Plasti dip?

[ZeroGravity360]

Has anyone ever plastidipped their bike to give it a new look? I was thinking of adding some glow in the dark pastel blue designs to my fairings and tank or possibly doing the entire bike blue. The tank concerns me a little though, with all the rubbing from your legs, im sure it will come off quite quickly?
Or maybe plasti dipping the rims. Has anyone done this?

Edit: I did a search on this subject and nothing came up, but when I posted it the "Similar Threads" has a lot of the information. -_-

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by ZeroGravity360

Has anyone ever plastidipped their bike to give it a new look? I was thinking of adding some glow in the dark pastel blue designs to my fairings and tank or possibly doing the entire bike blue. The tank concerns me a little though, with all the rubbing from your legs, im sure it will come off quite quickly?

A few members have done this, it will come off VERY easily.

[verboten1]

My bike went from this:



to this:




with 6 cans of white, 4 cans of pearlizer and a can of black.

The biggest issue I had was the black side panels cutting into the dip. I think that maybe the pearlizer added some durability, as i never had an issue unless something hard was hitting the finish.

[ZeroGravity360]

Originally Posted by verboten1

My bike went from this:



to this:




with 6 cans of white, 4 cans of pearlizer and a can of black.

The biggest issue I had was the black side panels cutting into the dip. I think that maybe the pearlizer added some durability, as i never had an issue unless something hard was hitting the finish.

I REALLY like that! The 2nd thought was making everything white, but having the levers, rims and decals green!

[ZeroGravity360]

Oh, and do you have a tank pad on there???

[verboten1]

Thanks, there was no pad on there, that was one area that showed some scuffs, but never seemed to wear through. I put it on super thick, because I knew it was fragile.

you have to go into it knowing that it is a disposable finish.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by verboten1

Thanks, there was no pad on there, that was one area that showed some scuffs, but never seemed to wear through. I put it on super thick, because I knew it was fragile.

you have to go into it knowing that it is a disposable finish.

Oh snap, I totally forgot that you used plasidip on your bike. Just now remembering that I thought it looked real good. So... the pearlizer, do you think it would have held up as well if you hadn't used that in addition?

At this point, after seeing about a hundred or more bikes that have had some amount of their parts painted with that stuff, I am a firm believer that you must lay some sort of hard top coat on it to make it have any kind of staying power. Seems layers do buy you time though. Is that what you have found?

[VaFish]

I did the front fender on my bike in black last fall when I got new fairings of a different color and forgot to get the fender as well.

It has held up well. But you have to do your prep like any paint job, clean and degrease.

If you think you want to eventually peel it off you have to spray it on very thick. My son and his buddy tried to Plastidip my Jeep Cherokee and it looks like crap and is not peeling off easy.

[MrAtom]

A lot of members have had amazing success with plasti-dip. The only complaints I ever see are from people who haven't used it because it "looks cheap" or it makes them grump-out real hard for some reason or another.

but, here's why I'll never buy their products again, based on experience. I bought several cans of Blaze Orange plasti-dip. It was pretty damn warm out, and well within the right operating temperature of the plasti-dip as it said on the can. It sprayed out these little gobs of dried crap all over my fairings and tank. I tried every can and they all did this. I used lighter fluid to degunk all of the sprayer-nozzles, and they kept gunking up. I shook them for what was easily too long, made sure the cans were warm enough by soaking them in hot water, and I still couldn't get a thick enough coat on my bike to look good. The bottoms of the cans started to bulge from the little marble inside smacking into it so much. And it still kept clogging up the nozzle. I called customer service and they said "Oh well! Return it to the store!" I didn't bother. I was so done with it. And I haven't even mentioned the best part yet! Since I wasn't able to get a thick enough coat on, it peeled off unevenly and I spent days getting the stuff off. I've still got some on my tank in a part that isn't visible over a year later. I called customer service again and she said to use gasoline or lighter fluid, which are pretty bad for your clear-coat, and this was before my bike had all those scrapes and the paint was respectable, so I wasn't about to do that.

That said, it seems to only happen with their Blaze colors. I personally won't be trying their products again, ever.

[adouglas]

I Plastidipped the track fairings for my GSX-R. Pics with the yellow helmet are when it was fresh. Pics with the red/white/blue helmet are after several track days.











At best it'll be a "10-footer" job... looks good from 10 feet away. Closer than that and it looks like any other rattle-can job.

The dip itself is matte. You'd need the clear gloss coat to make it look like what you see here, and you will never get the high-gloss shine you see on factory paint. At best it'll be semi-gloss. The last photo of the fairing in my shop is before clearcoat.

Also, for lighter colors you'll want a couple of coats of white underneath. This is not a one-shot, one-coat thing.

In the first photo you can see that the white of the fairing doesn't match the white of the fender. The fender is OEM plastic, the fairing is Plastidip.

The finish is rubbery/sticky and gets dirty VERY easily.

It also does not hold up to any sort of abrasion at all. You can rub it off with your thumb. On the yellow-helmet photos above, you can see how it's worn off of the edge of the lower. That was the first day the bike had been ridden with the fairings on it.

It melts if fuel gets on it.

There are two advantages. First, it's easily removable if you change your mind. Second, it's quite forgiving and surface prep is minimal.

When those fairings eventually get recoated, I'll use real paint.

[verboten1]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Oh snap, I totally forgot that you used plasidip on your bike. Just now remembering that I thought it looked real good. So... the pearlizer, do you think it would have held up as well if you hadn't used that in addition?

At this point, after seeing about a hundred or more bikes that have had some amount of their parts painted with that stuff, I am a firm believer that you must lay some sort of hard top coat on it to make it have any kind of staying power. Seems layers do buy you time though. Is that what you have found?

the black rear parts never had any glossifier or pearl on them, and they seemed ok. I had to redo it because my bags rode on the sharp corner and wore right through the dip, the paint, and the plastic, nothing could stand up to it. It was so thick I pulled the dip off of the whole panel in one piece.


I think the rear part of the tank took the most abuse, and it most likely did help there

[Boost4u]

not a Ninja but this is when I used PD on my 696. I never had any issue with it pealing. trick is to use a lot of coats and then put dip protector over it. Dip protector with add a layer of protection, also adds a shine and makes it smooth.

[DEFY]

lots of coats, however it looks like egg shells up close.

[Buffalony]

Over spray is a pita though. Comes off easier with Water displacement #40

[ZeroGravity360]

would wrapping it in vinyl wrap just be easier?

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by ZeroGravity360

would wrapping it in vinyl wrap just be easier?

Yes!!!

[ZeroGravity360]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Yes!!!

ok ok. I know 0 about this. tips?

[Triple Jim]

My 250 was sprayed with Plasti dip black when I got it. Before I brought it home, I knew I'd be removing the stuff, but my daughter and I rode it a few hundred miles as is was. By that time, it was peeling off the tank badly wherever out knees rubbed it. The side plastic had the same problem where our pants and boots contacted it.

I don't see any advantage to using it instead of decent paint, and a lot of disadvantages. If you change your mind and want to go a different color, I believe it would be easier to just sand and paint than have to remove the Plastidip and reapply it or something else.

With respect given to the success stories above, I'd never use it on a vehicle of mine.

[shift957]

You can achieve amazing paint jobs with palsti-dip. Check out this channel on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-JhupxKzZo

There are videos on that channel instructing how to prep surfaces, how many layers to apply and how to get a smooth, durable finish, which seem to be applicable to all the complaints seen above.

I plasti-dipped a 250 with a rattle can and was satisfied with the results I got. If you are going for a super nice look, you are going to want to do it in a climate controlled garage with low humidity and not in direct sunlight. If you think you are going to buy a couple cans, not do at least 4 decent layers and not apply the plasti-dip clear coating, don't expect really good looking durable results. I've seen enough projects to see when done correctly, people are happy with their results.

The benefit of using PD, is that you can peel it off fairly easily. Again, you have to apply at least 4 good layers, if not more to get it to peel of properly. If you did it too light and are having problems removing it, go get a large can of Plexus and spray it on and let it set for a bit. That will help remove the overspray or hard to peel left overs.

And lastly, If you are looking for a REALLY good job, consider using a spray gun system rather than a rattle can. Check out some of the plasti-dip jobs on that channel I linked. They are doing amazing jobs on very expensive cars and they look amazing.

[shift957]

Originally Posted by DEFY

lots of coats, however it looks like egg shells up close.

You obviously missed the post directly above yours.


***************************************************


Here's a great, simple video explaining the myths and steps of the process. Of course not everyone is going to want to put in this kind of effort. I'm just posting to show it is possible to have incredible results with plasti-dip if you have the desire to reach them.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[DEFY]

Originally Posted by shift957

You obviously missed the post directly above yours.

Nope, this was from my experiences. If I wanted it professionally painted I wouldn't use plasti-dip to begin with. So mine probably lacked the temp control environment. It was probably around the lower end of the spectrum for what the desired temp should be. All those other things that you have to do to get it to look right aren't within reasonable standards when you are talking directly towards rattle can spray jobs. I even used the clear coat at the end, not that that would have made it look better.

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by ZeroGravity360

ok ok. I know 0 about this. tips?

1) you could look up a thread here on ninjette where folks have done it
2) you can check YouTubes
3)I could call Manuel then try to tell you what he says about it; I haven't personally done it, but every time is watched him it looked easy, and better than plasti dip

[ZeroGravity360]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

1) you could look up a thread here on ninjette where folks have done it
2) you can check YouTubes
3)I could call Manuel then try to tell you what he says about it; I haven't personally done it, but every time is watched him it looked easy, and better than plasti dip

Yeah I think that is what imma do, its cheaper than buying plati dip. I can get a 6 x 5 viynl wrap for about 22 off ebay (USA sellers) and it doesnt require a top coat like plasti dip does (45-50 cost in the end)
I think I might plasti dip my rims though, get those nasty scratches off of them while adding color. I am thinking of jumping on the two different color rims ban wagon. Teal/turquoise and bright purple my two fave colors!!!

EDIT: I might even buy a super cheap seat cowl and then just wrap it too. They are cheap because theya re not OEM colors

[JohnnyBravo]

Must be something too wraps, I don't see nascars plasti dipped

[CaliGrrl]

Teal and purple, huh? Do post pictures when you get it done!

[JohnnyBravo]

Reminds me of some of the old custom cars / lowriders / mini trucks/ etc

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Oh snap, I totally forgot that you used plasidip on your bike. Just now remembering that I thought it looked real good. So... the pearlizer, do you think it would have held up as well if you hadn't used that in addition?

I can almost guarantee plastidip will not hold up on its own, it tears extremely easily once a weakness has been introduced. My bike is plastidipped for this season, will likely be painted for next season. It has torn literally everywhere that it has come into contact with either me or another bike. It looked great for a month and I'm sure I can still touch it up/re-dip it to make it look better but it's also a race bike. Combined with something else like pearlizer it should hold up considerably better and I did like the finish of the plastidip but I doubt I'll be using it again. More than 6 coats could help as well, or thicker/heavier coats.