The Plastidip thread

[AutobahnSHO]

I'm excited!

I'm seriously considering going with a look like this for my car.

I want to do the steelies on the subie- just seems like way too much work. (they're rusty, they'd need work..)

[68_427]

Do it right over the rust.  Of it comes off youre out like $25.

[Cookie Monster]

[Rupert]

Looks better than stock.

[68_427]

Balla

[r0tor]

So is the metallic spray the same as the black plastidip or is it just like a tint?

[Cookie Monster]

So is the metallic spray the same as the black plastidip or is it just like a tint?

It's more of a tint. If you spray it on directly it peels off really easily.

[r0tor]

So its not rubbery like the regular stuff, but you still dont have to worry about overspray?

[Cookie Monster]

So its not rubbery like the regular stuff, but you still dont have to worry about overspray?

No, it's still rubbery, just extremely thin and it doesn't like to stock to smoother surfaces. I
sprayed the back cover on my phone without putting the base black and it all just peeled off.

[MrH]

Bad. Ass.  Good work Rags.  Any chance we can get a picture closer up?

Also, what do you guys think about using clear plastidip as a clear bra?  3M clear bras are crazy expensive.

[Rupert]

Embarrassed about your man-boobs, H?

[2o6]

That looks really good.

[Speed_Racer]

Looks better than what I had imagined in my mind's eye. Nice work.

[hotrodalex]

Embarrassed about your man-boobs, H?

[MrH]

Embarrassed about your man-boobs, H?

  If I were embarrassed, would I be wearing a clear bra?  I'm trying to show these jugs off!

[Cookie Monster]

Thanks guys!

Alright, here's the process and some random pics from my painting:

First, I thoroughly cleaned the wheels (like I spent an hour just cleaning). I hit the wheels with some wheel cleaner and lots of water. I decided to clean the back of the wheels as well since I had them off for once. After that, I started masking. I masked off the entire back face of the wheels as well as the rubber/lip area just to (attempt to) get clean masking lines when I was done.

Also, I looked through tons of threads online about painting wheels with Plasti Dip. On the 8th gen Civic forums, one guy had problems where he dipped the lug holes, and when he went to put the lugnuts back on, he fucked up the finish on his wheels. I also found on some Jeep forums a solution to this by taping up the lugnuts and putting them in the lug holes to keep any plasti dip from getting on the holes. I did that and it worked pretty well.

I put about 4 coats of black base and about 3 coats of gold. I went through 2.5 cans of the black and 2 cans of the gold. I probably should've used more gold but it's really hard to tell the shade/coverage of the gold when it's wet.

Anyways, here are the pics:



All taped up:



How I taped the lug nuts:



After the first coat of black base:



End result:







Already kinda dirty (and my shoe):



Anyways, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'll probably keep it as is for a few months or till it peels off by itself. I just wanted a change that wasn't just black as everyone else always does. Plus now I know gold RPF1's will look badass on the car.

[Cookie Monster]

Bad. Ass.  Good work Rags.  Any chance we can get a picture closer up?

Also, what do you guys think about using clear plastidip as a clear bra?  3M clear bras are crazy expensive.

Not sure how the clear plasti dip would work as I believe it's similar to the metallizers in that it needs the base coat first before anything else. I wish I had pics of the back cover of my phone with just the gold without the base dip. It peeled off right away. It looked really cool though, since it's translucent and you can see the patterns and writing through it.

[mzziaz]

Looks surprisingly good!

[Rupert]

  If I were embarrassed, would I be wearing a clear bra?  I'm trying to show these jugs off!

[Lebowski]

Damn those wheels look great

[Lebowski]

Bad. Ass.  Good work Rags.  Any chance we can get a picture closer up?

Also, what do you guys think about using clear plastidip as a clear bra?  3M clear bras are crazy expensive.

As someone who's dicked around with clear bras if say just get a color like silver that doesn't show chips, and/or resign yourself that cars get chipped, and skip the clear bra.

Problems IMO is bugs show just as bad and are just and hard to get off, which is half the reason for getting one. Couple that with installing or reinstalling the bra is just as expensive as repainting a bumper.

[giant_mtb]

Is this stuff durable?  If I Plastidipped my wheels, would it be permanent?  You mentioned in your post that you'll leave your wheels gold "for a few months or until it peels off,"...I wouldn't want it to peel off.

[68_427]

Dude, if It starts coming off re do them.  Costs like $30 bucks to do your rims.

[giant_mtb]

Dude, if It starts coming off re do them.  Costs like $30 bucks to do your rims.

Sure, but my driving won't be all daisies and nice weather.  Read: I drive in actual winter (salt) conditions for 4-5 months of the year.  Having crappy-looking, peeling rims is not something I'd want.  Nor would I want to have to re-do it every summer.

[68_427]

Sure, but my driving won't be all daisies and nice weather.  Read: I drive in actual winter (salt) conditions for 4-5 months of the year.  Having crappy-looking, peeling rims is not something I'd want.  Nor would I want to have to re-do it every summer.

Dunno.  My friend did his rims a month an a half ago.  Only redid them cus he got new tires.

And if re doing a $30/4hr job once a year is too much, then plastidip is not for yu.

[giant_mtb]

Dunno.  My friend did his rims a month an a half ago.  Only redid them cus he got new tires.

And if re doing a $30/4hr job once a year is too much, then plastidip is not for yu.

I wouldn't really want my rims to look like peeling pieces of shit for 1/3 of the year.  I've considered powdercoating, but that's just so permanent.  Maybe I'l Plastidip them and if I like it, have the powdercoater match the color or something. Who knows.

[Rich]

I wouldn't really want my rims to look like peeling pieces of shit for 1/3 of the year.  I've considered powdercoating, but that's just so permanent.  Maybe I'l Plastidip them and if I like it, have the powdercoater match the color or something. Who knows.

Sounds like a winner.  Or just plastidip them, and change the colors up when there's some damage.  Could be fun trying some new combos/shades.

[giant_mtb]

Sounds like a winner.  Or just plastidip them, and change the colors up when there's some damage.  Could be fun trying some new combos/shades.

Yeah, I'd like the color to match the center caps on the wheels. 

[Cookie Monster]

Is this stuff durable?  If I Plastidipped my wheels, would it be permanent?  You mentioned in your post that you'll leave your wheels gold "for a few months or until it peels off,"...I wouldn't want it to peel off.

They are durable, and apparently are good against salt/snow because it protects the wheels from salt damage. I read that ice climbers plasti dip their picks to get better grip so if it works under those extreme conditions without tearing I'm sure it'll be fine on wheels in snow.

The until it peels off comment was if I accidentally peeled them off while washing (shouldn't though because my black dipped parts on my car are fine after a few washes) or if I was a dumbass and curbed the wheels or something. Dipyourcar.com put up a new video on Youtube on how to fix any rips or tears in your plastidip that you could try if you ever run into problems.

Also, if you want to try the gunmetal look, you could get the black dip and the silver metallizer and just spray a few light coats of the silver to get the gunmetal look.

Finally, Cale, this definitely isn't a 4 hour job. At least it wasn't for me. Figure 30 min to jack up the car and pull off the wheels + replace the wheels and set the car down, another 1 hour to THOROUGHLY clean them and dry them off, an hour of taping (them lugnuts take forever to tape since there's 20 of em), and then 30 min between each coat at least to dry. I put on 7 coats, so that's 3.5-4 hours of just painting alone. Add in another hour or so of just cleaning shit up, taking care of overspray, etc, and you're looking at a 7.5-8hr job.

Or maybe I'm just slow.

[hotrodalex]

I plastidipped the overhead console that I'm putting in the El Camino, but sprayed on the coat too thickly. I'll have to sand it down and retry with thinner coats. That, or work on my spraying motion to avoid pools.