VHT wrinkle paint. Who’s got experience?

Thinking about using this stuff on my intake manifolds. Seen a few YouTube videos on it but wanted to see if anyone on here has used it and how you liked it.

 

I use it all the time and it’s amazing, but there are some things to be careful with when using it.
1. read the directions on the can- it’s not like regular spray paint so you have to treat it differently. If you have the ability to successfully paint your project with regular spray paint and get even coverage without runs, you’re on the right track. There are a lot of people that don’t know how to spray paint properly and even though this coating is forgiving, you’ll get far better results if you know how to do it.
2. The thicker the coats of paint, the thicker the texture. I usually start with one thin coat followed by two medium/thick coats. Each coat gets hit with the heat gun to get the wrinkle effect. This gives me a texture that’s not too heavy but looks smooth and even.
3. Curing time is super long (give it about a week in warmer weather). You’ll be tempted to start handling your project when it feels dry to the touch (about 30 min to an hour). Resist that urge and leave it alone. The thicker coating will still be soft so you can actually press your fingerprints into it if it’s not fully cured and any tools/bolts/washers you use to mount or attach the part will also leave indentations and/or squeeze the paint right out as you’re torquing things down.
4. I would recommend it for things that get touched regularly- like a center console or dash items. Repeated touching will smooth the texture and you’ll develop shiny spots as well as the possibility of rubbing paint off entirely.


You’ll get to know some of these things once you get some experience using it, but otherwise surface prep is key and you shouldn’t have problems with adhesion on stuff under the hood or bracketry and the like.

 

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Approximately how much time do you give between coats? I’m pretty ocd when it comes to projects like this so it’s going to be done right. I had decent success painting my valve covers red two years ago and they still look pretty good.

 

Time between coats isn’t much honestly. If you use the heat gun method, you can pretty much hit the part again once you have even texture- that means the surface is dry to the touch. You don’t have to worry about delamination or getting solvent-pop fish eyes the same way you would with regular paint because the way this coating was designed, the surface dries before the underlying layers of paint (that’s what causes the wrinkles). I’ve painted my Iggy switch panel as well as parts on my bike with it and they’ve been holding up for several years now.

 

Pics of before and after prep then paint.

First attempt with the upper plenum. Wasn’t thrilled with the original end result so I threw on another layer the next day which seemed to even things out a little better. I think I went a little too heavy on the coats in a few areas. Heat gun and eventually baked it at 200 for 20 minutes.

I almost considered not painting it at all and just leaving it super clean in the second pic but I had already bought everything for this job and was pretty set on experimenting with this stuff. Plus I think the black wrinkle would look sick like some old school muscle car lolol.

I plan on sanding down the Toyota emblem soon and doing the lower plenum. I’ll post some install pics eventually.

 

I think I'm gonna get a can of this stuff just to have around when painting metal, that looks like an awesome finish

 

Forgot to update this thread. Thanks for reminding @ITmaD