What the title says. My paint is shot and I'm thinking of doing the whole car in PlastiDip. If you're not familiar with the process go to YouTube and look up plastidip my car.
I just wonder if there are any gotcha's pertaining to doing it to my 88GT?
Sounds good. I've got body work to do first so you will have yours finished before me. Keep me posted on the progress. I'd really like to know how it goes. Mine is already black so I'm thinking of going back with black and using the silver metal stuff on the lower panels, much like the 2 tone paint from the factory. What do you think? Would that look OK?
I hear you regarding the cleaning. And be sure it's smooth. Clay bar if it's not from what my test spray on the spoiler showed me.
Nice. I stripped my failed attempt on the rear spoiler and re-shot it tonight. It looks much better but I still striped it. There's a technique. I just have to find it.
I am currently in the middle of painting my car with this, I have it about half done, I'm going with a red and black combo.
Pluses are 1. nice even coat. whatever you paint looks evenly coated no matter how many coats you apply 2. dries very fast. 3. overspray is easy to either peel off or scrub off with mineral spirits.
Negatives are 1. dries too fast, will start clogging the nozzle of a spray can before your even halfway through the can and then starts spitting out droplets. 2. will not fill in any defects such as scratches chips etc. 3. not cheap, a $ 20 can was only good for one door
Other things I've noticed... the black sprays better and looks better than the red. All the colors are flat finishes. I understand you can get a glossifier in the states but I can't get it here. If you can get it by the gallon and spray it with a proper spray gun that would be the way to go. Probably cheaper and less hassle. Again not an option for me as I cant buy gallon cans here. Mine is just a quickie job to make the car look half decent for a couple of years until I can finally afford a real paint job. This stuff will peel off or probably blast off with a high pressure sprayer. Has made a world of difference to my multi colored car. Another thing, does not cover light colors well, parts of my car had been sanded down by the PO right down to the white primer in spots all over the car. Took far too many coats of expensive red plasti dip to finally hide the spots. I discovered the secret was to use red primer on the panels to cover up all the lighter spots before I painted the panel. I used dupli color filler red primer which worked great and dries fast. Well hope this helps and good luck with your project.
87 GT Loaded resto project
Member Edmonton Fiero Owners Group
[This message has been edited by GT-maniac (edited 08-14-2012).]
I'm in the same boat. marginal paint and I don't want to spend the money this year. So I'm leaning towards this as an economical solution for a few years. Besides, it looks like a fun project that is low impact. If you don't like it, pull it off.
I intend to order it all from dipyourcar.com since they seem to be the ones who've started this trend. I'm going to buy the large car kit. Even if I hate it at least I end up with a Wagoner paint gun to do my fence with.
Nice. I stripped my failed attempt on the rear spoiler and re-shot it tonight. It looks much better but I still striped it. There's a technique. I just have to find it.
I havent used this stuff, but if it is like spray can paint you just have to overlap each stroke and look for the shine reflected from a light source, for me it shows what is happening better than looking for a color change. ou also have to start at one side and go to the other, no backing up.
Plasti dip is used mostly on cars that have good paint, they would just like to add something or protect it with the option of removing later.
If you have a crummy looking fiero that needs paint, look into the rustoleum paint jobs.
the only problem with that is that it doesn't stick well to any glossy painted surface. I tested a glossy painted section of a panel and the plasti dip started peeling off within days.
the only problem with that is that it doesn't stick well to any glossy painted surface. I tested a glossy painted section of a panel and the plasti dip started peeling off within days.
As linked above, the lower half of my car was nice and shiny and I've had no issues with Plasti-dip sticking to the panel.
If you have waxed the paint, then it will have trouble sticking... The site recommends that you use a rag with alcohol to wipe down the paint work prior to dipping. This will remove the wax and residue, allowing better adhesion.
Here's mine, over a month after I dipped it.. And as you can see, it is holding up just fine with no issues...
[This message has been edited by Synthesis (edited 08-14-2012).]
Looks great. Can I ask how you applied the dip? Was it with rattle cans or with one of the Pro-car kits?
EDIT: Just re-read the thread where you plainly state using 3 cans of it.
Any problems with texture or stripes? Did you spray it in a garage with climate control? What was the weather like when you did the spray?
Sunny, outdoors, little bit of wind, some minor striping on the driver's side due to too much sun-glare on the wet dip (meaning it looked good while I sprayed it and the sun showed it looked good, but it striped once dry because visibility was affected...)
[This message has been edited by Synthesis (edited 08-14-2012).]
It sticks very well to glossy surfaces. I prepped the back end with rubbing alcohol and it was fine. It hasn't come off at all in about a month. My only complaint is that it is slightly streaky on large surfaces. I found it difficult to get a nice even look. I'll probably tear it off and use vinyl wrap if I can find a supplier for the vinyl with a decent price.
Came back tonight and sprayed some additional light coats on the spoiler and it evened out pretty well. I don't think 3 gallons will do a whole car despite what their web site says. This was most of a can just for the spoiler.
It's very nice to see some of the other projects done this way. It gives me hope.
Really. Because pressure washing is one of the ways they recommend to clean it. Well huh?
If you have an exposed "edge" of the dip from masking, you have an edge that can peel.
Again, if you don't wipe the surface down with alcohol, you may have adhesion problems. I have one area on the ground effects on the driver's side where I stepped out of the car with sunblock on my leg. It brushed the plastic before I dipped a few days later... The plastidip doesn't stick to that one spot... I have to wipe it down, and have not gotten around to that yet.
Bringing this thread back.. I ordered my pro-car kit from dipyourcar.com and UPS says it will be here next Wednesday. So, I'll be doing the whole car in Pearl Blue.. cross your fingers for me, in my build thread in my sig I posted an example of the color I'm shooting from the dipyourcar.com forums.
Oh yeah, i'll post pics and video of the process.. My kit came via UPS ground from FL to WA, so it's still on a truck. UPS says it'll be here Wed. and I need to rig up a temp spray booth, but as soon as I have that figured out it's SPRAY TIME!
Oh yeah, i'll post pics and video of the process.. My kit came via UPS ground from FL to WA, so it's still on a truck. UPS says it'll be here Wed. and I need to rig up a temp spray booth, but as soon as I have that figured out it's SPRAY TIME!
I'd like to see it in person when your done. or even visit while you do it if it's cool
It sticks very well to glossy surfaces. I prepped the back end with rubbing alcohol and it was fine. It hasn't come off at all in about a month. My only complaint is that it is slightly streaky on large surfaces. I found it difficult to get a nice even look. I'll probably tear it off and use vinyl wrap if I can find a supplier for the vinyl with a decent price.
Any higher resolution pictures of this? Looks freakin sweet.
Whole car was done before I bought it. I've been looking High and low for something called plasticote. So it's plastidip lol! I don't know the details of the prep, but from the sound of it They guy didn't clean it with alcohol, as I have spots where it is peeling off. I didn't know what it was called, thanks for the heads-up, now I can study this stuff too If you want pics, let me know, but it rained here, and it got very dirty. Unfortunately, I'm afraid to wash it. The pressure wash/scrubbing with likely peel the stuff, and I don't know how to touch it up, and I'm almost positive that not all the panels match (hence the reason it was painted). But it's a Formula, and I always wanted one, so I'm not going to complain, just save for a proper paint job. Thinking candy green or blue. Anyone mess with the chrome colors? Opinions? Sorry..rambling..If you want something that will peel off, I'd give some thought to vinyl. Maybe less prep, and no masking! One thing I do Like about it though, The Formula decals were still on the doors, and with the flat black over them they look kinda cool. Like a watermark.
Well, got my color mixed up! Looks awesome. It's almost the exact periwinkle blue I'm looking for. I might have to throw another purple pearl in, and maybe another can of white to lighten it up a shade, but it's really cool looking. Now I just have to finish up the body work, and pull panels to spray.
Sure, it's unique, cool color options, easy to apply and remove, and cheap.
You must remember though that it's not paint. You can't sand down a mistake, so you either live with it or peel and respray. It's hard to keep clean, but handles car washes. It is sensitive to scuffing, won't damage it but it leaves marks. I found that you can use certain spray waxes on it, and that helps a lot.
Prep is easy if your surface is smooth, mine wasn't. I had to sand off the peeling clear. Most people just wash, wipe down with wax remover and spray.
One final thought, fieros have a lot of recessed pockets and gaps. Those suck no matter what you're spraying on. :-)
I haven't read the whole thread so this may have been mentioned. I used the spray form of Plasti-Dip for the first time yesterday. I made a bicycle rack for my Honda Pilot. I had it hanging vertically and sprayed it. It had some runs and rough spots from where gravity pulled on it. I think I would have had better results if I had laid the piece flat for spraying and drying. As it was, it really couldn't self-level.
