Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bob Pustell on June 19, 2014 at 11:10pm

My concern would be weight. Judging by the film thickness I have seen on plasti-dipped items, I would expect it to add quite a bit of weight. Caveat -- I have no personal experience with the stuff, I have only looked a few covered items done by others. Therefore I am speculating and my thoughts are worth about what you paid for them -- not much.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Wibbels on June 20, 2014 at 3:06pm

Supposedly a lot less than paint:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVeMU-o8Lsk    BTW,  I have no interest in this stuff other then I'm trying to decide what to do with my "bare metal" plane.  I also like Jon Croke's design of spray painting the cowl to match to bare metal aluminum.  Simple.

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Tyson Jr on August 10, 2014 at 4:55pm

The ads say "automotive." Has anyone used Plasti Dip or Elastiwrap on airplanes? How does it differ from the stuff (forget the name) that "they" use to put pretty pictures on airplanes?

Wayne

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Permalink Reply by Roger Wibbels on August 11, 2014 at 11:32am

Since my original post I've tested the PlastiDip with a relatively small design on the tail.  The only drawback that I see so far is the removal of any masking.  If you put several coats on (which is recommended) removal of the masking tends to be tedious in that the dried plastidip wants to adhere to the masking tape.  Using a razor blade along the masking tape helps.  Remains to be seen how it holds up.

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Tyson Jr on August 11, 2014 at 12:35pm

Thanks, Roger. I'm thinking like you; maybe I'll try some on the cowling first. I don't know how many square feet/meters the 750 has, but it is probably more than a car. However, if the weight can be extrapolated from the weight given for the car, it still MIGHT be tolerable. I suspect it might be lighter than paint. On the other hand, I wonder how it compares to paint (how well does it stick, will it peel off, weight and cost difference, etc.) I'd be interested to know if it's been used on any other airplanes and how it has worked out. The company doesn't push it for airplanes, but that may be because of the relatively lower potential market and possible liability issues; I just don't know.

There are places that wrap airplanes with ads, pretty pictures, etc. I'd like to know how it compares with those products too.

Wayne

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Permalink Reply by Paul Sanders on August 11, 2014 at 2:43pm

Here's someone who did his entire plane in vinyl wrap (not sure if/how that is different from Elastiwrap)

http://www.zenith.aero/photo/wrap-design-paint-scheme

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Tyson Jr on August 11, 2014 at 4:35pm

Paul, I'm pretty sure that the spray-on stuff is supposed to be for cars; I don't know why not airplanes too.

Wayne

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Tyson Jr on August 11, 2014 at 4:14pm

Thanks, Diane. I'm thinking of leaving most of mind bare metal, but I do have to do something the the fiberglass cowl. It is already the heaviest 750, largely because of the IO-240 engine, and I don't need any cosmetics on an already beautiful machine. Form follows function and all that . . . If the plane needs paint--or rubber coating or Boeshield, then I will do it; otherwise I'll leave it alone.

Wayne

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Tyson Jr on August 11, 2014 at 4:50pm

Have a look at this discussion. http://www.zenith.aero/photo/wrap-design-paint-scheme

WT

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