Plasti-Dip - A noble experiment

[Snarf77]

With Jesse's Girl, I wanted to take the appearance a completely different direction than 99% of Jeeps. I was using a CJ-7 Golden Eagle as my inspiration.

565

In other threads I discussed powder coating my wheels brown for a similar look. Then I went with painted Metalcloak overline tube fenders. The last step that I really wanted to achieve was a brown top. NOW, nobody makes a truely brown top for a Wrangler JK. NOBODY!

Well I've had great results with Plasti-dip in the past on my grille and other things like my ATV. So, I hooked up with a local plasti-dip installer/applicator used to doing show cars, trucks, wheels etc. We went back and forth about how it might work on the Jeep's top and decided to go for it.

Removed the black hard top at his house to take it into the garage for spraying. Well, the color ended up too light, but no big deal. I wanted to see how it looked on the jeep. Since it was an experiment, the materials were something like $40...not a huge risk. Here is how the top turned out.

566

[Snarf77]

Well the first color experiment turned out a couple shades too light. Not a challenge to re-do darker later.

567

The real challenge with the Jeep Hard top is the material is made out of. Something in it doesn't really WANT the plasti-dip to adhere. The installer said he'd never experienced anything like it. The top was completely wiped with degreaser like you would before you painted anything. There wasn't really any residue to speak of on the jeep top.

Nevertheless..its actually somehow resistant to the plasti-dip's amazing adherence properties. Rob, my buddy who does vehicles in plasti dip was bewildered. I'm going to have to do some research to figure out why it just won't stick. The Plasti-dip on my grille was there for 2 years before i tried to take it off..and it was a bit of work to get it off! BUT, not on this top.

Its dipped-but neither of us will believe it will last. We'll probably hook up again in a week to take it all right off back to black until we figure out if its possible to prep it right to get the dip on. I still want a brown top in a bad way to separate me from the crowd. BUT...how to get it to adhere! Hard to say. For now:

568

[JeepLab]

Well the first color experiment turned out a couple shades too light. Not a challenge to re-do darker later.

567

The real challenge with the Jeep Hard top is the material is made out of. Something in it doesn't really WANT the plasti-dip to adhere. The installer said he'd never experienced anything like it. The top was completely wiped with degreaser like you would before you painted anything. There wasn't really any residue to speak of on the jeep top.

Nevertheless..its actually somehow resistant to the plasti-dip's amazing adherence properties. Rob, my buddy who does vehicles in plasti dip was bewildered. I'm going to have to do some research to figure out why it just won't stick. The Plasti-dip on my grille was there for 2 years before i tried to take it off..and it was a bit of work to get it off! BUT, not on this top.

Its dipped-but neither of us will believe it will last. We'll probably hook up again in a week to take it all right off back to black until we figure out if its possible to prep it right to get the dip on. I still want a brown top in a bad way to separate me from the crowd. BUT...how to get it to adhere! Hard to say. For now:

568

Did you scuff the surface so it had something to grab on to?

[Rexx19]

Do we know anything about the long term durability of plastidip?

also, is it a pain to clean?

Are you worried about black spots in that roof after a while?

[Snarf77]

Do we know anything about the long term durability of plastidip?

also, is it a pain to clean?

Are you worried about black spots in that roof after a while?

Plastidip is a fairly amazing product. It was one of the first mods I did to my jeep when new. I coated my grill and it looked great after 18 or more months of use and cleaning. I was able to power wash it and clean it with a sponge. Only two rock chips to be found after that time. I'm certain it is more durable than my paint.

Prep requires no scuffing. You apply it directly and it forms a temporary surface that is removable when a decent layer is formed with a few coats. Removal of large flat areas is easy. Concave surfaces need a bit more friction but release once you get an edge going. Its really good stuff. I'll get some pics up asap.

[WhiteRavenRR]

Have you thought about going with a soft top and having an upholstery shop work up a tan top? Tried contacting Bestop about a tan top? I have seen an OD Green top on a 2-door here locally on a green Jeep that is going for a military look. From what I could tell as I drove by, it looked nice but I didn't get a close up view of the overall quality. Not sure but I like the fact you have a set theme that your trying to achieve. Good luck with it.

[JeepLab]

Have you thought about going with a soft top and having an upholstery shop work up a tan top? Tried contacting Bestop about a tan top? I have seen an OD Green top on a 2-door here locally on a green Jeep that is going for a military look. From what I could tell as I drove by, it looked nice but I didn't get a close up view of the overall quality. Not sure but I like the fact you have a set theme that your trying to achieve. Good luck with it.

I like this route also. And then you would have to do the soft leather doors. total golden eagle

[Snarf77]

Have you thought about going with a soft top and having an upholstery shop work up a tan top? Tried contacting Bestop about a tan top? I have seen an OD Green top on a 2-door here locally on a green Jeep that is going for a military look. From what I could tell as I drove by, it looked nice but I didn't get a close up view of the overall quality. Not sure but I like the fact you have a set theme that your trying to achieve. Good luck with it.

The only shop that would make one for me that I have found, wanted nearly $2000 to do the work. Seemed a bit crazy to me. Maybe I should shop around more seriously because this is probably the best route for a real oem-quality top.

I have called Bestop - they don't make brown and do not intend to make brown. Sad because they make them every day for 2006 and older jeeps.

[WhiteRavenRR]

Even if you were able to source the material and supply it to them?

[Snarf77]

Even if you were able to source the material and supply it to them?

Yes. $2000 was the "low estimate" for building a top to fit an existing jeep frame. That meant that they sacrificed an already existing top and copied each piece. They used the OEM or bestop windows in their aftermarket copy.

[Snarf77]

If anyone has/finds/sees a cheap 2 door soft top complete (e.g. Craigslist), do let me know. I play to try to get a soft top on and see if it will accept plasti-dip. Some testing we did showed it worked pretty well on some canvas-type materials under hot/cold/folded/stretched conditions.