Has anyone plasti dipped their forks?(+wheels)

[WatchThisPlay]

Stumbled across the FZ6R forum through a Google search and found some post of guys plasti dipping the bottom forks black. IMO it looks pretty good. Might be giving this a try in the near future. Has anyone done this here? Bad idea? I'm a college student and can't justify spending the money to power coat, this is just a fun inexpensive project for my motorcycle. Plus...two bros would come before powder coat LOL :thumbup:

Here is a rough sketch of the look I'm after(color matching is off).

Finished product to give you a better idea. Color is Metallic Anthracite Grey

What do y'all think?

 

[FIZZER6]

I just plasti-dipped my forks on my 2006 which also came silver powdercoat from the factory. I think it looks MUCH better, especially since my frame and engine are all black. I cleaned the forks well with rubbing alcohol before coating and used 7 coats of rattle can dip matte black.

You will have to remove the forks from the bike to do this right or at very least remove the wheel, brakes and fender so you can rotate each fork 360 degrees to coat the entire thing.

 

[WatchThisPlay]

I just plasti-dipped my forks on my 2006 which also came silver powdercoat from the factory. I think it looks MUCH better, especially since my frame and engine are all black. I cleaned the forks well with rubbing alcohol before coating and used 7 coats of rattle can dip matte black.

You will have to remove the forks from the bike to do this right or at very least remove the wheel, brakes and fender so you can rotate each fork 360 degrees to coat the entire thing.

Looks great FIZZER6.:rockon: I agree it looks much better black, time to update your AVI lol. Did you use masking tape to cover the parts you didn't want painting? I can't wait to do this now. Thanks for posting that picture.

 

[lawlberg]

I've dipped most of my bike, though my forks were rattle can spray paint. Went black as well for the same reasons. Forks will get some rock chip damage, white dip gets dirty quick, as a side note. It's easy, just take your time and prep it well.

 

[crazy dave]

I dipped my rear rim in white but going to powder coat it this season because it's easier to clean

 

[WatchThisPlay]

I've dipped most of my bike, though my forks were rattle can spray paint. Went black as well for the same reasons. Forks will get some rock chip damage, white dip gets dirty quick, as a side note. It's easy, just take your time and prep it well.

Thanks for the advice. Ordered 4 cans of paint and 1 can of gloss. Plasti dip is a little addicting LOL. I started off blacking out the inside of my "windscreen" and then saw that the side covers on the radiator would look nice black and now I'm hitting those.

 

[WatchThisPlay]

I dipped my rear rim in white but going to powder coat it this season because it's easier to clean

Nice. Friend of mine dipped his wheels in a neon yellow color and can't keep the wheels clean to save his life. Hopefully this darker color will help hide the dirt.

 

[PhotoAl]

My CBR has white wheels which were a pain to keep clean. Chain lube was very difficult to get off until I discovered using car wax. The wax cleans the grease spots off and keeps the wheels nice and glossy. Have been much more careful about what chain lube and how much, currently using Motul with great results.

 

[crazy dave]

Nice. Friend of mine dipped his wheels in a neon yellow color and can't keep the wheels clean to save his life. Hopefully this darker color will help hide the dirt.

This is after 1 season and after being cleaned.

 

[FIZZER6]

That is the main drawback, dip is hard to clean. You can't just scrub it to get the bugs off or you risk taking off the dip. For bug removal on forks I just soak them with water and soap, let them sit and then lightly rub with a sponge to remove. The clear coat will help them be easier to clean.

Here's a better pic of my forks:

I removed my forks completely to dip them. It's a good time to think about at least replacing the dust seal ont he forks if not the fork oil. Changing my fork oil to 10wt made a huge handling improvement for me.