Any Plastidip Tips?

[jeradw]

I am going to plastidip my trim on Saturday and am looking for some pointers/tips. I have already "plastidipped" my trunk strip, but I was able to take it off and do it that way. I really like the way the 5 coats have been holding up on the trunk strip (absolutely no cracking, or flaking away like normal paint!! ) However, this is not going to be the same beast because I cant actually take the trim off.

I was thinking about playing with notecards to get them to stick inbetween the car and the trim as there is a small gap and then spray...letting it sit for a couple of minutes and then removing the cards (I didnt want to let the cards lay there too long because I dont want the plastidip to stick to the notecards). How does this logic sound?

Otherwise, I was debating about some painters tape. Perhaps a combination of the two?

Does anyone have any ideas? Any other helpful hints are, of course, welcomed.

I have already read through this thread (thanks for the writeup nnnick)
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-up-B7-edition

Thanks guys!

Jerad

[hercfe]

however long you think it will take you to paint, multiply that time by 3 and that should be your prep time, so if you're going to paint for one hour, plan on a 3 hour prep time. seems a bit excessive i know, but painting a car, any piece of a car, is all about preparation. my advice is to remove the bumper, and invest heavily in GOOD painters tape, 3m green is what i prefer. then go to your local newstand and buy up a few newspapers. sunday papers are the best because of the inserts. paint wont bleed through the heavy paper in the inserts. this is way cheaper than buying masking material. mask everything off front and back that you don't want to paint. there is a reason for this. once you think everything is covered well, go over it again and make damn sure. even with plastidip i prefer to scuff the surface for better adhesion. use a high grit sandpaper, 320 or 400 is fine. wet sand to scuff! a bottle of window cleaner is great because the little bit of alcohol help dry and clean the surface area after your done. do wet coats. hold the can/gun about 8 inches away and let 'er rip. just enough to cover the piece, but not enough to cause a run. 10 more minutes and repeat. 10 more minutes and repeat. wait til the next day and if you're happy, you're done. if there are any runs(shouldn't be right?) get out your 400 grit and your spray bottle. this time warm water and just a drop of non-abrasive dish soap. just a bit of light sanding, preferably with a block(finger grooves will show up, but probably not on something small like trim). Now you're done. re-install the bumper/trim piece and voila, new look!

enjoy

[hercfe]

just read that other write up...i guess i didn't need to post...

[nnnick]

do you mean like the window trim? or interior trim? the latter comes off really easy. For window trim I bet cards and tape would be a good combo, and then maybe also put down a fresh coat of polish before you get started so that the paint has a little protection on it and any overspray will wipe off easy?

I'm curious to see how this works out - I'd love to do the same! Glad my other write-up was helpful :)

[mmarktfsi]

however long you think it will take you to paint, multiply that time by 3 and that should be your prep time, so if you're going to paint for one hour, plan on a 3 hour prep time. seems a bit excessive i know, but painting a car, any piece of a car, is all about preparation. my advice is to remove the bumper, and invest heavily in GOOD painters tape, 3m green is what i prefer. then go to your local newstand and buy up a few newspapers. sunday papers are the best because of the inserts. paint wont bleed through the heavy paper in the inserts. this is way cheaper than buying masking material. mask everything off front and back that you don't want to paint. there is a reason for this. once you think everything is covered well, go over it again and make damn sure. even with plastidip i prefer to scuff the surface for better adhesion. use a high grit sandpaper, 320 or 400 is fine. wet sand to scuff! a bottle of window cleaner is great because the little bit of alcohol help dry and clean the surface area after your done. do wet coats. hold the can/gun about 8 inches away and let 'er rip. just enough to cover the piece, but not enough to cause a run. 10 more minutes and repeat. 10 more minutes and repeat. wait til the next day and if you're happy, you're done. if there are any runs(shouldn't be right?) get out your 400 grit and your spray bottle. this time warm water and just a drop of non-abrasive dish soap. just a bit of light sanding, preferably with a block(finger grooves will show up, but probably not on something small like trim). Now you're done. re-install the bumper/trim piece and voila, new look!

enjoy

Good write up. I'll follow it as well when I PD my grill and rear bumper trim.

[maidest]

I agree with the long prep time. I did my window trim, grill trim, and trunk trim, without removing them from the car. It took me a really long time to prep with 3m painters tape and masking paper. Make sure you pay very close attention to detail when you're taping because if not it is very easy to make mistakes. Also have an exacto knife ready to cut the plastdip down the sides of the trim so it doesn't stick to the tape when you're trying to remove. All in all, it is a very tedious thing and is easy to fuck up. MAke sure you put in the time and it will come out good and be well worth it.

[jeradw]

So you leave all the paint/notecards or whatever you are going to use for protection on until the end and then just cut it so it doesnt stick?

Still not sure why I have to take the bumpers off if I am painting the outside window trim... ??

[jeradw]

Ohh yeah...what if it already has paint on it? Its been painted twice, but it keeps chipping so I want to try this now. Should I take all of the paint off, sand it down and then paint?

[nnnick]

Still not sure why I have to take the bumpers off if I am painting the outside window trim... ??

LOL!

yeah u should probably bleed your brakes, change your oil and rotate your tires too...otherwise the paint might chip!


If there is already paint there, it's fine...but it will be harder to remove the plasti-dip down the road (could be a good thing actually). Plasti-dip comes off the metal/chrome surface a lot easier than something painted....

I really like the metric spend 3x as long prepping than painting, although with plasti-dip I don't think that's totally necessary since its textured and so its not like the surface has to be completely smooth even.

[maidest]

you don't have to sand at all, and it will be fine over the two layers of paint. And yes I left the tape on until it was mostly dry and just used the Xacto to make sure it wasn't sticking. But yes, make sure you take off both bumpers, disassemble the doors, and swap the entire engine while you're at it.

[jeradw]

But yes, make sure you take off both bumpers, disassemble the doors, and swap the entire engine while you're at it.

lol... :P

[Auditude2.0T]

I painted my friends entire jetta with plastidip in my garage lol..

[kenaiinaugust]

FUCK PAINTERS TAPE!! Tapeing shit off with plasti dip is a BITCH!! i spent two days because i didnt want to take off the emblems and re apply them.. So i did the window trim, Grill trim, Trunk strip and all the emblems using tape.. and DONT LET IT DRY TO THE TAPE!! Since its rubber it wants to peel off with the tape.. "just use a razor" STILL a pain in the ass.. because it doesnt want to cut the plasti dip.. it chews it up..

DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR AND VINYL THE WINDOW TRIM!! and if you do the emblems take them off and spray them..

Dont go through the nightmare i did just to want to redo it.. Plasti dip is great for certain things.. Grill, Trunk lip emblems.. but skip the trim.. trust me..