Can i Plasti-Dip My Toughbook Cf-19?

Was wondering before painting, Would i be able to Plasti-Dip My Toughbook? Or would it not bond with the alloy

 

It's not alloy, it's just a paint over alloy.

 

So would it work then?

I dont wanna shell out the $30 and then have a Toughbook that looks like a box of crayons ****ted on it

 

Just wipe the surface down good and mask it good. Doing that you should be ok. But on a few car parts I had to put a thick coat to get it to "peel off" so if you haven't used it before try it on something else first. Also they have other type of peel off paint at places like autozone.

 

Are you talking spraying it on or dipping it?
What parts of the 19?
I would buy an extra lid to plasti dip.
The metal is a magnesium alloy with a powder coat paint on it.
As with any re coating work, the pre paint prep work is crucial to getting good results. The surface MUST be clean and lightly scuffed with
a Scotchpad.
Mask everything with automotive grade masking tape. Plasti dip in screw holes WILL ruin your day.

They keyboard may be difficult to type on if you dip the entire 19.The screen brightness may be difficult to adjust as well.

 

gonna be a real drag to get it open .

 

After plastidipping 2 complete cars, a few hoods, roofs and a hatchback plus 2 desktop cases, Shawn is correct, prep is critial but DO NOT scotchpad anything. Clean it with a good soap or even alcohol wipes and if you are concerned about it sticking, https://www.dipyourcar.com/ has a pre-dip spray that helps with adhesion. For your first time, a good cleaning is probably fine. With a good cleaning on a car and using the pre-dip spray, I have a car now that I dipped metallic black almost 2 years ago and its fine except for the inside of the door handles because I couldn't get enough dip on the back side of that part.

You will want to do no less than say 5 or 6 coats because if it's too thin, it won't peel off easily. As it ages it seems to thin and tighten a little too. More is better, after that first light coat that it! The wetter you spray it the smoother the finish, the further away you spray it the more texture right down to a non-slip finish is possible. When you spray it, one trick that i have learned is to start with a first light coat. Then I do say 2 or 3 good not quite wet coats with about 5-10-ish minutes in between them. The next coat I do is only the edges - basically outlining any change say the edge of the lid, around a car door on both sides of the gap, around details, etc- and I may repeat that again. Finally I will do 2+ coats that are wetter because generally i am going for a smoother finish.

Its pretty cool stuff and generally won't damage whats underneath it. Because of it's nature, it likes to stick a little better to things like the urethane used to glue car windows in place. Things like carbon fiber look is cool, , and people are using everything from lace to cut outs to do similar things, including camo and more. I have done colored pearls and metallic flakes using the hand held Preval sprayers. And there's tints, different clears, etc.

There are some strong thinners in the product and i have heard stories of it damaging things but I have never seen it in my work or at car shows I've been at. You will want some decent ventilation. Thicker is better. It holds up better and it's easier to peel. Good luck! This is my first post here but I'll be back... post up some pics if you do it!

 

Edit- when I say "dip" I really mean spray PlastiDip onto something.

One more note! Edges, mainly taped off edges and surfaces. They can be a pain. On a car (yes, i know, the op is not doing a car) you can dip right over say the tail lights and just peel them when dry because the gap makes a natural breaking point for the dip. You will get a little dusting in there. Dusting can easily be cleaned up with a micro fiber towel. Don't use cleaner, dissolver, etc., there's no need. Buff with microfiber. Be careful of your newly painted edge to not roll it up on accident.

Looking at my CF-31, I would mask the lid off on the flat inside edge, the part that faces the keyboard and wrist rest (and mask off the rest, even if it means 2 painting sessions and not one- think of it just like you'd be painting). If not there, I would either mask the screen well (blue/yellow/green painter's tape and plastic or paper just like with paint) and dip the whole lid or I would go one contour or edge up. You can certainly mask anywhere you want but it's a skill doing that with plastidip. The $1,000 tip I can give you is you want to pull the tape as soon as your last wet coat is applied because all the layers are a little soft. Go slow and if it starts to pull up the dip or is making wrinkles you can use a heated XActo blade to slice very carefully though the dip to tape bond. Caution- open flame around any chemicals is dangerous - ensure you've got proper ventilation. If you do get an edge that starts to pull up, a very small amount of Naptha on a q-tip to get the surface and just underneath wet and then a gloved finger to smooth it down works well. Xylene can do the same if you have some of that. Use in very, very small amounts as you're re-liquifying the Plasitdip and the aren't nice chemicals.

These things have worked well for me and have been learned through mistakes, errors, "fixes" and wanting to do more cool stuff with DipYourCar.com. Be prepared to spend the time prepping, spraying and cleaning up only to say "I can do better", peeling it off and starting again!