Plasti Dip vs Satin Paint

[GMCRick]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to which is a better choice. I was going to change the color of my paint, and was wondering if I should do Plasti Dip or paint it a satin finish? I have never dealt with Plasti Dip so I don't know much about it.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[BlazingTrails]

In my opinion plasti dip is a waste of time. It is basically for you to try something out without being permanent. If you want it to stay go with paint.....

 

[SnowBlazer]

I would use it for the small spots (wheels, grille crossbar, gas cap) that paint could chip off....never for a whole car. :2cents:

 

[Daniel644]

I've done a good bit of a car in Plasti-dip (see pic), it's a pain to keep clean, you need to get that dip coat stuff from dipyourcar to "seal" it if your gonna go that route also DON'T use cans to do a whole car, buy the sprayer and sprayable gallons from them too.

really only do dip if you want to retain resale-ability since most folks aren't gonna want a truck that looks like that.

 

[dmanns67]

I agree. The guys at dipyourcar.com are professionals and do outstanding work dipping entire vehicle, but they are not using rattle cans either. You can find the professional kit at the link above.

Plasti seems to hold up well. I have plasti dipped my rear bumper step pad, wiper cowl, and wheels. I removed the dip from my wheels. Huge PITA to remove when its thin coats, but WD-40 will break down the dip.

Plasti dip also makes a Glossifier. It is like a clear coat which will protect the dip as well as give the dip a shiner finish versus matte. It comes in rattle can as well.

If a vehicle is dipped right, with the professional kit, it can look awesome. I would look into what a professional dip kit will run versus what paint will cost.

I assume you are doing all this work yourself?

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I hated the dip on my hood after awhile. Never would come clean and the removal made it so I never want to use the crap again...unless it is a small thing and just for testing before doing real paint.

 

[redmaro42]

I am gonna be plastidipping my GMC emblem white, but that is as far as I would go on a vehicle, just some badges and call it a day

 

[combatspace]

For a larger vehicle like the GMT's a full professional kit will run about 5-600 bucks. A heck of a lot cheaper than painting the whole car in a new color and its removable if you go to sell the car or just want to change colors. If you do plastidip, make sure to lay on 4-5 thin coats. The horror stories you hear about it not coming off easily is from people who don't apply enough coats and the stuff doesn't hold up well if its not thick enough. It does provide fairly good scratch and chip resistance when properly applied.

I haven't used it personally, but I plan to spray my Rodeo with it if I'm stuck with it too much longer...

 

[Boricua SS]

I've never had a problem with the 3 vehicles i used plasti dip on. But then again, I wasn't dipping the whole vehicle.

If applied correctly, the dip is cake to take off. I've used it on moldings, grilles, wheels, emblems, interior panels, under hood plastics, and bumpers. Not one single issue and easily removable either by peeling it off or by going to the local car wash and use the pressure washer.

That being said, to paint a whole vehicle... i wouldn't recommend it but it has been done and it's been done to Trailblazers and TBSS'. Just all depends on your budget, your expectations, and your patience.

 

[GMCRick]

I have appreciated all the great advice. I was or am planning to do it myself with the SUV kit from dipyoucar.com. I liked the idea about reselling the car and being able to peel it off when that time comes. I have just heard lots of people saying it is hard to keep the car clean. Reason for doing it is I have 2 small dents I have to fix thanks to a stupid Buck that ran into my TB. The Deer found out fast the Truck didn't kill him, but the driver did for denting my ride. I was just deciding if I was going to paint it the original summit white or change the color. My wife is giving me grief for want to paint it a Satin-Matte Black. I am still up in the air as to what to do, and I thank you all for the great advice.

BTW, I put the deer down with my 45ACP because he had a broken leg, not out of anger.

 

[DAlastDON]

The longer plastidip is on the harder it is to remove. When first applied it will come off in large chunks if not one piece. But after years of being on it comes off in hard to remove small pieces. But it does come off.

 

[GMCRick]

Thank you for that info Don. It is much appreciated.

 

[Daniel644]

Well in the last few years plati-dip has come a long long way, you have many "base" colors to choose from (not just black), then there was/is the glossifier which is being phased out in favor of the new Top Coat, in which you can mix pearls to give you some very cool unique colors. then you can use the Dip coat to protect it all.

as for those having trouble removing old dip, they also sell a dip remover spray bottle that you just let soak in and then you can pressure wash it right off.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Took bug and tar remover plus bunch of elbow grease to remove the two cans on my hood's center section.

 

[Blacktrails]

Spray cans also act differently then the pro kits. The pro kits are just that, professional. That's part of the reason dipyourcar doesn't sell the custom colors in rattle cans. That being said, I have never had a problem removing plastidip so lone as I had a minimum of 3 good coats.

I personally am I fan of plastidip for most applications. I plan on doing my Envoy plastidip. Why, because when I'm off-road and a damn tree branch scratches my truck, it's going to be harder for it to do any damage. And if it does, well, 30 min worth of work and the scratch is gone never to be seen again. (Plastidip just sprays over plastidip with no work other than cleaning).

 

[GMCRick]

Blacktrails, I would love to see how your Envoy Turns out when you are done. Could you post a Picture or 2 on this thread when you do it?

 

[Blacktrails]

Yeah but it's going to be a long while. Im just starting my build. You definitely need to check out dipyourcar.com forums if you haven't already.

 

[djthumper]

I don't know about doing an entire vehicle just for off roading. There are better coatings that will hold up much better off road.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Offroad has destroyed the plasti on regulators envoy. He has from door handles down.

 

[Blacktrails]

That's odd. I've seen plastidip take a beating. That being said, if only the plastidip was damaged and the paint was protected, then IMO the plastidip did its job.

 

[SnowBlazer]

(Plastidip just sprays over plastidip with no work other than cleaning).

My buddy has an Eclipse that's Dipped and he lightly rear-ended one of my other friends one day (we were dicking around) on the highway one day, and all the guy with the Eclipse did was re spray the dip. And you can't tell anything happened!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

That's odd. I've seen plastidip take a beating. That being said, if only the plastidip was damaged and the paint was protected, then IMO the plastidip did its job.

He used rattlecan only and it shows all the dirt and never looks clean either. But if you go through doing the pro with a spraygun and clearing or glossing or whatever. It might be different.

My buddy has an Eclipse that's Dipped and he lightly rear-ended one of my other friends one day (we were dicking around) on the highway one day, and all the guy with the Eclipse did was re spray the dip. And you can't tell anything happened!

Does not mean much. I got rearended twice in my eclipse and you could not tell either time. The bumpers flex a ton on those.

 

[GMCRick]

I think when I get my yearly bonus I am going to have the 2 dents fixed and repainted the original Summit White w/ clear coat. After I have given the paint and clear enough time to dry properly I am going to was the car and use the professional SUV kit from dipyourcar, and see how it turns out. I am going to make sure to do at least 5 thin coats of it as well. That way if I go to sell it all I have to do is remove it and it will be back to its original color.

 

[Blacktrails]

I think when I get my yearly bonus I am going to have the 2 dents fixed and repainted the original Summit White w/ clear coat. After I have given the paint and clear enough time to dry properly I am going to was the car and use the professional SUV kit from dipyourcar, and see how it turns out. I am going to make sure to do at least 5 thin coats of it as well. That way if I go to sell it all I have to do is remove it and it will be back to its original color.

IMO that's the best use of plastidip. Spray it properly and protect your paint. It's not a magical coating, it's not going to prevent door dings, deep scratches, or anything like that but it will protect from daily dangers. Plus once you have bought the sprayer, you can rent that b1tch out to people who can't afford the whole kit. That's how I'm going to spray mine, borrowed sprayer. And the color I'm going with will only cost me 250ish for 5 gallons. (FWIW I am going with a ready to spray color. If you are going with they're custom colors using the pearls they sell, your cost will be significantly higher)

I sprayed my Chargers grill black. I used the rattle can stuff off the shelf from Menards. It looks good and has held up very well. I drove from eastern Kansas to southern Arizona (Tucson) and back and there is not a single chip in the plastidip.

 

[Blacktrails]

http://www.dipyourcar.com/forums/showthread.php?18658-2008-TrailBlazer-SS-in-Anthracite-Grey&highlight=trailblazer
http://www.dipyourcar.com/forums/showthread.php?19997-2005-trailblazer&highlight=trailblazer
http://www.dipyourcar.com/forums/showthread.php?16803-SS-Trailblazer-Gunmetal-amp-White&highlight=trailblazer

Here are some examples of dipped TBs

 

[gardom]

If you want something temporary, go with plastidip. It is inexpensive and easy to remove so worth tying.

 

[redmaro42]

I just used plastidip on my front grille GMC emblem to make it white. Tried doing black outline, it failed, so I peeled the black off. I wanted to do it to see what it would look like without a permanent change.

 

[Sparky]

I have been thinking of using plastidip on the fiberglass hood for my Camaro since it is a (bad) white paint job on it and my car is a teal color. Figure it would at least give it a primered look until I can get the car repainted.