(Spray) Painting Bindings?
 

Whatup fellas, today I picked up a minty fresh pair of 2012 LF Harley bindings. I was patching up my board with some rubber sealant and I got some black splotches the bindings. It got me thinking, since I think they're really ugly anyway, why don't I just paint them?

I wanna spray them red to match my SS Recoil. I think it would look badass and really unique. I've never seen anyone with all red bindings. I might use tape or stencils to make some designs in white. I realize they might come out looking really ratty and it would make them harder to sell, but I really don't care.

So my question is, what kind of paint could I use so that it would be waterproof and not chip or flake? The outsides of the bindings are leather, rubber, and plastic and the laces are fabric. Any suggestions?

rit dye will do the trick nicely. No paint will work on that leather, it needs to be dyed. You can get the rit stuff at most hobby store/michaels etc

They have rattle can paint for plastic at the hardware store. I bet that would work. It has been holding up on Mommas bumper step for over a year now in Florida with no peeling or fading.

If you are really in love with the idea of spray painting, try Krylon spray paint. Its great on plastic where no other spray paint is, so it would be your best bet on the leather and rubber. But as gangstar said, rit dye will be better.

I think any "paint" would crack and chip off as the boots flex. I agree that dye is the way to go. They sell Rit dye in the grocery stores around me.

Red boots....tracked!

That looks fresh as hell! How'd he/you do it?! That's what I want. I'm thinking of basing my technique on this guy's work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvV0KPjKkPI

Also, liquid or powder on that rit dye? Is it ok to put your bindings in simmering water?

just some cherry red paint found at home depot. looked good for a few days then went to ****.

Word. I couldn't tell if it was real or photoshopped from that pic.

The RIT dye will look like crap to. I tried to dye my RAD's black and the white leather barely turned a shade of purplish/blue. Spray paint is the only way to go but will come off.

autoparts stores sell vinyl/fabric spray paint. Ive used it on car seats and boat seats. I think that this would be your best bet if you were going to use spray paint.

Idk if I would cause Liquid Force might not honor the warranty if something were to happen to them. I haven't made it a full calendar year with a set of bindings since I started wakeboarding and it's nice not having to drop $350 everytime a pair of bindings busts.

I called my shop about this and they agreed that it would probably become a problem if the bindings were to break. Not good :(

My buddy sprayed his AA's last year. Paint stayed all year. Looked pretty good. Regular old Krylon

I'm thinking I might do something like the video on my rads when I get them

Be careful. Check out the advice JB gave me on WB. Scary stuff:

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=91556

Damn... Maybe I can do fabric pieces and see them on...

Ya it's a good suggestion but I just don't think it would look good.

For what I am doing it will look fine but for your situation not so much, I'm only doing certain areas, not the whole boot.

Word. Post pics if you decide to do it because I'd love to see em!

I've gotta pull the trigger on replacing the d3's first! Love those boots.

Slingshot's new boot range is just sick. The RADs are better than ever, the ShredTowns are amazing, and with the KTVs and the Verdicts in the line, they really do have a boot for every occasion.

Ya I talked to the guys over there and basically the shred Towns and rads are the sane just Velcro or lace up.

I just thought of something. I know that women get shoes dyed for weddings to color match their bridesmaid dresses. I asked my wife and she said that you can get it done at Payless Shoes or some kind of bridal store. Just a thought.

I was thinking I may dye mine. I have 2010 answers and they go pretty yellow from lake water so I was thinking the white mesh might dye red easily, and would look sick on my 2010 one.... Sorry to hijack but if you do yours let me know how they come out

DON'T USE RIT. From my experience Rit is a cheap water soluble fabric dye and will not be any good at all on leather. I used Fiebings Leather Dye to dye my RADs black and it worked very well. Fiebings also makes various colors so you could get red although it wont be bright red, more along the lines of burgandy becasue, well, think of how low the demand is for firetruck red leather products. The dye on the tongue may fade some due to the laces pressing into them, but that is easily retouched. I had to retouch mine once last summer.

I have no experience from spray paint personally but it sounds like it has worked for some in the past. I konw that McKee spray painted his RADs black last year so there is another success story.

I might talk to somebody about dying the shoes like the dud mentioned for weddings to see if they can get the bright red you're looking for. Update us with pics when/if you do it

No reason for name calling. :D

After one seasons use...krylon spray paint...

So, today I went to the cable to break in my bindings, and there was a kid there who had spray-painted his Sovens all red! What are the odds of that?! I was kinda pissed that he thought of it before I did, but I was impressed that he was able to get such a good result with spray paint. They were flaking a bit, but there were no globs and the color looked awesome. At this point, I definitely don't wanna try the dye route. If I decide to paint my bindings, I'll just spray 'em like this kid did.

Check out SEM dye. Its what a lot of car enthusiasts dye their interior panels with, both leather and vinyl. Holds up awesome.

How about textile paint? It's the same stuff that they use for screen printing t-shirts and it can be purchased at most craft stores in squeeze bottles (Tulip brand.) I don't know how well it would adhere to leather but if it was lightly sanded or scuffed, it might bond well.

Check out SEM dye. It's big with the car community and is what a lot of them go to for changing the leather and vinyl color of their interior. Holds up great.

I've seen a picture of a car with bright red seats that must have been done with something like that. Good idea. That's probably better than the textile paint. RIT and dyes wouldn't work. They are made for bonding to cotton and some cotton blends.

I guess the biggest issue I learned about from JB is that the waterproofing sealants LF has already put on the binding will prevent just about any dye from soaking into the leather underneath in any shade darker than pink. To get down in there, I'd have to remove this sealant and replace it after the dyeing process, which would definitely void my warranty and quite possibly ruin the bindings, especially since I don't know what I'm doing.

Seth, I would take the bindings down to Home Depot, Michael's, and a paint store and see what the people down there say. Then, try the ideas on a hidden spot first, and test if out in the bathtub or something to see how it holds up. This may be a process before you get the best fit. Ooh, try taking them down to a cobbler!! I think there is a guy in Tyrone Mall, at the entrance next to Orange Julius. I think that guy is still there...?

I really wish I coulda kept my old ones to try this out on!

http://wakestream.com/wp-content/upl...-1024x1024.jpg
Watson LTD who likes red

Black tongue: not red enough!

Alex, you beat me to it!

I was worried about the waterproof coating with my RADs too. I decided to just put the dye on anyways (fiebings leather dye) and if it sucked then i was going to redo or paint over it. To my surprise it held on just fine and didn't lighten up any. Keep in mind I was using black dye and it could be different with red.

what about permanent markers or maybe even plasti-dip in spray form

Either way it's going to look like ****.

Ya, this seems like a recipe for disaster and the looks are starting to grow on me. I probably won't paint them. If I get my hands on some older bindings, though, I'll be really keen to try it out.

Could just get a pair of Franks......Did someone say Tangerine?!

They're pretty cool, but I wouldn't buy a pair of bindings just for the looks.

If you scroll through this thread - and only look at the pictures - there is 1 picture of a beautiful pair of bindings and 3 pairs of ridiculous, fast and the furious, atrocious bindings.

You can probably do the math on which is which.

Well put!

I work for a company that makes fabric paint and if it were me I would try our tulip soft paint
I've used it on my anon goggles which came originally with thin corduroy and the paint has held up fine. Obviously the goggles won't take the same beating as the bindings, I'm just sharing the experience I've had with the product so far.

What you want is Tulip soft fabric paint and you can find it at any Michaels or Jo-Ann's store.
or you can buy it directly form us here.
http://www.ilovetocreate.com/store/p...?productid=234

we also make a bunch of stencils and othe items to use with the paints so check out the site.

You almost had me?? You never had me. You never had your car.