Alright, awesome, we have interest. I'll kind of break these into separate posts as they come. To start us off,
Cost and Application
So the benefit, as I mentioned, of this product is cost. I'm going to start off by posting the link to a company's website:
https://www.dipyourcar.com/
I would coin these guys with truly turning the product known as Plasti Dip into an automotive goldmine. They, and their forum, are a great resource for all things "Dip". Now I believe that Plasti Dip targets DIY'ers and guys (and gals of course) who like to do things themselves, so they offer their "Pro Car Kit" that comes in a variety of included color's and amounts of each. For a larger vehicle with a standard color (black, red, etc) I would probably look towards their 5 gallon kit. This not only includes the paint, but an airless hvlp sprayer, masking tape, paper, mixing wand, cleaner, basically everything you need to spray a vehicle.
Cost for their largest kit: $435.00 USD, but don't stop reading yet.
That price is truly what grabbed my attention, even if I just wanted to experiment with it. I don't truly know exactly how many gallons of their dip it takes to do a vehicle such as ours since I went a different route, which I will explain in a bit. But for a kit that is supposed to cover a large truck/SUV, I believe that is a good starting point.
Now I did it differently. I wanted something a bit different and that's where Plasti Dip's flexibility comes in. I bought clear Plasti Dip, unthinned (DipYourCar sells it prethinned 50/50 with a thinner mix) from
http://www.awarehousefull.com/ and thinned it myself 50/50 with Naptha (bought at Home Depot). I then mixed Antique Silver Metallic pigment into the clear until I reached my desired look (This is where DipYourCar's forum came in). I also bought the sprayer separately. Doing it this way I saved a great deal of money while still ending up with more dip than if I had bought the kit. However, If you aren't feeling that adventurous, their kits are great as well.
As a side note, because the pigment I used was not completely opaque, and I had different shades of contrasting primer on the truck throughout, it took me several more coats and a couple more gallons than if you were to do a standard solid color. Just something to keep in mind if you want a custom metallic color.
Application is similar to standard paint. It can be applied with a normal HVLP, compressor driven gun as well. The key is to lay it on light, for the first couple of layers, then more thick as you go to let it flow and even out. It takes several coats for complete coverage, probably a minimum of 5-6 for a specific reason. The thicker you put it on (within reason), the tougher it is, and the easier it is to peel off in one piece if and when you so choose to.
As a disclaimer, I'm not an expert in this stuff and don't claim to be. But I have found it to be a great product with a great supporting community behind it.