Thoughts on my SC nose mask Plasti-Dip design?
10-15-15, 11:49 AM
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Thoughts on my SC nose mask Plasti-Dip design?
Ok, I purchased a 2007 SC with 113k miles for $17k about 2 weeks ago. I didn’t plan on getting a car with that high of miles but I purchased it from the same Lexus dealer where I bought my LX470 (125k miles) about a year ago and the LX has been rock-solid so I took a chance on the high-mile SC assuming the same outcome.
What makes the difference for me at least on a high-mile purchase is both vehicles look as new inside and out, both had only one previous owner, both had no accidents, and both have documented Lexus service history from day one (e.g. 5k mile service, 10k mile service, 15k mile service, etc.) and every service increment to current mileage was performed and documented at that Lexus dealership.
I looked at several other SCs and most when I asked the owner about the service history, I didn’t like the answer.
Like I said my SC looks as new inside an out except for a lot of tiny little rock chips on the hood and front bumper. It did have 2 door dings that I had my Painless Dent Removal guy fix like they were never even there. My thought on the 113k miles were they have to be mostly highway miles because there isn’t a chip or scratch anywhere else on the car. Seriously if you were to look at the SC from behind or sides you would think it only had $13k miles, if even that. My conclusion is the only way a car could possibly look like this is driving at high speeds in traffic on the freeway for long distance.
Well anyway to my point, I got an estimate to repair the rock chips and to do it correctly (repaint the bumper, hood, and fenders) I’m looking at $2,500. There are a lot of other things I’d rather do on the car with $2500 right now. Tourmaline wheels and non-run flat tires first comes to mind and a Pioneer or Alpine head unit with CarPlay is a close second, LuxLink if I can find one, NavTool, backup camera, and the list goes on.
I looked at just paint touch up but since it’s Starfire Pearl it has to be applied in layers and touch-up would look obviously touched-up. I looked at a cloth/vinyl SC nose mask and that option is still on the table. I looked at a Plasti-Dip nose mask and the only place I can find local want’s $300. I can get a whole professional Plasti-Dip kit (from dipyourcar.com) with spray gun, 3 gallons of plasti-dip paint (primer, base color, gloss), and all the tools and accessories that goes with it for about $400 and do it myself.
So I purchased a few cans of Plasti-Dip from Home Depot just to play with and the stuff is pretty cool. It covers up all the rock chips and obviously prevents any future chips from happening, then it just peels right off.
Now for design, I looked at Plasti-Dip nose masks examples on YouTube as well as standard vinyl/cloth nose masks for BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, etc. and didn’t care for any of the designs. The lines on the SC are smooth and curvy and a square cut nose mask just doesn’t look right to me.
So I purchased the Plasti-Dip kit for about $400 and before I start spraying I designed my own nose mask that I'll probably do over the weekend and this is my final design, I’m not Photoshop savvy so I did this in MS Paint and that’s why it looks so bad. This will have to hold me until I get an extra $2,500 with nothing else to do. What do you guys think?
What makes the difference for me at least on a high-mile purchase is both vehicles look as new inside and out, both had only one previous owner, both had no accidents, and both have documented Lexus service history from day one (e.g. 5k mile service, 10k mile service, 15k mile service, etc.) and every service increment to current mileage was performed and documented at that Lexus dealership.
I looked at several other SCs and most when I asked the owner about the service history, I didn’t like the answer.
Like I said my SC looks as new inside an out except for a lot of tiny little rock chips on the hood and front bumper. It did have 2 door dings that I had my Painless Dent Removal guy fix like they were never even there. My thought on the 113k miles were they have to be mostly highway miles because there isn’t a chip or scratch anywhere else on the car. Seriously if you were to look at the SC from behind or sides you would think it only had $13k miles, if even that. My conclusion is the only way a car could possibly look like this is driving at high speeds in traffic on the freeway for long distance.
Well anyway to my point, I got an estimate to repair the rock chips and to do it correctly (repaint the bumper, hood, and fenders) I’m looking at $2,500. There are a lot of other things I’d rather do on the car with $2500 right now. Tourmaline wheels and non-run flat tires first comes to mind and a Pioneer or Alpine head unit with CarPlay is a close second, LuxLink if I can find one, NavTool, backup camera, and the list goes on.
I looked at just paint touch up but since it’s Starfire Pearl it has to be applied in layers and touch-up would look obviously touched-up. I looked at a cloth/vinyl SC nose mask and that option is still on the table. I looked at a Plasti-Dip nose mask and the only place I can find local want’s $300. I can get a whole professional Plasti-Dip kit (from dipyourcar.com) with spray gun, 3 gallons of plasti-dip paint (primer, base color, gloss), and all the tools and accessories that goes with it for about $400 and do it myself.
So I purchased a few cans of Plasti-Dip from Home Depot just to play with and the stuff is pretty cool. It covers up all the rock chips and obviously prevents any future chips from happening, then it just peels right off.
Now for design, I looked at Plasti-Dip nose masks examples on YouTube as well as standard vinyl/cloth nose masks for BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, etc. and didn’t care for any of the designs. The lines on the SC are smooth and curvy and a square cut nose mask just doesn’t look right to me.
So I purchased the Plasti-Dip kit for about $400 and before I start spraying I designed my own nose mask that I'll probably do over the weekend and this is my final design, I’m not Photoshop savvy so I did this in MS Paint and that’s why it looks so bad. This will have to hold me until I get an extra $2,500 with nothing else to do. What do you guys think?
Last edited by ogjohnsmit; 10-15-15 at 11:57 AM.
10-16-15, 03:20 PM
#4
Lead Lap
You can also get the clear "bra", which is basically clear plastic stretched over the front end. It is very difficult to see the edge of and it protects the paint very well.
10-16-15, 04:55 PM
#5
The clear bra is the way to go but don't leave it on more than 4 years. I did with my RX and it shrank and cracked...
10-16-15, 08:30 PM
#6
Lead Lap
10-17-15, 08:43 AM
#7
Not anything I would like. The only thing that really matters though is if you like it. Everyone has their own idea of what looks good. If we didn't we would all have the exact same car in every way.
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10-17-15, 04:54 PM
#9
Lead Lap
Oh and I did find this on their website:
>> The film comes with a five year manufacturer warranty against cracking, bubbling or yellowing.
10-17-15, 06:24 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
10-17-15, 08:25 PM
#11
Lead Lap
Yep, that's him. Under contact us, his email address is listed also. Thanks Bgw.
10-18-15, 07:01 PM
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Eeeuuch
Dude I'd pass on that one. I did some dipping on my car, you can check it. Tried to cover big areas of chipping paint. I went with the bodies lines but your design is trying to create new ones which to my eyes makes it look kinda red neck and I think you'll feel the same once it's actually on the car. Maybe you could use a white dip on just the trouble areas following the body lines? I don't see it working on a white car, but the good news is should you choose to dip the whole thing a new car, white is a wicked primer for a lot of really fun dip colors. Those pearls can m make it look really cool and it's still a fairly unusual look so still cool. The red nebula color would be pretty sweet over white.
10-19-15, 04:59 AM
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So I decided to give Dr. Color Chip a chance and I'm really impressed with the results. With the correct tools and a little practice it really came out not too bad.
The following is with just 2 passes and most chips are barely noticeable. I think if there was someway to really duplicate the multi-layer process of the pearl they would be gone entirely.
I have to do the before and after pics in two different posts because for some reason I can't do two pics in the same post from my iPhone.
Before;
10-19-15, 05:02 AM
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You are correct! The Plasti-Dip kit is going back today.
So I decided to give Dr. Color Chip a chance and I'm really impressed with the results. With the correct tools and a little practice it really came out not too bad.
The following is with just 2 passes and most chips are barely noticeable. I think if there was someway to really duplicate the multi-layer process of the pearl they would be gone entirely.
I have to do the before and after pics in two different posts because for some reason I can't do two pics in the same post from my iPhone.
Before;
So I decided to give Dr. Color Chip a chance and I'm really impressed with the results. With the correct tools and a little practice it really came out not too bad.
The following is with just 2 passes and most chips are barely noticeable. I think if there was someway to really duplicate the multi-layer process of the pearl they would be gone entirely.
I have to do the before and after pics in two different posts because for some reason I can't do two pics in the same post from my iPhone.
Before;