Plasti-Dip Testing With Pics

There have been quite a few people here on VFRD asking about this stuff, so I thought I would do a little write up so everyone could get an idea of what exactly it is. Basically Plasti-dip started out as a dip you use to cover things such as the handles of metal tools so you can have a nice, grippy surface to hold onto. The nice thing about it was that if the dip got damaged, you could pull it right off and redip and it was as good as new. It's actually been around for quite some time, and if you have looked around in the paint/spraypaint section of your local hardware store, more than likely you have seen it before. Here is what the standard small can used for dipping the handles of tools looks like...

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A couple of years ago, a few guys ( now they own the company "dipyourcar" www.dipyourcar.com - check out their website and forum if you want to learn more ) realized that Plasti-dip could be used on cars and "dipping" took off. It really has gained popularity in the past 6 months or so. It can be used to color your wheels, make your car badging a different color, put stripes of your car, all the way up to dipping your entire car/motorcycle - but without being totally permanent as it can be peeled off if you want to go back to stock. And this is how I found out about it. I have been throwing around the idea of painting my bike since 1. I'm not a fan of red on a whole bike to begin with, and 2. because the paint on my 98 VFR could is not in perfect shape and 3. Because I like something a little different :) I had seen plastidip in stores before, but didn't know about dipping bikes until I came across this thread a couple months ago. http://www.vfrdiscus...k-color-scheme/ Ever since then, I have been researching the heck out of this stuff, and then I started doing some of my own testing to see how it actually works. Turns out, it works AWESOME! I'm so convinced that I will be Plasti-dipping my entire bike over the winter. I'm just waiting on a new color that is in the pipeline, but not yet released. Once it is out, I will be buying a "Pro-kit" from dipyourcar.com which includes an elecrically powered paint sprayer (similar to a wagner power painter that you would use to paint your house), a gallon of pre-thinned Plastidip (the dip has to be thinned from its original consistancy to be able to be sprayed), and some other odds and ends. The ProKit is about $190, which seems a little steep (altho waaaay less than an actual paintjob), but after the initial purchase of the kit, if I want to change the color of the bike in the future, it will only be about $60 for a gallon of pre-thinned dip (takes less than a gallon to do a whole bike). Also, this way I have the sprayer at my disposal incase anyone else in the area wants to dip their bike or car (or anything else!) in the future.

Ok, here are some pics of my one of my Plasti-dip tests. I have been testing on my spare rear seat cowl just to see how I like it and how it works. I really like it! Totally impressed! This stuff Rocks!


Here I am putting down my first coat of black on the seat cowl.
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From what I have learned in my research, the first 2 coats or so need to be pretty light. Basically they give the other coats something to "cling" to. After the first couple, you can put it on a lot heavier after. I totally spaced taking pics after each coat other than the first one, so here are a few after I finished. On this particular try, I was testing out how laying down a stripe was going to work. Turns out it works awesome! I just threw down some painters tape on top of the dried black dip and dipped the stripe in white.... This stuff comes out differently than paint. It's pretty smooth, but not glossy paint smooth. Fairly similar to paint without a clearcoat. Which makes sense I guess. Plastidip colors are all "flat matte" colors, but now there are glossifier coatings you can put on top to get a glossy type finish. You can see in the bottom photo where I started to pull up the PD just to the right of the stripe on the bottom.

(disregaurd the greenish tint in the photos....pics are from my crappy camera phone. The colors came out nicely in person. Flat Black base with Flat White stripe).

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The stripe was actually really easy to do. Here are some tips... You must use a quality painters tape. I used "Frog Tape" which I've been told it the best, and it worked as advertised. A little pricey at $7/roll (about double normal painters tape), but worth it for the good quality it provided. Put down as many coats as you need, proably 5-6 depending on dip color and the color you are covering. I think I did 5 for the white over black. The white actually covered a lot better than I expected. The real key to the stripe is you must pull the tape off pretty much as soon as you put down the last coat or the dip will dry and the tape will pull it all off. Weirdly, you can let the previous coats dry, just so long as it has a nice, thick wet coat on top when you pull the tape off, it will come off nicely.

The coolest aspect of using Plasti-dip, is that it is totally and easily reversable. Just get an edge started (see the red peeking out in pic above) peeling up with your fingernail and you can just pull the whole thing off, generally all on one piece. The more coats of dip you put on when dipping = easier to pull off later. So even though 4 coats usually will cover something for me, I tend to go to 6 coats for very easy Peelability :) Took about 15 seconds to peel it all off (not counting stopping for pics) and it left absolutely no residue and did not damage the paint in any way, shape or form. The seat cowl is now back to exactly how it was before I started.

When you pull the Plasti-dip off, it actually is very stretchy. Similar in texture/stretchyness to a latex glove or a thin ballon.

Starting to pull the dip off....

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And here is the seat cowl back to its original form, and what the dip looks like after its been peeled off

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So anyway, there it is. From start to finish and back to stock again. Hope this has answered some questions for some of you and shown how Plasti-dip can be used on our bikes. I forgot to mention it before, but in my testing for the time being, I am using plasti-dip in spray cans. My local Lowes has black and white in stock, hence the black with white stripe. If you have any questions, please feel free to post back here or you can always PM me. I'll post up more as I test new things and once I get the bike completly done. If anyone else gives this a try, post up how it came out. I'm interested in hearing/seeing what others have done. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I Dipped the wheels on my 01 Honda Accord flat black a couple weeks ago.....They were pretty corroded and ugly before, but now I love how they look! I'll post up some pics of those also when I remember to snap some pics while its light out.....

Nice, thanks for shortening my learning curve with your write up and the pics. I plan on doing the pannier infill panels on my Triumph Sprint St this winter, also a set of mildly scratched frame sliders for her that I bought cheap. I also like the idea on the other thread of protecting my lower forks from the winter road salt. Ride safe, Dave

Thank you for starting this thread! I am seriously considering this as well. When you do the side fairings, are you going to leave the VFR decals on? I am wondering how that is going to look on mine. Just curious how visible it is going to be.

Also, at what was the ambient temp where you sprayed it? Just curious if I need to heat the garage before I attempt to do this as well.

I can't wait to do this to my bike!

It's mistake proof!
Just peel and Re-set.. :wheel:

excellent "How To" thread, really amazing how you can peel the whole thing off if you are not happy...will we now see a slew of custom VFR "paintjobs" I wonder? :rolleyes:

Awesome write up. Ideas are running abound . . . I'd love to know how well it wears. What will it look like in a month, etc.? Maybe it doesn't matter if it's this easy.

Awesome write up. Ideas are running abound . . . I'd love to know how well it wears. What will it look like in a month, etc.? Maybe it doesn't matter if it's this easy.

I signed up for the dipyourcar.com forums a while back, and from what I have read it last for a good while, at least a year or two. There are videos of plastidipped cars going through automatic car washes with the brushes and high pressure washers and it comes out fine.

The gold metalizer is what I want to do to my rims, and then gunmetal grey glossifier for the bike. I will probably end up doing a black & white tutone first since that is all they carry locally. Then I will buy they stuff online,

$60/gallon... :ohmy: That stuff is AU$70/litre (2 pints) here in Oz... :pissed:

Cool way to disguise a getaway vehicle for a bank robbery.

Cool way to disguise a getaway vehicle for a bank robbery. Cannonball Run did it.

Must have been tempura paint to come off so fast.

So, you don't have to sand or anything like that to get it to work? I would love to try this but if I have to sand the clearcoat, I am not interested.

So, you don't have to sand or anything like that to get it to work? I would love to try this but if I have to sand the clearcoat, I am not interested.

no sanding required just wipe with alcohol

so you did a base of black then masked off over the black for the white stripe? i was thinking of doing my bike until new fairings find their way to my door but i wanted a white bike with black accents topped with the glossifier :smile: but i was afraid that masking on top of the plasti dip would pull it up

so you did a base of black then masked off over the black for the white stripe? i was thinking of doing my bike until new fairings find their way to my door but i wanted a white bike with black accents topped with the glossifier :smile: but i was afraid that masking on top of the plasti dip would pull it up

Use blue painters masking tape.

OK, so I used the product on my bike. This is my experience and yours may vary so spare any critique. I have done a lot of painting and masking with very good results in the past so I am no hack. I wanted to test it out by doing a number plate type of look on the tail of the bike. I masked the tail off with exception to the area I wanted to be Black Plasti-dip. The research I did told, and showed me, that you have to remove ANY masking before it dries or the edges tear away with the tape. So I had to be prepared to remove it after spaying. If masking an edge you cant do separate coats. You have to shoot it all at once because the masking must be removed before any material dries. This is not a good thing.
I started to spay knowing that I have to layer the material but not let it dry completely. It goes on very lumpy and takes a lot of material to cover the surface. Do the math, lots of material on a vertical surface...Eventually it started to slump, leaving visible lines. Already not happy with the process I completed the area and removed the masking. It did leave a good edge at the tape. Texture was OK. not good, not bad. The drips meant it had to go. A wast of time. After drying I wanted to see how easily the edge of material would lift off. In other words, would it hold up under normal use? I think not, A light sweep of a finger rolled it right up. Removed the area a seen in videos and It was gone along with all the effort it took to do it. Wasted time.
Would I use it again? No. Does it have a purpose on given locations? I am sure it does but I will leave that to others to determine. If spaying a whole panel without a masked edge it may be useful???
If it sounds too good to be true it...

Again, just my experience.

I thought I read or watched on a video that you can do multiple coats with a masked edge and as long as you pull it off when the last coat is still wet you're ok. Same with clear coat.

IDK, give that a shot I guess. Don't go with a thick initial coat, but lighter multiple coats. Never tried it, just my $.02

I thought I read or watched on a video that you can do multiple coats with a masked edge and as long as you pull it off when the last coat is still wet you're ok.

That is also what Higgin mentioned in his post.

The real key to the stripe is you must pull the tape off pretty much as soon as you put down the last coat or the dip will dry and the tape will pull it all off. Weirdly, you can let the previous coats dry, just so long as it has a nice, thick wet coat on top when you pull the tape off, it will come off nicely.

you lay on 5-6 layers the first 2-3 being very light and the rest can go on fairly heavy to eliminate some of that texture you are speaking of. Between coats it is crutial that the coat before is dry, which means 20-30 mins. Only the last coat needs to be wet before you peel up the tape. After going through 3 cans of trials i think i finally got it down. If you vary the distance from the material at all then the textures on the surface will be different. Too light or too far on the last coat and you get a more rough finish. Difficult with a spray can but i think i got it down. Easy to peel when starting in the middle of a smooth surface, so maybe just graphics of plasti dip on original cleared paint will not last for long but when i completely covered my 6x6" test sheets of steel and aluminium sheeting it stuck well to the edges, and if adding another coat on top it seems to stick well so the idea of my white bike with black accents may work out well... I am thinking it will take easily 6 cans for our VFR's... Just did some research this weekend... I think for the $20 i spend testing i saved $50 trying to paint my bike haha. So there is some good info for anyone thinking of attempting this

you lay on 5-6 layers the first 2-3 being very light and the rest can go on fairly heavy to eliminate some of that texture you are speaking of. Between coats it is crutial that the coat before is dry, which means 20-30 mins. Only the last coat needs to be wet before you peel up the tape. After going through 3 cans of trials i think i finally got it down. If you vary the distance from the material at all then the textures on the surface will be different. Too light or too far on the last coat and you get a more rough finish. Difficult with a spray can but i think i got it down. Easy to peel when starting in the middle of a smooth surface, so maybe just graphics of plasti dip on original cleared paint will not last for long but when i completely covered my 6x6" test sheets of steel and aluminium sheeting it stuck well to the edges, and if adding another coat on top it seems to stick well so the idea of my white bike with black accents may work out well... I am thinking it will take easily 6 cans for our VFR's... Just did some research this weekend... I think for the $20 i spend testing i saved $50 trying to paint my bike haha. So there is some good info for anyone thinking of attempting this

I think my next attempt will be to use it on the belly of the bike. I will try the coats as you guys describe. The masking was very detailed and I was asking a lot of my first use of this product. I don't see this as a replacement for paint but it is more of a temporary "membrane" that provides a different look. Worth more experimentation in order to have another "tool" at my disposal. Removing the mask on the last coat defies logic but...OK? :happy:

Since I decided to lay my bike down, I tried the plasti-dip after judicious use of a hacksaw and sandpaper.  I only did the lower fairings on both side, and we'll see how it wears.  After a few weeks if all goes well, I'll do the rest of the lower fairing.  I'm curious how to clean it without starting to take it off since it is a matte.  To be honest, I did minimal prep work.  I was just trying to find the quickest way to hide my indiscression.  I also reinforced some of the cracks on the backside (insert pun here) with plastic epoxy and baking soda.

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Since I decided to lay my bike down, I tried the plasti-dip after judicious use of a hacksaw and sandpaper.  I only did the lower fairings on both side, and we'll see how it wears.  After a few weeks if all goes well, I'll do the rest of the lower fairing.  I'm curious how to clean it without starting to take it off since it is a matte.  To be honest, I did minimal prep work.  I was just trying to find the quickest way to hide my indiscression.  I also reinforced some of the cracks on the backside (insert pun here) with plastic epoxy and baking soda.
 
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I think you will find this a good use of the product being that you do not have an exposed seam of material on a surface. I assume the upper is laying over the finish of the belly pan. Looks good! I wouldn't be concerned about cleaning it and damaging it as it really is just like a complete membrane of material. Excellent use.

Be careful to not use Plastidip on anything that sees a lot of heat.  I have seen people use it on track wheels for Miatas and the heat cycles basically bond it permanently to the wheel.  They had to use industrial stuff to remove it.

Boo! I was going to see about picking up one of the Dip Your Car all in one kits, but they cannot sell it in California. Apparently anything 1 gallon or larger cannot be sold in CA.The kits are pretty cool as the come with a sprayer, and a gallon of plasti-dip, plus a few other accessories. The gloss kits also come with the glossifier, Oh well.

If you don't have a friend out of state, I'm sure one of our faithful friends here will help you out.

I also know that different counties can sell different paint.  One of my friends gets automotive paint in Kern County that he can't get in Ventura or LA County.  May be worth a phone call.

Very cool write up! I wonder how it would work on a helmet? I'd like to change my silver helmet to something like a Shoei Monza red. Are there different glosses?

I think all the colors are a matte, but there is a glossifier that acts like a clear coat.  A clear coat itself will turn the plastidip into a slow-flake-off, meaning it's possible to take if off but not easy.  I'd let the helmet sit into the sun for a while.  PD seems to really like the heat.

Seems to be perfect for chin fairings and any surface that gets a lot of abuse from stones, etc. R3~

If you don't have a friend out of state, I'm sure one of our faithful friends here will help you out.

I also know that different counties can sell different paint.  One of my friends gets automotive paint in Kern County that he can't get in Ventura or LA County.  May be worth a phone call.

I have a few friends and family that live in Nevada (Las Vegas) and Arizona (Scottsdale) but not sure if I would need to go and pick up the package or if they would be able to forward it to me without a hassle. I may check with my friend in Vegas, he also has the means to ship from his office.

Seems to be perfect for chin fairings and any surface that gets a lot of abuse from stones, etc. R3~

This is what I'm curious about.  I don't know how easily it will peel off once it has edges from stone chips and whatnot, but we'll find out.

One thing to keep in mind especially during the winter is that PD seems to love the sun.  Before I ride next, I'm going to let it bask in the sun for a few hours

If you don't have a friend out of state, I'm sure one of our faithful friends here will help you out.

I also know that different counties can sell different paint.  One of my friends gets automotive paint in Kern County that he can't get in Ventura or LA County.  May be worth a phone call.

I have a few friends and family that live in Nevada (Las Vegas) and Arizona (Scottsdale) but not sure if I would need to go and pick up the package or if they would be able to forward it to me without a hassle. I may check with my friend in Vegas, he also has the means to ship from his office.

According to some others trying to do this on the Dipyourcar.com forums, you will more than likely have to go pick it up yourself.  The product itself can only be shipped via ups ground with some sort of Hazardous Material disclosure.  If you are not in a hurry though, wait for a few more weeks.....Dipyourcar is in the process of comming up with a "california" dip kit.  It will supposedly still have the sprayer and everything else in the normal kits, but will only have a 1/2 gallon of dip(or something like that) to get around the shipping to cali issues. Then you can buy other 1/2 gallons seperatly.   I'm actually hoping these come out soon as I will be buying my Kit, and want to try different colors, but dont want to buy full gallons.  1/2 gallon options will be nice.  But yeah, they losing out on tons of $$ from cali with the shipping issues, so rest assured, they are on it, just give em some time.

If you don't have a friend out of state, I'm sure one of our faithful friends here will help you out.
 
I also know that different counties can sell different paint.  One of my friends gets automotive paint in Kern County that he can't get in Ventura or LA County.  May be worth a phone call.

I have a few friends and family that live in Nevada (Las Vegas) and Arizona (Scottsdale) but not sure if I would need to go and pick up the package or if they would be able to forward it to me without a hassle. I may check with my friend in Vegas, he also has the means to ship from his office.

According to some others trying to do this on the Dipyourcar.com forums, you will more than likely have to go pick it up yourself.  The product itself can only be shipped via ups ground with some sort of Hazardous Material disclosure.  If you are not in a hurry though, wait for a few more weeks.....Dipyourcar is in the process of comming up with a "california" dip kit.  It will supposedly still have the sprayer and everything else in the normal kits, but will only have a 1/2 gallon of dip(or something like that) to get around the shipping to cali issues. Then you can buy other 1/2 gallons seperatly.   I'm actually hoping these come out soon as I will be buying my Kit, and want to try different colors, but dont want to buy full gallons.  1/2 gallon options will be nice.  But yeah, they losing out on tons of $$ from cali with the shipping issues, so rest assured, they are on it, just give em some time.

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up! I'm in no big hurry. The Home Depots near me do not carry PD in white, so I figured I just get a kit from DYC, then I saw the caveat. If/when they become available, I think that's the way I'll go. If I can find at least two cans in white locally I may try my experiment before I go the full route.

Cheers!

FWIW, my local Lowe's has a good color selection.  I think the two can investment would be worth it.

Forgot about Lowes. They closed one that was close to my house the middle of last year so I have to drive a little further now. Seems like there's a Home Depot about every 5 miles though. I'll give them a peek, Thanks!

I figure the last thing we need  is another PlastiDip thread so I'll add my thoughts here

Pros

• Super easy to apply
• Hides small imperfections
• Easy to remove overspray or undo mistakes

Cons

• Terrible in terms of wear.  Don't use on anything that sees frequent contact.  My tank is wearing from my knees and tank bag.  My tail is wearing from my boots.

I spent a ton of time masking everything off and painting my bike.  Red plastic rattle can base layer, with the PlastiDip on top.  If I had to do it over, which I'll have to soon :mad: , I'd just rattle can the whole she-bang.

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Just ripped off the platsidip on my Seca 2.  Zero resistance to scuffs.  I now see why this isnt done on a wide scale.

this look has come and gone:

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Yup, what I realized after my first experiments with this product. Don't waste your time guys. Just go for a ride instead.

Wow! can't believe I missed this thread!

Because it is 4am and I am working nights, plus the fact that I like to plaster all my pictures and videos all over the internet as often as possible I'll share my Plastidip experience here!

 Original Predip:

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Shooting the side fairings/rear cowl

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Shooting the tank/front fairing

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Finished in the garage

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From black back to red in 90sec here:

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And now it looks like this:

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If you notice, I even left dip in two places because either 1) got lazy or 2) liked the way it looked.

***ALSO, to make the dip more resistant to scuffing use turtlewax and wax it like you would a clear coat.  It will look the same, but have a less resistant grip so your legs will slide on the tank rather than tugging it.

-Drew