plasti dip vs vinyl/pinstriping for bodywork

runmikeyrun

Been Around the Block
Hi guys.

I'm planning on blasting my tank and clear powder coating the raw steel for durability. I'm not sure on color schemes yet, I think I want to do some green pinstriping and see how I like it. I'm wondering if I do a good job masking how plasti dip would hold up vs getting some vinyl to pinstripe it. I've never used plasti dip but I am most interested in the fact that I can peel it off if I don't like the look. I'm not sure of the finish quality though, I'm thinking a vinyl stripe will have a smoother cleaner appearance, but will be more of a hassle to remove later. I'd like to do the same treatment to a painted plastic tail section too.

Thanks,
Mike
 
If your only concern is ease of removal, the PlastiDip would work. But it isn't glossy and it's a cheap method of using a product intended for other purposes. Vinyl pin striping removes easy enough if you put a hair dryer to it to warm it up.
 
If the knees touch the tank anywhere the stripe is, it will rub the plasti-dip off in no time.
 
I think you will have a hard time masking stripes with plasti-dip, but like 01marc says, vinyl stripes will come off easily with a little heat - and also with you knees if you are rough on them and not careful applying them!
 
There are many different types of vinyl. Most are rated by their tackiness in a scale of years. Exhibition vinyl is rated for 2 - 3 years and is very easy to remove. It's meant for temporary graphics. No heat is required to remove it. 9 year vinyl is typically the tackiness of the vinyls. Oracal 951 is a 9 year vinyl. Then there are laminating films that have durability in excess of 10 years and usually up to 12. Most of your digitally printed car graphics are done on a laminating film. However, there are vehicle wraps that Orafol calls Structure Cast or Wrapping cast that only have a durability of 6 years. If you want something that is meant as a mask or temporary graphic, use exhibition vinyl or a low durability vinyl like a 400 (4yrs) to 600 (6yrs) series Oracal vinyl. Any vinyl lettering or pinstriping can be coated with clear to give it more permanence and durability.
 
sounds like an awesome opportunity to learn bad ass oldskool pinstriping. Get a brush and paint, and start practicing .. in no time you will be pinstriping everything :D
 
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