Plasti-dipping my bike, color suggestions?
- Thread starter HonDerpa500r
- Start date
blackcamaro
Well-known member
I plastidipped a Jeep before and it actually came out really good. Everything but the hood. I really should've taken the hood off and been able to coat it vertically, it kind of streaks and leaves a weird texture when done on a flat surface. Do lots of thin coats but make sure you do a bunch as mentioned already, when it is thick it is easy to remove but removing a thin coating is an absolute nightmare.
The catch though. That Jeep was a old beater I wouldn't do it to a 2 year old bike.
Probably best to just do the normal levers, tail tidy, slip on kind of thing and enjoy the bike without getting too crazy.
The catch though. That Jeep was a old beater I wouldn't do it to a 2 year old bike.
It will wear through pretty quickly in areas like where your knees rub against the tank and look kind of junky even if you do a good job.
If you want to give it a shot to change up the colour of your wheels or something like that to make the bike stand out that would work out alright I think. Probably best to just do the normal levers, tail tidy, slip on kind of thing and enjoy the bike without getting too crazy.
Plastidip just doesn't work for bikes. You are always in contact with your bike when you're riding. The plastidip WILL begin to peel and your entire bike will look like complete ***.
Back in BC, I had my own small shop. A client brought his mint R6 to me to have all the plastics taken off so he could get them plastidipped. He took the plastics to a guy who does plastidip professionally. So, after paying me to dis-assemble and reassemble his bike, and paying the plastidip guy, his bike was a mint satin pearl white.....for a week. The knee area around the tank strap peeling. The whole bike was soon grey from dirt that would never wash off. And then he tried to remove it all but it doesn't remove very well from black plastic.
All in all, he spent over a $1000 to make his once mint bike look like sh@t.
From personal experience...I wouldn't recommend that crap anywhere on a bike.
Back in BC, I had my own small shop. A client brought his mint R6 to me to have all the plastics taken off so he could get them plastidipped. He took the plastics to a guy who does plastidip professionally. So, after paying me to dis-assemble and reassemble his bike, and paying the plastidip guy, his bike was a mint satin pearl white.....for a week. The knee area around the tank strap peeling. The whole bike was soon grey from dirt that would never wash off. And then he tried to remove it all but it doesn't remove very well from black plastic.
All in all, he spent over a $1000 to make his once mint bike look like sh@t.
From personal experience...I wouldn't recommend that crap anywhere on a bike.
waitin4BOOST
Well-known member
My brother bought a bike last year ('09 600rr) that had a terrible plastijob, peeling in all the obvious places ie. fairing mount holes, around rear seat cowl and a bit near the headlights.
These guys must've just mask the area half assed and start shooting, you can tell it was done by noobs with rattle cans cuz the high areas would be thick as hell and lows super thin.
However in the end we were grateful cuz when we peeled all crap off the 8yr old paint underneath was pristine, not even swirl marks...the bike looked brand new. These guys even painted the black ABS plastic, so those looked new as well since they haven't been subjected to the UV bleach.
It can go both ways, in our case the bike was dipped when new and not a way to hide imperfections.
Would I do it ... never lol Thats cuz I don't really like the matte look, would rather shoot actual paint with flakes or pearls and a clear, nothing beats a mirror finish IMO.
These guys must've just mask the area half assed and start shooting, you can tell it was done by noobs with rattle cans cuz the high areas would be thick as hell and lows super thin.
However in the end we were grateful cuz when we peeled all crap off the 8yr old paint underneath was pristine, not even swirl marks...the bike looked brand new. These guys even painted the black ABS plastic, so those looked new as well since they haven't been subjected to the UV bleach.
It can go both ways, in our case the bike was dipped when new and not a way to hide imperfections.
Would I do it ... never lol Thats cuz I don't really like the matte look, would rather shoot actual paint with flakes or pearls and a clear, nothing beats a mirror finish IMO.
I was going to plastidip my wifes steelies as they were getting old and rusty, but damned that stuff isn't cheap. I went into it thinking it was an economical option, but paint was cheaper in my case.
For the amount it would cost to do a whole bike, I would rather paint it properly (or wrap it if you want a hideous colour that couldn't be resold).
Your best bet is probably to do select portions (like wheels or a couple panels that don't get touched often). Not only will the plastidip cost you money, unless you pull it off before resale, it will make your bike worth less.
For the amount it would cost to do a whole bike, I would rather paint it properly (or wrap it if you want a hideous colour that couldn't be resold).
Your best bet is probably to do select portions (like wheels or a couple panels that don't get touched often). Not only will the plastidip cost you money, unless you pull it off before resale, it will make your bike worth less.
You have to go to the US and buy the dip. The cost for a spraybomb is insane in Canada.
Tremclad is now selling a knock-off Plasti-dip. It's a few bucks cheaper than the original. I haven't used the Tremclad stuff.
I dipped my bike fluorescent pink for a Breast Cancer awareness / fundraiser. The colour popped for a while and then it just got dull. It held surprisingly well but I did a good job of prepping and laying on multiple coats.
It was a huge pain in the *** and i'm still finding pink on the bike.
I would do it again though because I did it myself as I knew it was short term and I was absorbing the labour.
Long term solution, colour fades fast so if you're going to do it, make it a matt finish.
Tremclad is now selling a knock-off Plasti-dip. It's a few bucks cheaper than the original. I haven't used the Tremclad stuff.
I dipped my bike fluorescent pink for a Breast Cancer awareness / fundraiser. The colour popped for a while and then it just got dull. It held surprisingly well but I did a good job of prepping and laying on multiple coats.
It was a huge pain in the *** and i'm still finding pink on the bike.
I would do it again though because I did it myself as I knew it was short term and I was absorbing the labour.
Long term solution, colour fades fast so if you're going to do it, make it a matt finish.
HonDerpa500r
Well-known member
Despite all of the comments saying not to do it, I came up with a paint scheme that I sort of enjoy. Here's what I came up with in photoshop -
https://imgur.com/LY3IOpf
Don't mind the brighter colored orange on where the metal is, I couldn't get the hue/saturation to match with the other orange.
I'm still not set on the plasti-dip yet, but It's definitely something I'm interested in. I've already got reflective tape, and orange shorty levers on the way, but I really can't get away from the entire bike color.
https://imgur.com/LY3IOpf
Don't mind the brighter colored orange on where the metal is, I couldn't get the hue/saturation to match with the other orange.
I'm still not set on the plasti-dip yet, but It's definitely something I'm interested in. I've already got reflective tape, and orange shorty levers on the way, but I really can't get away from the entire bike color.
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Now take away the shine, and add dirt and chain-lube blackness unevenly, and rub through to the original colour in uneven patches wherever you touch the bike. That's what it will really look like.
There is no better way to spend money to destroy resale value, than by applying paint.
I have a custom painted bike... but I had aftermarket bodywork professionally painted and kept all the original parts in storage!
There is no better way to spend money to destroy resale value, than by applying paint.
I have a custom painted bike... but I had aftermarket bodywork professionally painted and kept all the original parts in storage!
HonDerpa500r
Well-known member
Wouldn't tank pads prevent the rubbing?
You make a good point though, maybe I'll just dip a few things with black.
Iceman
Well-known member
This is what you will have in a month.
https://youtu.be/r9p00DyH-yM
Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
https://youtu.be/r9p00DyH-yM
Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
GateKeeper
Well-known member
Just like anything else, do a piss poor prep job and you get piss poor results....it won’t matter if it’s paint, platidip, vinyl, hydro dip.....
My plastip lasted over 2 seasons, would have been longer, but I took it off, as I figured out my paint scheme and then painted the bike.
And as someone mentioned if you are going to plastidip the bike, get the stuff from the US, it’s way to expensive here in Canada...
Canadian Tire sell plasti-dip for around $24 a can. Walmart in the U.S. sell it for $5.80 U.S. a can. Even with then exchange rate that's about 1/3 the price of Canadian Tire. Well worth a drive to the U.S. While you're there you can pick up oil, filters for your bike and save a substantial amount.
