Plastidip (or is it plasti dip) - Technique Recommendations

UofAZCats · May 20, 2017

I am the overly proud owner of a victory red 2015 Rally edition Silverado. I really enjoy it, partly because it reminds me of my first vehicle, a 1993 red S-10. That S-10 had the sport package with a gloss black grill and trim that looked cool as heck with the red paint. Ever since I bought my new toy I have thought that the chrome headlights looked out of place given the color matched red grill. I didn't think there was any way to find headlights in red (if I tried coloring them my self I knew there is no way to find a red that matches the truck's the red color) and given my S-10's black grill as inspiration I decided to go with black. The cost of a new black grill and new black headlights was more than I really want to spend without having check out a cheaper option.

After a little bit of reading this forum, it hit me that the best cheap thing to do was to try my hand at "plastidipping" the grill and headlights. I figured it was worth the try and if I ended up not liking it then I could simply peel it off. So this past Sunday I taped everything off and sprayed it on. I used the Rustoleum spray can version because they had a Gloss Black color option. I watched several of the DipYourCar Youtube videos to to try to figure things out the best I could in advance.

I contemplated taking the grill and lights off but after looking at what that entailed I decided that based on the videos I didn't need to do that. I carefully taped off the surrounding areas and went to work. The first coat went on way to heavy with drips in couple of locations. I didn't understand the full extent of the term "50%" coverage on that first pass. After that I put on about 5 or 6 coats with the idea of making sure it was on heavy to make it easy to peel. I didn't pay much attention to spray distance, only focusing on whether the red was being covered over. I waited maybe 5-10 minutes between coats.

Overall the Gloss Black came out pretty matte. I think part of the reason it came out matte was user error and the other part was due to the low quality of the dip. I think the first coat needs to thinner. I also think I need to get a better feel for the distance between the spray nozzle and the target. I will be switching to Plasti-dip brand using black and glossifier for the 2nd try.

Any recommendations from experienced users before I try it again are appreciated. Below is a picture of the final product.

SilveradoSaver · May 20, 2017

Hey there. Nice looking truck!

I love using Plastidip. One thing you could do to add some gloss if it's too matte is to try the Plastidip glossifier spray. Adds some shine to it.

I can't see it up close from your picture, but it looks pretty good. When I do it I typically do a lighter spray as I find laying it on thick can cause the running. So I spray a light coat going back and forth a couple of times each time to build up the coats. As an example, I did about 8 coats on my bowties on the front/rear of my truck. Building it up over time created a good look and it's thick without pouring it on in a couple of coats. Building up is key IMO. And doing this has gotten me good results; people think my bowties are the factory black ones, but they aren't.

Hope this helps!

cbrsilv15 · May 20, 2017

Just like any paint. First coat is just a mist coat. You don't want full coverage. Then 3-5 light coats after that. The goal is to slightly build it up on every pass.

UofAZCats · May 21, 2017

The Rustoleum crap was already peeling off in spots and showing through on other areas so I decided to go ahead and peel it off. Boy was that a pain in the ass. I had put more than a can and a half of that stuff on via 5 or 6 coats thinking I was putting it on heavy as everyone recommended to make removal easier. Turns out that was not the case. Not sure why but thinking its combination of that stuff is just really bad or I may have shaken it too much or spray nozzle or distance to target was off.

Either way it took about 2+ hours and it sucked. Hoping to do better this time around with Plastidip.

SilveradoSaver · May 21, 2017

The Rustoleum crap was already peeling off in spots and showing through on other areas so I decided to go ahead and peel it off. Boy was that a pain in the ass. I had put more than a can and a half of that stuff on via 5 or 6 coats thinking I was putting it on heavy as everyone recommended to make removal easier. Turns out that was not the case. Not sure why but thinking its combination of that stuff is just really bad or I may have shaken it too much or spray nozzle or distance to target was off.

Either way it took about 2+ hours and it sucked. Hoping to do better this time around with Plastidip.

Let us know how it goes with the Plastidip!

ShamrockShooter · May 21, 2017

If you want to practice on something, pull your spare tire down and spray that. It should give you a good feel for the plastidip product.

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Duke77 · May 22, 2017

If your spraying too far away it can cause a rough texture, keep close about 4"-5" from the surface for a smoother finish. More coats the better, start light and end the last coat heavy 6-8 is ideal for an easy peel. If the temp is kinda cold outside, heat up the cans in a bucket of warm water before spraying. Wipe your spray tips clean after each coat. Plasti dip has been the best performer of all the different brands I've tried.

SilveradoSaver · May 22, 2017

One good tip too is to turn the can upside down and press the button down to blow any Plastidip out of the nozzle before you store it. Made the mistake of not doing that the first time and it gummed up the nozzle pretty bad. A simple trick to keep your can spraying like new each time.

UofAZCats · May 23, 2017

Plastidip brand went on much better. I took my time and got the car all wrapped up. I taped off the edges along the lights and the paint. My first coat was still probably too heavy but overall the 6 coats went on pretty well. The spray went on smooth. Once I got done with the black I put on 3 coats of glossifier. The first coat was more satin than glossy and expect that I didn't put it on "wet" enough, though I also think some was due to texturing in the black. I got a little sloppy on the last coat and had to dab off some over spray. My biggest goof however was in removing the tape & drape. I pulled of the tape along the light and it pulled off a couple of small strips from each of the lights. I shouldn't have taped right along the edge and left some room for overspray so that I could rip a clean edge. Now I get to try fixing those spots.

I read from somewhere that a little gas will help with dissolving the edges and smooth them out so that the area can be re-sprayed. I will be giving that a shot unless someone has a better suggestion.

Other than that the dip looks much better, though not as glossy I really want.

ShamrockShooter · May 23, 2017

How about an up close pic of the finished job?

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UofAZCats · May 23, 2017

I love the black look with this truck so much better than sock and this certainly is closer to the look I want but I still need to get it glossier for me to be happy with it. If you zoom in you can see a small area of chrome where the plastidip peeled in the top left corner of the headlight.

UofAZCats · May 23, 2017

Another picture showing the whole truck...

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ShamrockShooter · May 23, 2017

Now you just need to add the borla exhaust with black tips...

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UofAZCats · May 23, 2017

The black tips are nice and really complement your truck. I am hoping to get a black chrome Chevy tip at some point.

Have you thought about dipping your Silverado badge on your tailgate? If I can get the gloss worked out that was something I was potentially thinking about next.