plasti-dip
 

Anyone have any experience? I'm planning to paint a (decidedly) off-topic frame with the flat black plasti-dip and am looking for anyone's experience. Additionally I'd like to cut some stencils for the manufacturer's name and logo, for the downtube and headtube.

Any advice?

I've used it on fender brackets to eliminate rattles, but I hadn't considered an entire frame! It's really thick stuff, so getting it applied evenly will be your biggest problem. And then the frame will look like it's covered in plastic. Hmm.

Neal

I've thought about mixing the colors to make any hue I want, then dipping cable housings for that exact match look. But it probably would be too thick and add ten pounds.

Do it in blue, and you'll have a Park Tools bicycle.

-Kurt

I got the spray can. I'm sure that it'll still be thick...but I'm shooting it onto plastic, so it is somehow appropriate. I think I am gonna find something to experiment on tomorrow. Maybe the schnauzer...

How would I get stencils to work?

I used the black spray kind on a bmx fork once to see how it would turn out and it remained kind of sticky even after it dried. After a couple of days it looked really bad since all of the dust stuck to it. I would not recommend it.

Baaaaaaaaad idea.

hmmm. Seems to be a strong negative here. So, what are the alternatives? Does anyone else make a rubberized spray paint?

Spray on bedliner is a better idea.

Plastidip does not stick well enough, so the chance of rust propogating through any potential entry point of a band clamp or braze on would give me pause.

If it was a simple bike, a fixed gear, no brakes or front brake only, maybe Line-X or Rhinolining as used on trucks would work? That stuff is the devil to remove, but it is also catalized.

Maybe good theft protection too, or you would start a trend...

Seems like powdercoating might be what you are looking for. Means paying money and having someone else do it. But it works well.

jim

well, I am sure that powdercoating and rust aren't issues here - its going on a CF frame (I said it was off topic. But you guys, of all of the forums, are the resourceful ones...). I tried the stuff on an old aluminum fork today. It isn't cured all the way yet, and still feels, um, kinda sticky, but it is bonding like the devil to my soul after 6 hours. I can't get my thumbnail through it. I abraded the fork with 100grit sandpaper before I shot it, to see if it covers scratches...it doesn't. It doesn't go on perfectly smoothly, either. There's a faint bumpy texture to it. I'm gonna work it over after it cures all the way.

My inspiration for all this is IBIS. I have a Mojo Carbon that has a really sweet rubberized paint surface; it takes branches and rock hits in stride, isn't slippery when wet, and looks pretty cool, too.

I'd love to have such a useful surface on everyday bikes.

What Ibis used was a"soft touch" Urethane paint, also used in the auto and computer industries for a semi resilient low gloss or no gloss coating. Makes hard plastics feel less cheap.

You could always go Zolotone. I think Kestrel used some on their mtb's long ago.

I suspect it would probably be both cheaper and easier to simply powder coat it instead.

I want to know how the schnauzer looks now.

Neal

Neal, did you ever see the zebra donkeys in Tijuana?

John, can you powdercoat carbon fiber resin?

+1. Photos, please.

The chemical in that stuff is pretty stout. I'd be worried about it soaking into the CF, and softening it to the point of being unusable.,,,,BD

repechage wins again! The soft touch stuff is the way to go. I spent a while wading around on the web and got to this. Expensive, but probably pretty cool...a person may just be able to shoot the soft touch top coat and have a pretty unique application. I'm thinking striping graphics in candy right over the plastic, though, and then some stickers and a soft touch top coat. Two cans would be about $80, and I already have the water slide decal material somewhere around here...