Plastidip on rockets?

Hope ya'll are not getting tired of my hair brained ideas, way too much time and whiskey on hand I guess.
There is a product out there called Plastidip, comes in aerosol and can form like paint. It is used to dip tool handles ect. in to coat them. Looks like a lot of crafters and hobbyist use it also. Was wondering if you think might be a good alternative to covering fins. Heck maybe even an entire rocket.
I might buy some and see if it adds a lot of weight compared to paint.
But could cut down on sanding, priming and painting fins and papering them as would add additional strength.

Why not. Might be a bit heavier and soft/easily damaged but easy enough to touch up. I've done a few sets of rims with it and like it for that. The real advantage is there's no prep involved , as long as the suface is clean it'll stick to anything. It will not however hide any ugliness in the surface so things should be smooth and flat before coating. And, it takes several coats to cover half way decent, 2 ain't gonna work...

I was thinking it was pretty heavy and if you're looking at for the aft end (fins, etc) then you're adding weight at the wrong end of the rocket. Try it out and let us know how it goes.

might want to test it on some scrap balsa and not a fin thats already on a rocket

It's good to think outside the box. If you need nose ballast anyway, I'm thinking that a coat on your nose cone might reduce your need for nose weight while adding ding and dent protection.
I used Plasti-dip to coat my tool handles some 40 years ago. More for comfort than protection. Only came in a can.

No, it's RED Plasti-dip not black. Discolored from grease and grime from working on my car(s) over the decades.
Do you think it's time for a peel and redo?
Never thought of using it for rockets. Let us know how it works.

Laters.

This sounds very promising for nose cones - the “give” in Plastidip could protect a nose cone nicely. Post your results please, could be very interesting...

From the descriptions above, it sounds like the adhesion is good, but I'd still be worried about high speed flight peeling the stuff and causing unpredictable drag effects. Then again, if it melted away in a controlled manner, it may be a good ablative to Mach+ flights.

I think Kilted is looking at low power stuff.

So.. I guess you want to apply about 5 in. just above the fins so that you can get a better grip when installing or removing the motor.

Was not thinking about using it to get a grip. Was thinking of using in instead of priming and painting.
Was going to make some mock up of fins and experiment with how the finish looks. They say comes in lots of colors and they have an additive to go from satin to gloss finish. I need to see how much extra weight it adds vs primer/paint.
Looks like it is pretty durable stuff and can be removed to patch up.
Who knows may buy a cheap Estes kit and try to do an entire rocket with it.
Also using on low power rockets.

This is something I’ve been thinking about too. I looked around and hadn’t seen it done yet. Could probably estimate a weight based on coverage area for the can vs surface area on rocket. Obviously the fins would take more weight.

I’m interested in some other spray products I’ve seen too.

Chalkboard? Make the rocket look different every time.

Textured to add drag and keep the apogee lower.

Chameleon paint? I didn’t see this in a can though and the paint is pretty pricey.

Heat based Color change paint? Hey that engine area is pretty toasty.

Or dry-erase board paint?

You could try that FlexSeal stuff and not have to worry about water landings, you know when you are launching rockets in the Alligator infested swamps from your screen bottom air boat. YaHooo!!!!

GlenP said:

Or dry-erase board paint?

You could try that FlexSeal stuff and not have to worry about water landings, you know when you are launching rockets in the Alligator infested swamps from your screen bottom air boat. YaHooo!!!!

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I figured the plastic-dip would seal out the water as well, but if it landed in water it's gonna soak thru from the other side anyway.

Dry erase board is ok, but I feel like I'd rub any marker off trying to get the rocket ready.

Plastic-dip???
nope...just wrong on so many levels.
Once you get your hands on some..let us know if ya still think it's a good idea....lol

blackjack2564 said:

Plastic-dip???
nope...just wrong on so many levels.
Once you get your hands on some..let us know if ya still think it's a good idea....lol

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Autocorrected plastidip to plastic dip.

I’d like to try it, but don’t know if/when I’ll get to it.

GlenP said:

You could try that FlexSeal stuff and not have to worry about water landings...

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I'm pretty sure that Plastidip®, Tool Dip®, and Flex Seal® are all basically the same thing. Also the same as Spray On Shoes®.

jqavins said:

I'm pretty sure that Plastidip®, Tool Dip®, and Flex Seal® are all basically the same thing. Also the same as Spray On Shoes®.

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I didn't realize flex seal was similar. I think I actually have a can or 2 that someone gave me. Looking at reviews it doesn't look as easy to apply smooth as plastidip though.

I was checking to see if anyone has tried this "Flex-Seal" that you can purchase at WalMart "As seen on TV". The Walmart nearby, has a whole section in the paint department dedicated to the different "Flex" seals, tapes, patches, sprays, etc. that are available. Thinking about purchasing a can of the spray to do a test run and see how it finishes. Has anyone had any experience (or nightmares) using this stuff?

Plasti Dip works great actually. I wouldn't paint over it but it works great if you're doing a rocket all one color. We had a very well used Alpha 3 a couple of years ago that I was going to tear apart and give it a new body tube. Instead I put a couple of coats of plasti dip on and flew it a dozen more times. It's still in the basement somewhere.

Is Plasti Dip a Polyurethane?

No. It a almost a rubber / soft plastic coating.