Bad Plastidip job on my hood scoop - Two textured

[GogDog]

So, yesterday I went ahead and plastidipped some of my decals. Surprisingly easy (well, ...the trd off road has a lot of "toothpick" areas that are kind of frustrating).

I then wanted to plastidip the hood scoop...for glare prevention and to get a bit of a customized look.

Didn't take long...I mean, most of the time was just spent on taping.

I did about 7 light coats, generally avoiding the area around the blue painters tape. Then did 1 heavy coat along the tape to make sure it was wet. I read somewhere that a heavy coat will "liquefy" the plastidip under it, and then I immediately took the tape off at a sharp angle. The lines were nice and crisp.

The problem...is that now I have 2 textures on the scoop.

I did horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines to try and avoid tiger stripes, though...some are still visible.

The 1 heavy coat along the tape is my desired texture...its smooth, a bit of an orange peel but not bad. The rest of the hood...is rough...like sandpaper...

My theory...is that I did too light of coats. If they were heavier coat, it would have applied more like a wet paint that would "spread"/smooth a bit. With it too light...it did tiny droplets that dried and hardened without spreading together.

Any tips on this? Or should I just take it off, pay more for a piece of vinyl for the hood, and just reapply plastidip to the scoop insert with heavier coats?

 

[ElectroBoy]

I think you're correct, with a heavier coat at the end. I have not used plastidip itself, but with other spray paints the application of light coats provides a grippy base for other top coats. Then finishing with a heavier coat. The trick is not too heavy where you get drips or sags.

For one paint I just used (Rustoleum High Performance Wheel) the directions said "For best appearance, apply one light coat followed by one wet coat."

If you can remove it easily, tape it up and try again.

 

[HachiRolla]

My experience with plastidip started out much the same way, though I don't do it much anymore I have found that a handful of increasingly heavier coats tends to get the best finish, and the trick is in the final coat, you really have to lay it on there. After the fact, the best way to know how well you did is peeling it off, if it all comes off in one piece then you know your prep and spray job was spot on, if it sticks too much or peels too easy then there were prep issues, and if it tears then it wasn't thick enough.

I'd give that a couple days to set up, hit it with two or three light coats, and then lay it to it with a thick and heavy final coat.

Mike

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

From what I remember keep doing light coats to it and it eventually will look the same.

 

[Soneill]

So, yesterday I went ahead and plastidipped some of my decals. Surprisingly easy (well, ...the trd off road has a lot of "toothpick" areas that are kind of frustrating).

I then wanted to plastidip the hood scoop...for glare prevention and to get a bit of a customized look.

Didn't take long...I mean, most of the time was just spent on taping.

I did about 7 light coats, generally avoiding the area around the blue painters tape. Then did 1 heavy coat along the tape to make sure it was wet. I read somewhere that a heavy coat will "liquefy" the plastidip under it, and then I immediately took the tape off at a sharp angle. The lines were nice and crisp.

The problem...is that now I have 2 textures on the scoop.

I did horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines to try and avoid tiger stripes, though...some are still visible.

The 1 heavy coat along the tape is my desired texture...its smooth, a bit of an orange peel but not bad. The rest of the hood...is rough...like sandpaper...

My theory...is that I did too light of coats. If they were heavier coat, it would have applied more like a wet paint that would "spread"/smooth a bit. With it too light...it did tiny droplets that dried and hardened without spreading together.

Any tips on this? Or should I just take it off, pay more for a piece of vinyl for the hood, and just reapply plastidip to the scoop insert with heavier coats?

When I used plastidip and screwed up, i learned one thing that worked better than any. Take the can and put it in hot eater for about ten minutes. Once the plastidip is warm it will atomize better giving you super smooth coats.

 

[GogDog]

When I used plastidip and screwed up, i learned one thing that worked better than any. Take the can and put it in hot eater for about ten minutes. Once the plastidip is warm it will atomize better giving you super smooth coats.

Took a second....but eventually got it. Hot Water (not eater). Sounds good....maybe I'll give that a shot!

 

[Off-choader]

I absolutely hate plasti-dip, and I would never use it again. I would do paint or vinyl if your dead set on blacking that scoop. I can't imagine vinyl cut that small is any more expensive then 2 cans of plastidip at 4-8$ a pop or whatever it is

 

[tdo805]

I've learned over the years that plastidip works best with a nice even light coat to lay down a base for your final heavy coats to grip to. The best finish I ever had with it was when I laid it on so heavy i could swear it was going to run

 

[QuickBen]

The beauty of plasti-dip- just peel it all off and try again!

The warm water tip mentioned above is a very good idea. I recently tried to dip my side badges when it was about 55 out on a crisp morning and it went VERY poorly; which reminded me I used two full cans just blacking out the obnoxious chrome mesh on my f150s grill. The more you use the easier it is to recover if it comes out uneven

 

[bigbadpoppa]

plastidip is perfect for this job. It's a curved surface. It's nearly dummy proof. Dealing with wrap around curves isn't easy for the not savvy hand and it requires work to get all the bubbles out.

May I suggestion something. The paint under that plastidip will eventually look different than the rest of your body color not covered due to sunlight.

Instead of making a square like you did, plastic dip just around the curve areas. At least if this portion is discolored, it's not noticeable since the flat hood area is left untouched.

 

[sharky]

I just did plastidip for the first time on my 4R and some tips I found helpful were putting the can in warm water before application, multiple light coats with the last 2-3 getting progressively heavier, and constantly shaking the can throughout each application.

 

[Juiceph]

A lot of conflicting information in this thread. Look up "dipyourcar" on youtube. He says do a light coat to start and then very wet coats afterwards. And of course you need to keep the can nice and warm and make sure plastidip doesn't dry on the nozzle.

When I took the garnish off my 4runner to plastidip it I did heavy research, bought a ton of plastidip so I could redo it until it was perfect, and ended up doing it right the first time. The first coat light, next few coats very wet. First time I had ever done it right. All my old cars had rough bedliner looking plastidip because I went too slow thinking it would slowly build up.

 

[GogDog]

A lot of conflicting information in this thread. Look up "dipyourcar" on youtube. He says do a light coat to start and then very wet coats afterwards. And of course you need to keep the can nice and warm and make sure plastidip doesn't dry on the nozzle.

When I took the garnish off my 4runner to plastidip it I did heavy research, bought a ton of plastidip so I could redo it until it was perfect, and ended up doing it right the first time. The first coat light, next few coats very wet. First time I had ever done it right. All my old cars had rough bedliner looking plastidip because I went too slow thinking it would slowly build up.

Thanks for the tips. I'll drive it around a few days....see if I want to keep it the same pattern or not (or just do the curved hood) and then try again.

 

[bigbadpoppa]

Thanks for the tips. I'll drive it around a few days....see if I want to keep it the same pattern or not (or just do the curved hood) and then try again.

if you plan to drive it to the ground...then do whatever looks best to you.

If you plan to eventually sell it, just to make your car marketable, I'd stick with just doing it around the scoop so the next buy who doesn't want to plasti dip still have a hood that doesn't look too out of place if the paint fades eventually over time around the scoop.

While your at it, go plasti dip your roof rails if you still have them on. Black is back!

 

[philsey]

The sandpaper texture is due to the PD drying too fast. Can be caused be painting too far away, painting too light, or cold weather, or any/all the above.

Being directly in your sight, always, that's gonna bug you. I'm not sure you can get a large-ish area perfect with PD. I vote for wrap. It's going to look much better.

Just wait 'til you wipe that rough surface with a rag. :mad2:

 

[Bodhi327]

I am a fan

I did all the emblems on my black Titan. My son has it now 50k miles and 2012 model and they still look good. However, I bought the overlay kit for the 4runner emblems, just sooooo easy. My scoop is black already (i have a black 4runner) and I have no issues with glare.

 

[LawnDart]

[MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] what did your hood vinyl cost (or what would it cost someone off the street)?

Pretty tired of getting blinded by 5pm sun on my drive home every day.

I'd have to go back and check my receipts, but I think 250-300 to have it done right.

 

[Kenstaroni]

Think you did too many light coats. I've found it lays smoother if you do heavier coats. If you spray it too far away, you'll get texture and an uneven finish. It's not paint. If you spray it like spray paint it won't work out well. It may look wierd at first, but once it self levels it will smooth out. Also warm the can up in a bucket of hot water first as others have mentioned, that really helps.

 

[ElectroBoy]

[MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION] what did your hood vinyl cost (or what would it cost someone off the street)?

Pretty tired of getting blinded by 5pm sun on my drive home every day.

I hear you. I have a 2018 silver. It freakin blinds me at times. I don't know why Toyota even offers this non- functional hood scoop, other than looks.

Let us know what you do and how it turns out.

 

[WaldoJPL]

I just did plastidip for the first time on my 4R and some tips I found helpful were putting the can in warm water before application, multiple light coats with the last 2-3 getting progressively heavier, and constantly shaking the can throughout each application.

....Just how warm is warm?.........and how long should ya place the can in the warm water?....a few minutes...10 minutes?....:shrug:...
...Johnny-5 needs more input!...:help: