Plastidip tank durability

[beatle]

Being that it's cheap and easy to do, I decided to plastidip a few parts on the bike. I did the rear grab handles, the rear pods, and the tank. There was a bit of a learning curve, so I ended up doing the tank twice as I sprayed too far from the tank on the initial attempt and there was significant texture.

I did 5 coats (1 can) on the tank and it looked great. I then followed up with two coats of Dip Coat from dipyourcar.com to help protect it. The Dip Coat definitely helped smooth out the texture and make it a bit less "grippy." That said, it only took a few hundred miles of riding before my legs had worn through the dip on the side. Even the initial rides started to show scuffs that did not come out with spray detailer. I'm guessing this is just the nature of the beast, but I thought there were more people running around with plastidipped bikes and not having these issues. I could go thicker on the dip, but even before it was worn through, the scuffs were pretty unsightly.

I've wanted to put some Tech Spec snake skin tank pads on the bike anyway - maybe I could dip over them and peel off? Not sure if they would come up along with the dip, or if it would peel just like it does on a tire?

 

[Midas]

any luck with the plastic dip? pics?

 

[beatle]

I peeled it off and never tried it on the tank again. I don't think it's suitable for the tank as there's too much friction and gasoline spills are too frequent, even if you're being careful.

 

[fastt]

I have a friend that has had his truck tires plastic dipped for years. His trick was to clear coat it.