Plastidipped Front Bumper - Poor mans ClearBra
 

Just sharing my experiences with Plastidipping the front end of my car with Clear Plastidip


Reason I did it:

-To protect the front end for my cross the US move/road trip
-wanted to try something different than painters tape protection
-for the experience


Taping everything off:
http://i.imgur.com/d07B9zzl.jpg


Cover the entire car to prevent plastidip landing on other parts of the car:
http://i.imgur.com/cpxlzKxl.jpg

After 5 coats:
http://i.imgur.com/o5S3DWMl.jpg


Demarcation showing the matte effect of the clear plastidip and the SWP paint
http://i.imgur.com/CGUU3trl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qgZlUI7l.jpg

Small areas of imperfection when tape was pulled off:
http://i.imgur.com/mihPuPfl.jpg

Entire car in the sunlight:
http://i.imgur.com/r5BY2sOl.jpg




After all was said and Done, I continued my daily driving without any issues until it started to rain... (about 2 hours into driving at fwy speeds)

After the drive in the rain:
http://i.imgur.com/SyvgDg3l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/X0y35A5l.jpg


Doh!
http://i.imgur.com/l5S4SNsl.jpg


Technique:
- Started with a very light coat for the first coat with subsequent coats being more heavy.
- Allowed plastidip to dry 1-2 hours between coats.
- total of 9-10 coats were applied (way more than enough for simple color change) good amount for gravel/rock protection
- Areas dipped: Entire hood, entire bumper, half fender
- Number of cans used: 4
- Amount probably needed to get the job done: 3

What I learned in general:
-Do not let imperfections and areas that are pulled up be in high airflow areas. The plastidip can separate.

- areas that get warm (hood) are more prone to peeling of plastidip

- OPTICOAT is not a fan of Plastidip

- Matte color looks pretty sweet :lol:




Oh well. always good to learn new things :thumbup:

Going to try again?

You do know that there is a 3M clear bra spray right?

Plasti dip needs a few days to completely set up. Plasti dipped my buddies wheels on his BMW and it ended up raining that day. The wheels peeled and ran a little bit but he did it again while it was dry for a few days and he hasn't had a problem since. Had them plasti dipped for a couple of months now. Almost a year.

yeah try this
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/3M-90000-Paint-Defender-Spray/dp/B00BSKYM82"]Amazon.com: 3M 90000 Paint Defender Spray Film: Automotive[/ame]

I just f***kin died bro...

Armor All makes on as well now. Their link...

I saw it today in Walmart in clear, black and white. Their little promo ad running at Walmart showed a guy using it to make white dual thick/thin type stripes on the hood of his car which looked pretty doggone good (of course probably something I would never be able to do)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UZ1UJwQ6Y4U#t=86s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UZ1UJwQ6Y4U#t=120s[/ame]

They also have a video showing it being applied to wheels...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JGX3cvRWwVc"]Wheel Coating - YouTube[/ame]

my buddy plastidipped his Evo's hood/wing for fun. Ripped the clear coat off.

Yeah heard alot of bad things about plastidip. Glad you didnt have any troubles

Pretty sure any peel able sprays won't work on opti coated or freshly waxed car??? Lol people have their whole car dipped and it was fine! I think you need to let it set. Or maybe it's better from a spray gun

It's nice to have the money to be able to get real clear bra instead of making a brand new car look like it's been driven by a hobo.

You read the first post where I stated its simply for my drive across the US right?

This is by no means permanent. Just simply thought it would be more subtle than painters tape.


Ouch.

I was thinking of doing this to my front bumper but if it messes with the clear coat.....