Plastidip for cymbal damping

[lidrummer]

Has anyone ever tried using a product like Plastidip http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip for coating the bottom of a-to-e cymbals to damp out the vibrations? Just curious because I was thinking of redesigning my current A-to-E's and this seems like a quick and easy (spray-on) solution alternative to the PVC sheet/tape method.

thanks,
Dan

[Guest]

Has anyone ever tried using a product like Plastidip http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip for coating the bottom of a-to-e cymbals to damp out the vibrations? Just curious because I was thinking of redesigning my current A-to-E's and this seems like a quick and easy (spray-on) solution alternative to the PVC sheet/tape method.

thanks,
Dan

I don't know if anybody ever tried Plastidip. I like the idea! I do believe there was talk about trying to use spray on bed liner on the bottom of cymbals once. I would make sure you rough out the surface you would be spraying it onto. Just sand the bottom of the cymbal. I don't know how many coats of spray it would take. You might want to try to brush it on.

[lidrummer]

Hey Hellfire,

They also make a dip kind (hence the name) so I suppose one could just dip the whole cymbal in a bucket as well. I like that it comes in different colors so it could be fun to mess around with all kinds of different designs (mix and match). By the way, I browsed over to your site this morning...you have some cool new things happening. Actually, your new mini-e-cymbal preview is what made me think of Plastidip. You mentioned a rubber coated metal practice pad. I am looking forward to seeing more details of this.

Dan

[Sabre]

I do believe there was talk about trying to use spray on bed liner on the bottom of cymbals once.

Like this, and it works really well too...

[JmanWord]

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showpost.php?p=189555&postcount=9

[Gastric]

I know the Locktite catalog strongly suggests using their special primer for getting their colored coatings to stick to metal.

[badnomad]

I used both truck bed liner, and a product used for automobile undercoating, as a stone guard, and had great success with both.......I posted about them several years ago.....The spray-on truck bed liner is virtually bulletproof, but if you want to damp stick noise, you need to add a small patch of mousepad neoprene at the impact area. The spray-on undercoating comes in both black, and clear, and it is more flexible than when dry, than the truck bed liner.....just make sure you get the artificial, (silicone-based?), and not the asphalt/tar-based product, which never really hardens, and could transfer to your sticks and heads, (yuck!).
NOTE: I used these products on both the top and bottom surfaces of my cymbals, as I was not concerned with whether or not they looked like anything other than V-cymbals.

Myke C.

[Gastric]

Just to clarify the spray on undercoating/bed liner on ONLY BOTTOM OF THE ACOUSTIC CYMBAL does totally dampen the overally cymbal noise. I'd be curious if someone has personally compared the dampening of the PVC sheeting to the spray products listed here.

A clear spray product would seem like a great, and possibly superior, alternative to the Killer Red + PVC sheeting method which isn't particularly cheap. What's the COST to spray on a cymbal?

I'd think trying to mask off a circular object for spraying would be about as tedious as laying the tape, peeling the backing, and then laying the PVC. I have to say Sabre's coating looks pretty great from an application standpoint. Nice clean lines. Though I'd certainly prefer clear.

I'm totally happy with the PVC sheet method. It totally dampens the cymbal noise to just your stick tapping on the surface. It's about the same volume but lower pitched than tapping my stick on my Office Depot desk, and both quieter and lower pitched than the acrylic Pintec Visulite cymbals on my other kit. And the PVC it looks pretty good since it's clear.

[badnomad]

The clear automotive undercoating is about $6.99 per can. It is a standard size aerosol can, and I'm not sure of the coverage, but I easily got two full coats, both sides, on a 22" ride cymbal.

Myke C.

[sarge201]

Like this, and it works really well too...

Did you take this to a bedliner spray-on location? I could only imagine the looks on the guys faces that work there when you come through the door with a cymbal.

[vjboc]

The clear automotive undercoating is about $6.99 per can. It is a standard size aerosol can, and I'm not sure of the coverage, but I easily got two full coats, both sides, on a 22" ride cymbal.

Myke C.

Myke do you have a picture of that sprayed 22" ride cymbal? Does it quiet down the cymbal noise?

[Gastric]

MYKE - Quit TEASING us already! Provide pictures of a clear coated cymbal.

Sabre - How about some directions on how to successfully mask the EDGE of the cymbal so you get a smooth, yet razor edge as in your picture. I'm having a hard time picturing blue tape providing that nice smooth radius in the undercoating. Or did you apply, then cut-and-scrape it off afterwards?

[Sabre]

Sabre - How about some directions on how to successfully mask the EDGE of the cymbal so you get a smooth, yet razor edge as in your picture. I'm having a hard time picturing blue tape providing that nice smooth radius in the undercoating. Or did you apply, then cut-and-scrape it off afterwards?

I masked it with that green painters masking tape and cut it nice and even with a razor knife by following the lathe marks. All for naught anyways as the bedliner guys use special tape and had to do it over... that said they did a really nice job and I was really happy with the outcome. I laid in the wire first and they sprayed right overtop which secured it nicely.

I work for a car dealership and we send out several trucks a week to get bedliners installed. I sent the cymbal along with one of the trucks and they did it for me for nothing. Thanks guys!

[Gastric]

Ahhh, someone else doing all the hard work. That *IS* an easy way.

[lidrummer]

Hey all,
Thanks for all of the discussions here. I think in terms of cost, a spray on solution should be cheaper than PVC film (at least with Plastidip spray @ ~$8 a can from McMaster-Carr). I had also thought about the masking problem and given my clumsiness with masking, perhaps the PVC w/ tape method would be easier, but then I thought, way bother masking at all...just put all the electronics (piezo, box, choke switch, etc.) on the cymbal and the spray the entire bottom. That way, everything gets nicely encased and protected. Then trim the edge if necessary. The only thing I worry about with clear Plastidip is whether or not it will stick. I know with tool handles, the stuff tends to slip off after a while.

Dan