Warning on Plasti-dipping your entire car v.bodywork perspective & FAQ
Jul 8, 2013, 08:35 PM
#1
Warning on Plasti-dipping your entire car v.bodywork perspective & FAQ
I've seen a lot of people ruining their paint jobs with long term use of plasti-dip.
Professional shops like SSP use a different, but similar looking product, called Rubber Dip, that is safe for your car.
What Home Depot sells, called "Plasti-Dip" contains paint thinners.
I use this stuff a lot, for plastic repair, carbon fiber work, etc. Sometimes I'll coat something with it, then paint the plasti-dip. If I don't like how it looked, I can peel it off
. You can also use it to seal problematic substrates (wax spills, adhesion problem areas, cracks, etc). It's awesome, it really is. But there are some really important reasons why you should NOT use this as a long term coloring over your existing paint.
The biggest reason is damage to your clear coat. Plasti-dip was never designed to color paint-it's a spray for tool handles. You can spray it on anything, yes, but it's not safe to do long term.
Plasti dip is liquid plastic, and the way it stays liquid is through a rapidly evaporating solvent called Xylene, and it's based in 27% naphtha. It also has solvents in it to keep its elasticity, so, they never full evaporate, by design.
Xylene is a paint thinner. If you apply this to your paint, and leave it on for a few days or maybe a week, it probably will not affect anything. It's a low concentration of it (5-7% by volume). However, leave it on for a month, and outside exposed to heat (heat evaporates solvents into whatever they're touching...), and you will expose your clearcoat to solvents and will thin it, and eventually, destroy it completely.
It's also 26% VM&P naphtha, which is a low grade paint thinner. It usually used in oil paints since it thins them easily. Again, leave this on your car, exposed to heat, for a period of time, and it will thin your paint.
It's also 2-3% MEKP, which is a really, really, nasty 2k activator for fiberglass resins. This stuff is like insta-cancer, I used to use it in carbon fiber but it was so toxic I switched to epoxy resins. Again, not a lot of it in Plasti-dip, but enough to not put on your paint.
It probably won't hurt to run it for a week or so, but long term use will absolutely damage your paint. If you want to run it that way, I'd recommend a few layers of wax first. You could also use a sealant, but the xylene/naphtha might break down the sealant.
It's fine for wheels that have ceramic coatings.
FAQ's:
What's in plastidip?
http://www.plastidip.com/docs/MPDS%2...0(5-25-07).pdf
HAZARDOUS COMPONENTS CHEMICAL and
IDENTITY AND COMMON NAME (S)
% Wt.
Propane 25-27% 74-98-6 1000 ppm 1000 ppm None
VM&P Naphtha 24-26% 64742-89-8 300 ppm 300 ppm None
Heptane 13-15% 426260-76-6 500 ppm 400 ppm None
N-Butane 8-10% 106-97-8 800 ppm 800 ppm None
Xylene 5-7% 1330-20-7 100 ppm 100 ppm None
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 2-4% 78-93-3 200 ppm 200 ppm None
Methyl n-Amyl Ketone 2-4 110-43-0 100 ppm 50 ppm None
Ethylbenzene 1-3 100-41-4 100 ppm 100 ppm
Can you sand it?
yes, with 320 grit after it has dried
Can you thin it?
Thins with xylene or temperature (hot=thinner, cold=thicker)
How do I remove it?
Use a solvent called SEM Solve 38373. Sprays on and makes the plasti-dip run off like dirty water
http://www.semproducts.com/product-c...cts/sem-solve/
To remove without SEM Solve, use an eraser wheel on a low-speed drill:
As long as there is no dust/dirt on the paint, an eraser wheel will NOT harm your paint. It's also the best way to remove emblems, old adhesives, etc. It is literally a giant eraser on a wheel. They cost about $12 and you can get them on Amazon or at auto body repair supply stores.
Can you paint over it?
yes, you can paint over it, then remove the entire layer later.
Professional shops like SSP use a different, but similar looking product, called Rubber Dip, that is safe for your car.
What Home Depot sells, called "Plasti-Dip" contains paint thinners.
I use this stuff a lot, for plastic repair, carbon fiber work, etc. Sometimes I'll coat something with it, then paint the plasti-dip. If I don't like how it looked, I can peel it off
. You can also use it to seal problematic substrates (wax spills, adhesion problem areas, cracks, etc). It's awesome, it really is. But there are some really important reasons why you should NOT use this as a long term coloring over your existing paint. The biggest reason is damage to your clear coat. Plasti-dip was never designed to color paint-it's a spray for tool handles. You can spray it on anything, yes, but it's not safe to do long term.
Plasti dip is liquid plastic, and the way it stays liquid is through a rapidly evaporating solvent called Xylene, and it's based in 27% naphtha. It also has solvents in it to keep its elasticity, so, they never full evaporate, by design.
Xylene is a paint thinner. If you apply this to your paint, and leave it on for a few days or maybe a week, it probably will not affect anything. It's a low concentration of it (5-7% by volume). However, leave it on for a month, and outside exposed to heat (heat evaporates solvents into whatever they're touching...), and you will expose your clearcoat to solvents and will thin it, and eventually, destroy it completely.
It's also 26% VM&P naphtha, which is a low grade paint thinner. It usually used in oil paints since it thins them easily. Again, leave this on your car, exposed to heat, for a period of time, and it will thin your paint.
It's also 2-3% MEKP, which is a really, really, nasty 2k activator for fiberglass resins. This stuff is like insta-cancer, I used to use it in carbon fiber but it was so toxic I switched to epoxy resins. Again, not a lot of it in Plasti-dip, but enough to not put on your paint.
It probably won't hurt to run it for a week or so, but long term use will absolutely damage your paint. If you want to run it that way, I'd recommend a few layers of wax first. You could also use a sealant, but the xylene/naphtha might break down the sealant.
It's fine for wheels that have ceramic coatings.
FAQ's:
What's in plastidip?
http://www.plastidip.com/docs/MPDS%2...0(5-25-07).pdf
HAZARDOUS COMPONENTS CHEMICAL and
IDENTITY AND COMMON NAME (S)
% Wt.
Propane 25-27% 74-98-6 1000 ppm 1000 ppm None
VM&P Naphtha 24-26% 64742-89-8 300 ppm 300 ppm None
Heptane 13-15% 426260-76-6 500 ppm 400 ppm None
N-Butane 8-10% 106-97-8 800 ppm 800 ppm None
Xylene 5-7% 1330-20-7 100 ppm 100 ppm None
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 2-4% 78-93-3 200 ppm 200 ppm None
Methyl n-Amyl Ketone 2-4 110-43-0 100 ppm 50 ppm None
Ethylbenzene 1-3 100-41-4 100 ppm 100 ppm
Can you sand it?
yes, with 320 grit after it has dried
Can you thin it?
Thins with xylene or temperature (hot=thinner, cold=thicker)
How do I remove it?
Use a solvent called SEM Solve 38373. Sprays on and makes the plasti-dip run off like dirty water
http://www.semproducts.com/product-c...cts/sem-solve/
To remove without SEM Solve, use an eraser wheel on a low-speed drill:
As long as there is no dust/dirt on the paint, an eraser wheel will NOT harm your paint. It's also the best way to remove emblems, old adhesives, etc. It is literally a giant eraser on a wheel. They cost about $12 and you can get them on Amazon or at auto body repair supply stores.
Can you paint over it?
yes, you can paint over it, then remove the entire layer later.
Last edited by ikt@evoxpod.com; Jul 11, 2013 at 03:59 PM.
Jul 8, 2013, 08:41 PM
#2
oh, I should add that if you want to make your entire car matte finish, that's very doable and I've done it on carbon fiber.
you knock down all your OEM clear coat, then shoot over that with a matte clear. 3M and 5 star makes some. You can literally do your entire car with it. That's how BMW does that matte silver color. It's clear coat, it's just not shiny clear coat
you knock down all your OEM clear coat, then shoot over that with a matte clear. 3M and 5 star makes some. You can literally do your entire car with it. That's how BMW does that matte silver color. It's clear coat, it's just not shiny clear coat
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Jul 9, 2013, 04:10 PM
#8
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kind of makes me glad i didn't dip my car. i really wanted to do flat red or blue. i guess being lazy paid off this time
i also remember seeing somebody's paint coming off during the removal of plasti dip. it was some random forum i came across google. but the guy didn't peel it off. he was using one of those high pressure hoses.
Jul 9, 2013, 04:47 PM
#9
Good stuff. One nit pick:
MEK is not MEKP. MEK is a common industrial solvent/cleaner and only a mild irritant (assuming you're not swimming in it, obviously). MEKP (methyl ethyl ketone phosphate) is nasty stuff, but isn't used in Plastidip.
It's also 2-3% MEKP, which is a really, really, nasty 2k activator for fiberglass resins. This stuff is like insta-cancer, I used to use it in carbon fiber but it was so toxic I switched to epoxy resins. Again, not a lot of it in Plasti-dip, but enough to not put on your paint.
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 2-4% 78-93-3 200 ppm 200 ppm None
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 2-4% 78-93-3 200 ppm 200 ppm None
Jul 9, 2013, 05:28 PM
#11
HAZARDOUS COMPONENTS CHEMICAL
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 2-4 78-93-3 200 ppm 200 ppm None
Methyl n-Amyl Ketone 2-4 110-43-0 100 ppm 50 ppm None
Ethylbenzene 1-3 100-41-4 100 ppm 100 ppm None
Last edited by ikt@evoxpod.com; Jul 11, 2013 at 09:19 AM.
Jul 11, 2013, 07:46 AM
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OP, I say this with all due respect, because you obviously put time and effort into your post - but it in sincerely misguided.
Plasti Dip has been tested on clear coated body panels long term and proven do to zero damage. Before I started DipYourCar, I worked for almost 2 years with Plasti Dip rigorously testing the product on car parts. No one, including myself, would have launched a company with the mere hope that the product wouldn't do damage. Clear coated body panels that are in good condition experience zero negative effect after long term Plasti Dip exposure.
The two longest tests we have performed on whole dipped cars have both exceeded over 2.5 years. All tests has proven that the product peels off, protecting the clear coat and leaving it perfectly in tact underneath. In the 4 years I have been working with this product, I have never once seen Plasti Dip damage clear coat that was in normal, good condition before application.
Yes, in a world where thousands of people are applying Plasti Dip to their whole cars, there will always be an exception to the rule. It would be foolish of me to say that it's impossible for someone out there to run into a fluke situation. However you say you keep seeing people damage their clear coat after long term PD usage. I find this to be a generalization and quite frankly an unfair statement. I personally have been PDing my own cars, my customers cars, and been in direct contact with thousands of people who have dipped their own cars. One incident, in which a gentleman repainted and re-cleared his own car in his garage before dipping it is the only circumstance in which I've seen PD damage a car's clear coat.
Again, I am not here to dismiss your opinion or be disrespectful. However to post a bunch of items from a MSDS form and use your prior knowledge to exclaim that this product WILL damage your clear coat after extended exposure is not accurate. I am not questioning your experience with these thinners or products, however I am strongly suggesting that you take another look at your statements.
I have probably used PD on cars more than any single human on the planet. I currently drive a 2012 Audi R8, that has been fully dipped for over 3 months. I don't plan on peeling it any time soon, nor is a single fiber in my body worried about the day I peel it off. I have done nothing but eat, sleep and breathe this product for over 4 years - and I urge you to reconsider your opinion and take a look at not what you assume about the ingredients of the product - but the real world applications and the facts.
Fonzie