PlastiDip or Vinyl

[JoJoSilverado]

I understand both are quick/simple solutions for changing the appearance of your vehicle (whether it be total paint/body makeover or just emblems/logos), but is one better than the other? I have my emblems plastidipped currently, but wonder if there are any advantages to the vinyl aside from being quicker.

 

Does the vinyl start to tear overtime, or does it fade quicker than plastidip?

 

Would you guys say one process is better than the other to achieve the same results? Cost and time being put aside, just a better result and longer lasting solution.

[SilveradoSaver]

So I have both on my truck. My bowties (front & back) are Plastidipped, where as my hood and tailgate are vinyl wrapped with rally stripes (not from GM). In my opinion, they are both great. I have seen some really nice looking Bowties on this forum from people who wrapped it. For me, I don't have the patience to make sure it is 100% perfect haha. My Plastidipping turned out good and has fooled a few people thinking it was the factory black Bowtie from GM. It has held up extremely well. The wrap I have only had one my truck for a few weeks and it is good as well. I don't think I would have done my stripes in Plastidip but I know some people have.

[cbrsilv15]

I had black vinyl on my bowties at first. It never sat 100% flat over the texture and you could barely see the gold on the border. It was gloss black, so it would show every smear. I took the vinyl off and plastidipped them. I'm much happier with the plasti dip over the vinyl.

 

My steering wheel bowtie is currently vinyl and I will be masking it off and plastidipping it this spring.

[JoJoSilverado]

Is the vinyl a lot easier to remove than the plastidip? Like, is it similar to peeling a sticker off? My plastidip has lasted well over the last year and a half, I'm just trying to make a decision for which route I want to go next time as I'm starting to see a lot of people go the vinyl route lately.

[cbrsilv15]

Yup, just a sticker to peel off.

[Abearclaw]

It depends on the application dude

 

 

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[JoJoSilverado]

It depends on the application dude

 

 

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Are you referencing how the product is applied, or what it is applied to? Genuine question, not being a smartass.

[Abearclaw]

 

Are you referencing how the product is applied, or what it is applied to? Genuine question, not being a smartass.

Haha no worries, I was referring to what the surface characteristics are of the substrate. Textured stuff doesn't do well with vinyl. So in cases where the surface isn't smooth like paint, chrome or glass plasti dip is going to be preferred. But I would always go with vinyl wherever I could. Vinyl is usually easier and cleaner to remove. Of course this is in the long run. Short term plasti dip will usually peel off quite well but trust me if left on for a long time it will more than likely be a pain. You also have to keep in mind plasti dip is all in how many layers you apply and how thick etc etc. so you'll see experts on YouTube peeling it easy as hell but believe me experiences will vary. So it depends on the application because there are instances where traditional paint or plastidip would be better.

 

 

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[DirtyMarcus]

Plasti dip can be fine long term is maintained properly. It has to be washed and treated with a "dip" spray which is similar to a water based tire shine. My truck was dipped and my ls1 swapped mustang is dipped. I had vinyl on my old tundra and peeling it was a lot more unnerving because of how tacky the vinyl is. Dip peels off much smoother and easier but is very durable.

 

My crew cab standard bed truck was dipped with 6 gallons of matte clear. The bumpers were dipped with a gallon of white and the rims took one can of black each. I didn't dip the roof of the truck. All the zombie theme was done with dip as well. My mustang took 2 gallons of black base coat and two gallons of the midnight pearl color.

 

I have since peeled my truck and redipped the grille, bumpers, and rims. As a diy'er, dip is much cheaper and base plasti dip colors have a low learning curve to apply. Pearls take a little practice depending on what pearl you go with.

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20150730_171534_zpscyfjkvta.jpg.html?sort=3&o=73

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20151203_103653_zpsiql9gzpf.jpg.html?sort=3&o=65

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20151203_113630_zpssts9o5eo.jpg.html?sort=3&o=64

 

What properly applied dip looks like when it's peeled.

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20151130_185140_zpsusf8kxou.jpg.html?sort=3&o=66

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20151203_132724_zpscwckdtah.jpg.html?sort=3&o=61

 

The mustang was actually sprayed with dip from a company called raail. I like that brand a little better as it seems to smooth better and apply easier.

 

http://share.photobucket.com/shareprofile/indexshare.php?id=NTYzNjk=

 

http://share.photobucket.com/shareprofile/indexshare.php?id=NTYzNzA=

 

My grill, bumpers, and rims redipped.

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20160331_115226-1_zpsfg10b4yu.jpg.html?sort=3&o=10

 

http://s35.photobucket.com/user/EBKorolla/media/20160331_115341_zpsjgoogg3a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6

 

Overall dip is much cheaper if you diy it. Having experience with both I prefer dip. Time wise it varies as to which is quicker. To dip my rims or bumpers it was much quicker than vinyl. For my whole truck and car, it was a two day processo for each of them and requires tearing down the trim, mirror, etc, and masking things off.

 

Durability, vinyl has an edge over diy marketed platinum dips. Dip is resistant to tearing, flaking, and peeling if done correctly but the advantage is comical resistance. Dip will get ruined if gas gets on it. Higher end dips are resistant but you need a pro quality spray gUn and booth to apply them properly and they are expensive. I have a couple spots on my front bumper that got hit by rocks that split the dip a little but I'm confident vinyl would have suffered the same fate. All in all it comes down to preference I think. I enjoy spraying my vehicles plus it's cheap. If you waneed some elaborate design it requires skill with dip. Vincludes is just printed on.

[Skeeter McSkeet]

I like vinyl better, but it's a bigger learning curve to apply. I'm not too great at it as compared to a rattle can of dip. I tried to wrap my grille surround and failed miserably. Vinyl will "polish" up nice whereas dip won't in my experience. I believe dipyourcar has come out with some new products to help dip look better after cleaning and what not. I've only ever used the dip and the glossifier and that's all I can speak on. I've dipped parts on previous vehicles and had problems with bugs and junk getting embedded into it and nearly impossible to remove. A neighborhood kid mowed my grass one day and blew the clippings straight onto the wheels I had dipped. I had pieces of clippings stuck in there until I sold the truck. Vinyl I haven't had that problem, but I have had some chip.

 

I've really been wanting to try out Autodip, it's a vinyl spray, you should get it and report back!!

[Abearclaw]

Yeah there are some crazy product lines with dip that really can be treated very much like paint. But at that point it's not cheap and it's not for the diy'er. Everyone has a preference. I think both are great, but it just depends on what you plan on doing and what best suits your time budget and skill level

 

 

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[Skeeter McSkeet]

Yeah there are some crazy product lines with dip that really can be treated very much like paint. But at that point it's not cheap and it's not for the diy'er. Everyone has a preference. I think both are great, but it just depends on what you plan on doing and what best suits your time budget and skill level

 

 

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That's a fact! I bought a roll of vinyl about 4'x20', used enough to do an emblem and both mirror caps, wasted over half on the grille surround, got pissed and threw the rest to the back of the garage lol. A few cans would have saved a bunch of money!

 

 

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[SilveradoSaver]

That's a fact! I bought a roll of vinyl about 4'x20', used enough to do an emblem and both mirror caps, wasted over half on the grille surround, got pissed and threw the rest to the back of the garage lol. A few cans would have saved a bunch of money!

 

 

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I would have done the same thing, lol. But some people would have done that with Plastidip, so to each their own. It's whatever you feel most comfortable with. I'd rather do the prep work and take my time with dip than to try to wrap something and bubble/screw it up and then go off the deep end

[Skeeter McSkeet]

 

 

I would have done the same thing, lol. But some people would have done that with Plastidip, so to each their own. It's whatever you feel most comfortable with. I'd rather do the prep work and take my time with dip than to try to wrap something and bubble/screw it up and then go off the deep end

lol I have always used PD in the past, but never on a vehicle that is black. I knew it wouldn't match the black like I would want and decided to give the vinyl a try. Well, It's a "wrap" on that idea lol!

 

 

 

 

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[rawalters117]

On my last truck, I had emblems and interior pieces wrapped in 3m white carbon fiber vinyl. It looked sweet and was super durable. It also cleaned easier than plastidip, which is what was on my emblems first. With my new whip, I used the RustOluem peel coat in graphite metallic, which matches pretty damn close to GM's iridium metallic. This stuff is almost exactly like plastidip except it goes on thinner and looks more like a glossy paint rather than a matte finish, which I prefer.