I was looking to paint my Agetec stick, and I came across several articles on using vinyl dye. It sounds like a really good option, since it seeps into the plastic (eliminating chips/scratches in the paint).
Has anyone here ever used vinyl dye? If so what kind of results did you get? I’d hate to use it blind and ruin my case.
EDIT: Great success!
And a couple of closeups to see how the detail came out/painted finish. It’s important to note that the paint dries completely smooth and doesn’t leave any texture - the “bumpiness” you see is present on the stock Agetec case as well:
I’d also like to know, actually. I have an old Saturn Virtua Stick I’m overhauling and sanding+painting plastic is a real hassle. Though I might still have to do it because of filler…
Well, considering nobody has responded and the fact that I have a spare case, I may just go ahead and do it. It’s apparently dead simple, and even if you get paint runs if you leave them alone they absorb into the plastic. Makes it sound idiot-proof.
i used it on 360 controller a while back. it was pretty tough in most places. make sure you do a lot of thin coats and get everything covered nice and thick. i used the Duplicolor vinyl and fabric from autozone.
Well, I just got done using it on my case, and I will NEVER use regular spray paint on plastic again!
The stuff works incredibly well. Idiotproof, and it really looks like the case came from the factory this color. Could not be happier. I’ll post pics ASAP.
lot of my mates have dyed their rollerblades, look like factory customs, they don’t show the original colour when they chip, and skates take alot of abuse. I’ve even seen black to lilac (intention was red though!)
The brand I found was called Plastikote Vinyl Color - Dark Blue. Here’s a link to their line, although the can I got looks like it had been around since the mid -90s (thick dust on the lid and old, old package art).
It seems like these paints are pretty much exclusively at Auto stores, as I did a fair amount of shopping at hardware stores this weekend and didn’t find any.
Two days later I’m still seriously impressed with the result. The coats dry in about 5 minutes, it’s basically impossible to overspray (where I did the paint just absorbed into the case), and it looks like it was this color out of the box.
The only two bad things is that Black/White/Red/Blue are the only colors available, and that the paint smells a bit like dirty socks, so letting it air out for a day or two is recommended.
For anybody who wants to see pictures, this guy has a link to some stuff he’s done on computer cases - the color is different but the finish looks pretty close to what I got.
I actually found some other colors like green and orange by typing in “<color> vinyl dye” in google - although it turns up an online store that looks kinda dumpy and their prices are a bit high ($13 a can). Duplicolor also makes Vinyl dye, and they have a few more colors (silver and more shades of blue/red).
If that’s the case, then why the vinil of, ie car interiors tend to “wear down” (don’t know the right expression) over the years of use? I think that’s normal for every material and every kind of paint to loose their initial condition…
