So I finally had room in the shed to set up my painting/tare down station the other day so I'm starting the process of painting Saya. I've researched it A LOT and decided to go with Plasti-Dip which if done right will turn out pretty damn good from what I've read, watched and seen. Even though it isn't needed with Plasti-Dip I've decided to strip and sand her down to bare metal and lay some primer down before dipping. Come to find out half the tank has been bondoed, and there is NOT A SINGLE dent in the tank.... Primer>Bondo>Primer>bondo>Primer>bondo>Primer is the layers on half the tank ... I've had a fun time trying to strip and sand this all down to metal.... Been at it for a total of 10 hours or so using 220 grit paper and im still not done... and just now I decided to go out and buy and electric sander since my arm is killing me and hopefully that will speed this along. Will be posting pics of my progress as i go.

So did a bit more sanding, down to the point where the remaining bondo/primer is even with the metal, no change in level when you run your hand over it, but i did find that there is in fact one small dent, good thing i have more bondo!!!!

If you are going to all of that trouble to prep everything why in the world would you cheap out and plastidip it? If you want a matte finish, get some automotive grade matte paint and do it right. How does platisdip stand up to fuel splashing on it? And how hard is it to clean off bug guts from a plastidip finish?

In my opinion, if you wanted to plastidip to see if you liked the look, you should just spray it over what you have. Then you can peel it off if you don't like it and not have bare metal left.

But regardless, definitely show us some pics.

Plasti-Dip has always been interesting but I have seen a few jobs where dirt and road grime get embedded into the "plasti" and is impossible to clean. Maybe it had been applied wrong. I wish you more success and I am looking forward to your pictures and overall review after completion. Let us know how it works out as I stated above it is interesting. Good luck.

I'm going with plasti-dip becuase i've done alot of research on it and if done properly will look great and hold up, and if i want, i can go back and change it whenever i want for less than a night of partying. I've already done the side covers and i liked the way they turned out, and im going through all the trouble of prepping it because the current paint job is a pretty ****ty one and the imperfections in the current paint job will show if i just slap on some dip. I wanted a cheap yet effective and good looking paint job and from all my research on the matter, plasti-dip will do wonders if done properly, and thats the key word, properly. Also going to be laying down a few primer coats(properly priming it, not just slapping on a few layers and calling it good) for better bond with the dip and if i ever wanted i can peel of the dip and put an actual paint job on it without the need of going through all the prep again, i'm thinking of what i want right now, and what i may want in the future. hahaha

and about the cleaning, once it is cured you can take up to an 1800PSI power washer to do and blast the hell out of it and make it look like you just got finished dipping it. Cleaning isn't that much of an issue once it has about a week or two to set in and cure, as for the gas splashing, i am guessing it will act like any other paint job that doesn't have a fuel protection coat/UV treatment, but im always EXTREMELY careful when filling her up and am quick to clean any fuel that gets on the tank which is almost never lol.

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Fuel will just straight melt the plastidip. So will wd40. Just buy flat black. Engine paint.

I actually like plasti dip. If you really want you can always clear coat over it. It will still be removable just really really time consuming. I'm actually going to dip my Trans am when I save up enough for a few gallons and a sprayer for it. There are so many additional products that can be used with plasti dip you can get a super wide variety of finishes. There are top coats available to add protection and change the gloss level too.

Friend of mine used it on his titan chopper w/ them hydro dip decals on top and then a couple coats of clear. Looked real good for a couple of months and then started to peel around tank inlet. says he never spilled a drop. Good luck and keep us updated

Don't forget fumes and vapors can also affect the finish

if you mean a gloss clear, then use the glossifyer developed specifically for plastidip, it wont make the dip chip off when you want to remove it, it will peel right off in a nice sheet just like normal.

Nope I was referring to using a fuel resistant clear coat over the dip. I plan on using pearlizer on mine. Going with a pearl gunmetal gray and flat black. I probably won't put any topcoat over mine, at least not right away.