My adventures with Plasti Dip

[candy_wagon]

I have mentioned here before that I wanted to change the look of my white MY12 RS wagon with a bit of a 'Stormtrooper' theme involving getting rid of all the silver bits on the car including roof rails and grill as well as the back badges.

I decided to give Plasti Dip a go and see if I was happy.

You can now buy Plasti Dip from most Autobarn stores for $30 a can. This is more expensive than buying it directly from the distributor in Sydney or the likes of Caswell Plating, but according to their website, neither stock the aerosol cans any more.

I grabbed 4 cans of matte black from Autobarn Clayton and got toe work over the weekend.

I am very pleased with the results and I will soon fit some H&R lowered springs and get my wheels powder coated black. But for now, its a start.

It is a very easy product to use too. My advice is to clean the area really well with a wax/grease remover of simply a good window cleaner such as Maguires. Make sure you don't use any kind of detailing liquid that has any wax in them or it will affect the adhesion. I also gave the mirrors, grille and rails a quick run over with a clay bar before cleaning.

This is just a quick pic for those who have wondered how the wagon would look without any roof rails at all. Much like me I think its looks a bit bald without them!



My best tip is that although its easy to simply wipe the overspray off with a dry microfibre, mask much more than you think you need to and make it easier when you are cleaning up. I had lots of overspray on the front guards.




Its easy to just tape around the general area with small items like badges as Plasti ip is totally removable and when you have enough coats on, you can simply peel the remains off.


I didn't really get any shots during the process, but these are the results.

[Deadpool]

Looks awesome man. Good job.

[zei20t]

Love your work! looks great. However IMO black side mirrors look cheap. maybe CF wrap them or something?

Or how about plastidipping the wheels too? might end up being cheaper even with re-coats in a few years? at least you can go back to silver wheels if you don't like the black

[VW VR6]

Look awesome mate. Well done.

[gldgti]

sounds like a cheap way to a black grille to me - I might try it.

[Martin]

Awesome job, put some tint film over the headlights also...

[NOO63N]

Looks great! I have been meaning to grab some as well...thinking of doing the grille and my rims...

Martin...would you tint with a rattle can 'nightshade' or vinyl?

[dArK5HaD0w]

ur on the right track.
here is some ideas for u.........

[Deadpool]

ur on the right track.
here is some ideas for u.........

Thanks for the trouser accident..

[Martin]

Martin...would you tint with a rattle can 'nightshade' or vinyl?

The nightshade looks good initially, but does not last or wear as well

I used vinyl like these:
Headlight Taillight Film Glossy Finish Smoked Tint Overlay Sticker | eBay
Grey 12"x48" Smoked Fog Light Headlight Tint Vinyl Film Wrap Sheet 30cmx120cm | eBay

That is a fantastic look!

[Tigger]

Great work mate!
I really love the effort you put into the preparation work. As anyone will attest...the prep is 90% of the finished job!
Well done!
(There is a guy on auskoda.com named "the speedfighter" who has done a fair bit of work with plastidip too!)

[candy_wagon]

Love your work! looks great. However IMO black side mirrors look cheap. maybe CF wrap them or something?

Or how about plastidipping the wheels too? might end up being cheaper even with re-coats in a few years? at least you can go back to silver wheels if you don't like the black

I see what you mean, but I am not personally a huge fan of the fake CF look. I think it might look a bit out of place just on the mirrors though. If I was doing more (like Todd did on the black beast) it would certainly look better.

sounds like a cheap way to a black grille to me - I might try it.

Very easy. Mysticality did his also and it looks great. I just decided to keep the Skoda and vRS badges visible.

Awesome job, put some tint film over the headlights also...

I havbe actually bought some cheap headlight film to do exactly that. Just waiting for it to arrive. It cost $3.97. I'll chase up the link when i can.

ur on the right track.
here is some ideas for u.........

Thanks for making mine look like a chump mobile!!!! I always had the idea to do exactly what I have, but I have seen this pic before and love it. I did consider doing the bottom bar under the brille to but ultimately ran out of time and energy!

Great work mate!
I really love the effort you put into the preparation work. As anyone will attest...the prep is 90% of the finished job!
Well done!
(There is a guy on auskoda.com named "the speedfighter" who has done a fair bit of work with plastidip too!)

Yep, failing to prepare is preparing to fail...or some s*** an old teacher of mine used to say. Truth be told I think this stuff would stick like poo to a blanket regardless of what you did or didn't do.

I did forget to mention that all I ever needed to know I found on You Tube. Specifically Dip Your Car's channel. There are really good tutorials and examples of what can be done with all sorts of colours and finishes.

I'm glad you guys like it, I am really pleased so far. But as always, there is more to come...

[xpeesx]

looks so tough!

[Zim_rs]

does plasti-dip work on wheels or is it better to just get them powder coated?

[candy_wagon]

does plasti-dip work on wheels or is it better to just get them powder coated?

Plasti dip works on just about any surface you can think of and certainly does work on wheels. However its worth remembering that it is a removable coating and will never be as durable as paint or powder coat. I was originally planning to plasti dip my wheels but there are too many variables to consider so I will get them powdered in the near future.

Things to remember are:

It has a rubbery, grippy surface so grime and brake dust will stick more freely.
You can't use abrasive cleaners or wheel brushes to get rid of grime.
Whenever you need wheels rebalanced, the tyre fitter will probably have to break the plasti dip to mount weights properly.
You stand a strong chance of breaking it around the wheel nuts when removing and putting wheels on the car.
Any break in the surface (it does kind of break, a bit like cling wrap would) is hard to cover and generally requires removal and a re-coat.

I really think you would need around 5 cans to to a set of 18" wheels properly and that doesn't include coating the inside of the wheel or the fact you might need to re-do it regularly. this adds up to $150 and when you compare that to a decent powder coating job at around $200-250 and it didn't stack up for me to waste the money on plasti dipping them.