ThinSkinz
Active Member
- First Name
- Romina
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2021
- Threads
- 10
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction score
- 92
- Location
- Santa Ana, California
- Website
- www.thinskinz.com
- Vehicle(s)
- Jeep Wrangler JL
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi Guys. Sorry we've been a MIA lately as we've been working on some R&D... so this may be a bit of a long post.
We've gotten a number of requests for a matte finish on the Skinz so we've been trying find the best method to achieve that surface. Some of the guys on the forum have suggested chemical surface treatments to take down the shine... or covering it with some kind of coating.
If you've seen earlier threads, we initially wanted the finish to look more like the original door during development. We tried different formulations and additives to achieve a matte finish that was impregnated in the ABS material but our former couldn't keep the shine down after heating and forming. We actually held back our initial launch by months but had to finally make the decision to go ahead with the finish we have because people's doors were getting destroyed.
So over the past few weeks we looked at a chemical bath to etch the surface but most of the electroplating shops in southern California only do metal and wouldn't mix plastic into their tanks. We did eventually find one electroplater that did try but he said it didn't work out (no other details).
We did however come across a super helpful guy in northern California who offered to blast the surface. Even though he thought that he wouldn't be able to help us with a run because his shop is slammed with work and even suggested we find a shop local to us to do the actual run, he asked us to send him a sample to try anyway. Unbelievably great guy and so grateful to him for his help.
Sample arrived last week and we think the result is Amazing! Take a look at the photos below and let us know what you think...
We know the finish is very important to a lot of people and understandably so. Beyond matching the shape and providing superior performance, they want the Skinz to match the finish of the original door and we feel the same. However, it's going to be an extra charge that we're trying very hard to keep down. It'll be a manual process performed by an experienced person at a local shop in SoCal. He'll be using fine grit aluminum oxide media at low pressure and taking a lot of light passes to take down the shine. After that we are applying a layer of M40 vinyl conditioner to bring back some of the color and achieve the satin smooth finish.
Between handling, delivery, setup, blasting and cleanup we're looking at about an extra $30 per set. So the final price for a pair of Skinz with blasted matte finish will be $159. Can anyone help us to determine if this is still a good value that we can start offering?
Your input would be immensely appreciated before we commit to a run of blasted parts. Thanks in advance!
Romina @ ThinSkinz
We've gotten a number of requests for a matte finish on the Skinz so we've been trying find the best method to achieve that surface. Some of the guys on the forum have suggested chemical surface treatments to take down the shine... or covering it with some kind of coating.
If you've seen earlier threads, we initially wanted the finish to look more like the original door during development. We tried different formulations and additives to achieve a matte finish that was impregnated in the ABS material but our former couldn't keep the shine down after heating and forming. We actually held back our initial launch by months but had to finally make the decision to go ahead with the finish we have because people's doors were getting destroyed.
So over the past few weeks we looked at a chemical bath to etch the surface but most of the electroplating shops in southern California only do metal and wouldn't mix plastic into their tanks. We did eventually find one electroplater that did try but he said it didn't work out (no other details).
We did however come across a super helpful guy in northern California who offered to blast the surface. Even though he thought that he wouldn't be able to help us with a run because his shop is slammed with work and even suggested we find a shop local to us to do the actual run, he asked us to send him a sample to try anyway. Unbelievably great guy and so grateful to him for his help.
Sample arrived last week and we think the result is Amazing! Take a look at the photos below and let us know what you think...
We know the finish is very important to a lot of people and understandably so. Beyond matching the shape and providing superior performance, they want the Skinz to match the finish of the original door and we feel the same. However, it's going to be an extra charge that we're trying very hard to keep down. It'll be a manual process performed by an experienced person at a local shop in SoCal. He'll be using fine grit aluminum oxide media at low pressure and taking a lot of light passes to take down the shine. After that we are applying a layer of M40 vinyl conditioner to bring back some of the color and achieve the satin smooth finish.
Between handling, delivery, setup, blasting and cleanup we're looking at about an extra $30 per set. So the final price for a pair of Skinz with blasted matte finish will be $159. Can anyone help us to determine if this is still a good value that we can start offering?
Your input would be immensely appreciated before we commit to a run of blasted parts. Thanks in advance!
Romina @ ThinSkinz
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Last edited:
with either finish you still get amazing protection though ....
