03 cobra/ dot matrix tinting

dpancer

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After some researching it seems most people use a vinyl strip to cover the dot matrix. I just didnt want to use that. I decided to use plasti dip instead since I have lots of experience with it.


The verdict is: It works perfectly! it covers the dot matrix completely and looks 110% like stock. You need to mask off the whole car carefully first, and it takes some time to get enough layers of dip in so you cant see any patches of light shine thought. I put about 8-10 layers on. One dip can should do the trick, all though I used an actual earlex paint sprayer.

Make sure the car is tinted first. You should run the tint about 1 cm below the last row of the dot matrix. One other tip is to run one single strip of 3m masking tape right on top of the most upper defrost line to help hide the seem (from the inside). Use a brand new sharp blade to cut the dip along the edge of the masking tape. Do not even try to spray and peel/rip the tape off without cutting. It will peel the dip. It does not even matter if you dont cut the line of dip perfectly straight, which is really hard to do because of the angle and position you are in. From outside the line were the tint stops is the line that you will see. So if your tint is cut in a nice straight line along the glass your all good!


The tint was not damaged in any way or from from the thinners in the dip.


Overall, its a bit of work and will probably come out only a little better, darker, with a better matrix-dot-coverage than black vinyl. But if your a perfectionist, and have the time to do it. Give it a shot!

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dpancer

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After:

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The back part of my roofing is coming off. Thats why it looks a little uneven at the top. And because of the flash it looks a light. From inside its black black.

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JuStAkId

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Too much work for not enough gain imo.
I had my dot matrix sanded a little before the tint was applied and it is not bad at all
You could use black vinyl as well
Good work though.
 

Goose17

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Looks good, but can this be applied to the outside? Plastic dip is used on car exteriors all the time. Why not save the hassle and spray the outside of the window... Granted - you'll lose the shine of the glass.
 

dpancer

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Looks good, but can this be applied to the outside? Plastic dip is used on car exteriors all the time. Why not save the hassle and spray the outside of the window... Granted - you'll lose the shine of the glass.


Yes you are right, it is normally used on the exterior of cars. However, this just goes to show that it can be used anywhere. As I said in the post, I have a lot of experience with dip. I have dipped many cars, rims, outside furniture, a pair of shoes, a vacuum cleaner, light fixtures...etc.
so with that being said, the reason I opted to dip inside was so that the edge of the dip will remain intact. On such a flat, smooth surface like glass the edge of the dip would peel up very easy. Think about washing the car. Rubbing a wet sponge over the dip line a few times would peel it up for sure.

It was a small gain over black vinyl but its still a gain. And I never have to worry about the vinyl peeling off or any imperfections that might appear over time.

It was 2 hours worth of work from begining to end....not to bad compared to other custom projects.
 

Goose17

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That makes good sense when you put it that way.
 

akeohan

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That’s cool, my tint looks like $hit on the dot matrix, and it was a good tint job all around.
 

jblood37

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What advantage is there to doing it this way? Seems like a whole lot more work than a vinyl strip. Looks good though! Good job!

Ok, I just saw that you were worried about the vinyl peeling... :beer:
 
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dpancer

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Good idea but I can't imagine how bad the interior of that car smells now!

I let it sit with the windows open over night and that got most of the smell out already. You barely smell it when you get in now. Another few days and it will be gone for sure.
 

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