

 

[desert_sailing]

Here some ideas (you can tell I've got time in my hands)
Tan  blue
Pink  If all else fails...

I love the "if all else fails" one..reminds me of my pollack era..I now call that the.. "I tried"

I do really like the dual stripes. The tan looks great!

Thanks for the inspiration.

I am going to have to do something no matter what. After the vigourous scrubbing I exposed many spots here and there. I also discovered why and where the water came from when I washed it. So with fixing the superficial rust spots.. the leaks and the peelings I will have no choice but to go over it somehow.. and on a serious budget.

I have a bit of a task ahead and it needs to be done quickly as it is feeling like an early winter and I have been here much longer than desired.

I think if I just flex seal the whole thing I will call that "if all else fails".