[ChrisInVT]

This was a fun experience... I Plasti-dipped my wheels with four coats of white, then went over them with copper hammered Rustoleum. PROTIP: COVER the tires in SEVERAL coats of tire shine! This will make life MUCH easier because the Plasti-dip won't stick to the tire, it's just come right off. Screw the index card trick, all that managed to do was piss me off. The tire shine/not caring about overspray combo worked MUCH better! The car itself got four coats of black, not including the 1st coat of a light spray for the Plasti-dip to adhere to the paint.

Linking these from my Facebook, because I'm too lazy to re-upload them all. Let me know if they don't work.

Cleaned the wheels and went over the inside with one coat of black:

Four coats of white:

All four wheels done:

Got a little ambitious and did the hood:

I think they came out pretty good:

My black repaired rust spots were bugging me:

So after a good washing, back in the shop we go!

Finished!

Brought it outside for a few pics:

Then I took the liberty to drive down the snowmobile trail!

Then I went and drove my dualsport around until I couldn't feel my fingers anymore!

I was thinking about green wheels for a while, but went with the copper in the end.

Overall it came out better than expected. The hood has some lines in it just because the cans didn't work properly at that angle, and I wasn't going to remove the hood to do it properly. It ended up getting about 10 coats from me trying to fix it before I gave up. I didn't Plasti-dip the grill because it would have been way too much of a pain in the ass to remove the light bar, but the more I look at it the more I think I might just end up doing that. I'm also considering doing the rest of the hood in black, along with the A-pillars. If I end up doing that I'll remove the hood so it won't have those f^#! lines in it anymore.

 

[1stgenfarmboy]

Man that stuff sprays on even...looks nice.

 

[Latigo]

So wait, did you use the plasti dip as a base and then paint your wheels? Or does plasti dip come in bronze and green now?

I'm impressed the tape job on the car worked as well as it did. I played around with some lines in the nooks and crannies of my 300C's wheels. Even cutting the dip with a razor blade caused the edges to tear and look rough.

 

[ChrisInVT]

Yeah I did. You can paint over the Plasti-dip. The tape job was a HUGE PITA - I had to go over the whole thing with a razor blade and be VERY careful peeling it back. That was the worst part of the whole thing IMO because it was very time consuming to remove the tape without the dip peeling off.

 

[bradze]

great job

 

[cardoc]

That is a huge difference and looks great.

.

 

[Heffernan]

I'd just paint the whole car black.

 

[JAvendan]

great work. thanks for sharing.

i was thinking about doing something similar to my wheels.

joel

 

[ChrisInVT]

Thanks guys, IMO it was totally worth it. And the best part is, If I get sick of it I'll just peel it off and do something different!

 

[jschue22]

How'd you get it to go on so even? I've had good experiences on trim parts but large areas not so much. A buddy of mine even did his whole 350Z and it looked like crap.

 

[Rester5350]

Your dip job looks awesome!:29:

 

[ChrisInVT]

Well, I warmed the shop up to 75* and put all the cans next to the wood stove so they were nice and warm too. I cleaned the car really well, and the very first coat I laid on super thin - like barely on there (you can see this in one of the pictures where the car is taped up). Second coat went on heavier and the third heavier than that.

 

[supapoopa]

Nice job. I'm getting ready to plasti dip the beige panels on my outback and match the wheels. Any info on that light bar? Did you make it or buy it? I want!

 

[ChrisInVT]

Made the light bar and all the mounts.

 

[lekmedm]

From what I've seen on dipyourcar.com, if you're masking off areas, you need to peel off the masking before the plastidip dries in order to get a nice edge that's easy to achieve.

I like those wheels and the idea of painting over the plastidip with other paint! That opens a door to tons of color options.

 

[ChrisInVT]

Yeah, but if you're doing multiple coats that's a HUGE pain in the rear. I found it easier to just gently run a razor blade over the edge of the tape enough to cut the dip but not the paint or tape. It was a pain, but beats re-taping the car after every coat.

 

[jmenyes]

Your rims are Great! Are they from an '05 OB sport? Did you need wheel spacers or are they a direct swap/ I have the same car and would consider the same rims and tires. I really dig the look!

 

[ChrisInVT]

Yes, they're some of the only stock wheels that I actually like. They're a direct swap, the change in offset isn't enough to see a difference.

This is the last winter for the snow tires currently on there, so this summer I'm going to run them and then have the wheels powder coated. I think I'm going to run steelies next winter, because the snow getting on the inside of the wheel and throwing the tires out-of-balance is just way too aggravating.

 

[ChrisInVT]

Oh, and the Plasti-dip is holding up great against the harsh elements of a Vermont winter!