[fgthwar]

instead of reviving age old threads on what kind of trim products people have used in the past to (temporarily) bring the plastic grills and stuff back from grey to black....


i'm thinking of picking up a can of plasti-dip flat black. tonight. and painting tonight. any reason i should be wary?

 

[SwingLo]

Do it right. SEM rattle can 'color coat'. Satin black or
Landau black. Stuff is awesome and cheap

 

[fgthwar]

that stuff looks nice. i like the fact that the plasti-dip can be peeled off later, if it sucks really hard for some reason.

what really struck me was how no one had though to do it that way before. maybe an issue with it reacting with the paint, or something? either way, in my head it looks awesome. i plan to post pics unless someone gives me a really good reason not to go this route.

 

[Silver_Surfer]

My MINI friends use "back to black" and it seems to work pretty well. It's not a one and done thing though, need to re-apply every few car washes.

 

[fgthwar]

that's exactly why i'm looking to go another route. i've used a few different trim restoration products, and they are all temporary, and some leave funky semi-permanent streaks.

 

[93viperrt10]

When painting plastic trim parts its not the same as clear coated body panels. My fear with Plasticdip is the porosity of the plastic. Not sure if it will seperate from base material like it does from clear coated base.

The SEM products are amazing and have good supporting material (cleaners , primers etc) especially for plastic. I stripped and painted my Viper dashboard and it turned out great. I suggest you go to Auto Body Supply Store (not Pepboys) and get their advise on how to best paint them. I will bet they will refer you to the SEM products as that is what the pros use

let us know how you make out.

 

[ithurtus]

I'm not sure how long it would take to recoup the time, but it would probably be on the scale of years.

Ex Mothers takes a rag and 5-10 mins every few washes. It's not like waxing, you just slop some over anything black and you're done. If you miss the trim no biggy

Painting is all about the prep work. So if you want to do it well you're going to have to pull the parts out rather than mask. That's going to set you back a few hours. Honestly masking might be more of a PITA than removing the parts! Then it's just a question of how long until you need to redo it...

 

[Old Fella]

I'm interested in painting them too as once it's done it's done for a LONG time. Please let us know how you got on with the painting. THANKS!!

 

[GR82DRV]

I'm waiting for PlastiDip to come out with Carbon Fiber paint...

 

[Blue Devil]

I'm waiting for PlastiDip to come out with Carbon Fiber paint...

LOL, heck yeah.

 

[RayW]

Carbon fiber plastidip,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N5N-AYaENI&list=PL8Cnc6kMnQhPBWklMc4zeAV3q0MP7stBc

 

[fgthwar]

i painted all the plastic front to back. some was removed, some was taped off. looks great! the picture is a bit decieving. the before vents are/were more grey in real life, while the finished product is a bit more black. i just hope it stands up. seeing as the plasti dip hasn't come off of my wheels for months, i am optimistic. this is the only decent before/after pic i managed to get. i hope everyone likes my humorous BOB sign ("Safety 1st")

as promised:

 

[Coyne]

I just bought plasti dip and am covering my wheels, and possibly the front splitter I picked up for $50. I'll let you know how it goes if I do it.

 

[fgthwar]

looking good still!! i was worried the heat from the engine would melt the paint on the vanes or that crap from the road would destroy the front end. but! all looks good so far. so looks like this may actually be.....THE PLASTIC SOLUTION. :sad:

 

[sturgeongeneral]

Has anyone tried having them powder coated? Or will it not stick to plastic?

 

[TachItUp]

Has anyone tried having them powder coated? Or will it not stick to plastic?

You have to bake the powder at high temp onto the surface you're coating (400F), so I doubt there would be much plastic left to reinstall

 

[LiveToDrive]

IMO Plasti-Dip is the ideal finish for the Elise anyways, it matches the semi-matte look of the stock plastic, including the windshield surround. It ties everything together.

 

[Old Fella]

Plasti Dip

I just bought plasti dip and am covering my wheels, and possibly the front splitter I picked up for $50. I'll let you know how it goes if I do it.

I've never seen Plasti Dip here in Australia? Does anyone have a link where I could buy it? THANKS GUYS! ED

 

[LiveToDrive]

There's hundreds of online stores you can order it from, but I buy it from Home Depot.

It looks like this: Performix Brand 11-oz. Plasti Dip Black Rubber Coating Spray-11203-6 at The Home Depot

 

[Old Fella]

There's hundreds of online stores you can order it from, but I buy it from Home Depot.

It looks like this: Performix Brand 11-oz. Plasti Dip Black Rubber Coating Spray-11203-6 at The Home Depot

Wow thanks! Never heard of the stuff here in Australia.... I'll get some. Would it work for the sill pads? (I.e. the pieces your shoes rubs on when you get into an Elise) or would it scratch too much? OLD FELLA