HELP! Smoothing out a grainy texture from Plasti-dip?

[Spartan 420]

So I'm working on a new project using a foam-dip method. (The Pipboy 3000 from Fallout)

I've had no issues up until now, I did a coat of Plasti-dip and it left an unwanted grainy texture. Being a rubber material I didn't really want to try sanding it, so I've done a few layers of acrylic paint over the top which I was hoping to sand afterwards to give a smoother texture but it is not sanding the way I had hoped, despite fully drying it still leaves a horrible texture after sanding, even with 1200grit wet sanding.

So I need to add a few coats of ANYTHING that I can sand and smooth down. I'm not concerned about adding too many layers or adding size & weight. The general shape is already ideal, but the texture is just awful. I've been brushing acrylic coats but the when dried it isn't sanding any better.

What about acrylic Spray-paint? I have a full can sitting here, If I had enough layers, can it form a thick enough layer that I can actually sand it back down to smooth it? If not, what about spray on Lacquer?

Looking for any suggestions here, I'll take any help I can get.

Thanks!
-S420

 

[Gray Silhouette]

Trying to sand rubber is going to wield bad results, friend.
That being said, enough layers of acrylic paint or bondo will fix it.
I wouldn't recommend paint, though. Lots more layers than bondo.

Good luck!

 

[RobTC]

The only realistically practical way to smooth foam is an epoxy hard-coat. Either Smooth-On Epsilon (or ApoxaCoat? Haven't looked into the differences, but Epsilon is designed for foam coating), or a standard 600cps zero-VOC marine/tabletop epoxy formulation.

 

[Spartan 420]

The only realistically practical way to smooth foam is an epoxy hard-coat. Either Smooth-On Epsilon (or ApoxaCoat? Haven't looked into the differences, but Epsilon is designed for foam coating), or a standard 600cps zero-VOC marine/tabletop epoxy formulation.

The thing is I'm way past the foam stage.

Right now the layers look like this:

Acrylic weathering paint ----------
Acrylic base spray paint ----------
Plasti dip Layer ----------
Filler layer for smoothing ----------
Paper mache layer for stability ----------
EVA Foam. ----------

So the foam is all the way under all of those layers, and should not affect my current texture. It was smooth as can be before I plasti dipped, but since then the textures have been rough and grainy, no matter what I put on top.

I just picked up a spray can of clear lacquer, I'm gonna attempt to sand it now, and if not, coat it in lacquer, and then try. If no luck then I'll have to peel the entire dip layer off and start again.

 

[mwmanus]

Well first of all, how think did you spray on your layers of plasti-dip, because if you spray it on too lightly, it will leave a grainy texture, make sure you spray a think enough coat to where it pretty much smoothes over as you're spraying it, its not like spray paint where you need to spray thin layers, with plasti-dip, you must spray think coats

Also, make sure that the piece that you are spraying is the only piece in your spray area, because the over spray from the can will leave a VERY grainy texture, the area i spray on looks like its growing fuzz because of all the over spray that falls down, plus I have to sweep the floor underneath where I spray because alot of small plasti-dip particles fall to the floor and leave sort of a "plasti-dust" if you will, make sure to have a separate spray area from your drying area that way no over spray gets on your already sprayed pieces

Depending on how bad the graininess of it is, the best thing I would think to do that wouldn't add a whole lot of unnecessary work would be to just spray a couple thick coats of plasti-dip on top of what what you have until it is smooth enough for you


If neither of these are the issue then I have no clue what's wrong, I've used plasti-dip quite a bit and these two situations are the only ones I could think of that would leave a grainy texture

 

[Spartan 420]

Well first of all, how think did you spray on your layers of plasti-dip, because if you spray it on too lightly, it will leave a grainy texture, make sure you spray a think enough coat to where it pretty much smoothes over as you're spraying it, its not like spray paint where you need to spray thin layers, with plasti-dip, you must spray think coats

Also, make sure that the piece that you are spraying is the only piece in your spray area, because the over spray from the can will leave a VERY grainy texture, the area i spray on looks like its growing fuzz because of all the over spray that falls down, plus I have to sweep the floor underneath where I spray because alot of small plasti-dip particles fall to the floor and leave sort of a "plasti-dust" if you will, make sure to have a separate spray area from your drying area that way no over spray gets on your already sprayed pieces

Depending on how bad the graininess of it is, the best thing I would think to do that wouldn't add a whole lot of unnecessary work would be to just spray a couple thick coats of plasti-dip on top of what what you have until it is smooth enough for you


If neither of these are the issue then I have no clue what's wrong, I've used plasti-dip quite a bit and these two situations are the only ones I could think of that would leave a grainy texture

Wait so it needs to be THICK? I've been treating it like any regular spray paint doing very light layers from a distance. This probably explains it. I'm also spraying in a sealed tent so the paint in the air is probably leaving a texture too, I need better circulation.

Anyway I went over it with lacquer, it seems to have gotten rid of the texture, but now it's crazy glossy. Hoping I can wetsand the gloss away.

Thanks for the advice, will remember it next time I use plasti dip.

 

[mwmanus]

Wait so it needs to be THICK? I've been treating it like any regular spray paint doing very light layers from a distance. This probably explains it. I'm also spraying in a sealed tent so the paint in the air is probably leaving a texture too, I need better circulation.

Anyway I went over it with lacquer, it seems to have gotten rid of the texture, but now it's crazy glossy. Hoping I can wetsand the gloss away.

Thanks for the advice, will remember it next time I use plasti dip.

Yes then that is definitely your problem. It is VERY different than regular spray paint, its sort of self leveling, spray it on THICK, you'll want to spray a layer just thick enough so that most of the dimples in the surface of the plasti-dip almost completely disappear, if you're used to spraying regular spray paint then you will probably freak out a little and think "oh no, I sprayed too much" but you haven't, so spray it on until you get a nice even glossy coat with very few dimples in the surface. If you start to see runs or drips then that's when you need to stop spraying, because at that point you have sprayed a bit too much, but theres no need to worry, if you see a drip starting to form, take an old rag or paper towel or something and just barely touch the tip of the drip or run so some of it absorbs into the rag or whatever you use, and do that until the drip goes away. Also if you spray so much that it looks like you covered any details up, don't worry, when plasti-dip dries it sort of shrinks up, the dry coat will be much thinner than the wet coat.

let that dry for a little bit, I usually let mine dry over night, but you could probably check it in an hour or two and as long as its sort of dry to the touch you can spray another coat. I usually end up doing about 3 thick coats, the first one to get most of the piece covered, the second coat I make sure I spray any tough spots I missed and then spray the whole thing and then the third coat I just go back over it again like the first coat, though I have decided a piece needs an extra coat or two

And yes your spray environment may be causing some of the issue as well, definitely spray in a very well ventilated area, or at least somewhere thats quite roomy so the particles can dissipate and don't collect on your piece

Also, I do find that spraying a little closer than you would with spray paint works a little better for me, maybe about 4-6 inches away, not too close though

I think I may have covered everything, but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

 

[Spartan 420]

Yes then that is definitely your problem. It is VERY different than regular spray paint, its sort of self leveling, spray it on THICK, you'll want to spray a layer just thick enough so that most of the dimples in the surface of the plasti-dip almost completely disappear, if you're used to spraying regular spray paint then you will probably freak out a little and think "oh no, I sprayed too much" but you haven't, so spray it on until you get a nice even glossy coat with very few dimples in the surface. If you start to see runs or drips then that's when you need to stop spraying, because at that point you have sprayed a bit too much, but theres no need to worry, if you see a drip starting to form, take an old rag or paper towel or something and just barely touch the tip of the drip or run so some of it absorbs into the rag or whatever you use, and do that until the drip goes away. Also if you spray so much that it looks like you covered any details up, don't worry, when plasti-dip dries it sort of shrinks up, the dry coat will be much thinner than the wet coat.

let that dry for a little bit, I usually let mine dry over night, but you could probably check it in an hour or two and as long as its sort of dry to the touch you can spray another coat. I usually end up doing about 3 thick coats, the first one to get most of the piece covered, the second coat I make sure I spray any tough spots I missed and then spray the whole thing and then the third coat I just go back over it again like the first coat, though I have decided a piece needs an extra coat or two

And yes your spray environment may be causing some of the issue as well, definitely spray in a very well ventilated area, or at least somewhere thats quite roomy so the particles can dissipate and don't collect on your piece

Also, I do find that spraying a little closer than you would with spray paint works a little better for me, maybe about 4-6 inches away, not too close though

I think I may have covered everything, but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

Thanks again mate, I was about to put plasti-dip on my "DO NOT BUY" list.

There are small black details on my piece so I masked it up and gave it another go, spraying closer this time, and it's come out much better, the paint is already done on the rest of the piece though so I've glossed it and plan to wet-sand it, I'll just be dipping the parts that will remain black, wish I knew this before I started. Well now I know for future projects. Thanks again!

On an unrelated note, it's almost finished and will be posted within the next few days. Not bad for a first project if I may say so.

 

[mwmanus]

Thanks again mate, I was about to put plasti-dip on my "DO NOT BUY" list.

There are small black details on my piece so I masked it up and gave it another go, spraying closer this time, and it's come out much better, the paint is already done on the rest of the piece though so I've glossed it and plan to wet-sand it, I'll just be dipping the parts that will remain black, wish I knew this before I started. Well now I know for future projects. Thanks again!

On an unrelated note, it's almost finished and will be posted within the next few days. Not bad for a first project if I may say so.

You're very welcome, I'm glad I could help!