How to: Plastidip/paint your oem wheels

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Ramroid
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Location: Kentucky

How to: Plastidip/paint your oem wheels

Post by Ramroid » Fri May 03, 2013 11:53 pm

Parts needed:
Plastidip or paint of your choice. I found 1 can to be enough for 2 wheels, depends on how many coats, and how many times you mess up.
Plastidip glossifier- 1 Can per wheel, depending on how much gloss you want.
Masking tape. Depends on how much you take off, and which way you do it.
Credit card. I'll explain in the How to.
Razor Blade
Wheel cleaner, avoid Armorall or anything that leaves a residue. I went to the dollar store and bought this "awesome" all purpose cleaner. Worked amazing
Rags.

I did my wheels without dismounting the tires. I chose this way because A) its cheaper, B)its somewhat faster, C)i was too lazy to dismount them. The whole process took a few hours, just all depends on how fast your masking skills are.

First off, take your wheels off the car. i took the rears off first, and did 2 wheels at a time. Take your rag, and knock off any large chunks of dirt, and grime. I didn't take any pictures of this process because it should be self explanatory. Then take your wheel cleaner, clean the wheels.

Find a comfortable spot to stand and work, the taping process is tedious. Start taping your wheels off. I chose to tape mine off like this.
Image

Start off by putting your tape on the edge of the wheel, and giving it enough slack to push the tape into the gap between the wheel and tire with your credit card. Made things simple.

Once your done taping it off, take your razor blade and carefully trim in between the wheel and tire. Don't go too deep, just take your time. Pull the tape off your wheel, and you should have a nicely taped tire. The point in taping off the tire is to avoid overspray of the clear. If you use black plasti-dip, and plan on leaving it matte black, you don't have to tape it. You can scrub off the overspray with a scotch brite pad.

Anyway, once everything is taped, and ready to go take your plastidip and have fun. It goes on kind off different than paint, and you'll want to spray more than what is needed. Just take your time, it might look like it won't smooth out but it does. Depending on how many coats you want, you want to leave about 10 mins flash time between coats. Go on a smoke break between coats, watch tv, talk to your wife/gf/etc, just kill 10 mins. I went with 3 coats on mine.

After all your color is on, time for clear. Same rules apply to the clearcoat. Take your time. The more patient you are, the better the results. 1 coat of clear=semi gloss. 2 coats=gloss..like, 3 coats= glossy. and so forth.
Image

The plastidip gloss was still wet. I also had a speck of dust or something on the wheel, idk what it was. Don't pay attention to that. That picture also shows what the taping job would look like. You can tape it off any which way you choose,i just found that method easier.

Thats it, thats all there is too it. You can change the whole look of your wheels for less than 30$, how often can you do it. The plastidip can be used on alot of things. Just use your imagination. Plus, if you dont like it, you can peel it off.

Finished product. 3 coats of color, 2 coats of clear. The finish is tough, but i advise not using any petroleum based solvents/cleaners on the wheels. Don't wash them for a few days to a week, and once they are back on the car, park it for awhile. Let it fully cure. Thanks for reading
Image

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JeffM
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Post by JeffM » Sat May 04, 2013 9:41 am

Nice work, but you could also substitute taping newspaper to the tire, so you don't have to completely cover the sidewall in tape. :lol:

Also, no wetsanding the clear? Did it come out smooth?
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cdewalt1985
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Location: Carlisle, PA

Post by cdewalt1985 » Sat May 04, 2013 10:51 am

Index cards also work well, That's how I will be doing mine.
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Ramroid
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Location: Kentucky

Post by Ramroid » Sat May 04, 2013 11:39 pm

JeffM wrote:Nice work, but you could also substitute taping newspaper to the tire, so you don't have to completely cover the sidewall in tape. :lol:

Also, no wetsanding the clear? Did it come out smooth?
Yup, came out smooth as can be. Its the plasti-dip brand clear. It goes on like the color, and smooths out. I covered the sidewall in tape because im a bit OCD about things..lol

Uniman88
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Location: New Stanton,Pa

Post by Uniman88 » Mon Jun 16, 2014 2:23 pm

http://s100.photobucket.com/user/uniman ... p%20Wheels


After taking off my wheels, I pressure washed them.
Then I sprayed Iron-x on the inside and outside and let sit for a few minutes.
Once it turned purple I used brushes and removed contaminants.
Used an electric leaf blower to dry them and let the wheels sit next to a dehumidifier for a few hours.
Taped off the inside of the wheel to avoid overspray, and taped around the lip of the wheel to avoid overspray on tire.
**Index cards didn't work, I tried trust me**
Then I cut out a piece of cardboard with a hole in the center and taped it to the tape already on the tire to make a great seal.
Used tape rolled over my finger for the lug holes.

First coat 50% coverage gunmetal gray
Second coat 100% (But not too wet to avoid drips) coat of gunmetal gray
Third/Fourth/Fifth coat slightly wet coat of white for a smooth finish

I waited around 45min-1hr30min in between coats

Sealed with Chemical Guys Jetseal after the wheels dried overnight.
Image

NickKo
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Posts: 2248
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 11:24 am
Location: IL./WI.border

Post by NickKo » Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:12 am

Uniman88 wrote:
After taking off my wheels, I pressure washed them.
Then I sprayed Iron-x on the inside and outside and let sit for a few minutes.
Once it turned purple I used brushes and removed contaminants.
Used an electric leaf blower to dry them and let the wheels sit next to a dehumidifier for a few hours.
Taped off the inside of the wheel to avoid overspray, and taped around the lip of the wheel to avoid overspray on tire.


First coat 50% coverage gunmetal gray
Second coat 100% (But not too wet to avoid drips) coat of gunmetal gray
Third/Fourth/Fifth coat slightly wet coat of white for a smooth finish

I waited around 45min-1hr30min in between coats

Sealed with Chemical Guys Jetseal after the wheels dried overnight.
I gotta say that the pic of the wheels in your sig looks awesome !! 8)


- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm

Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009

Uniman88
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Location: New Stanton,Pa

Post by Uniman88 » Wed Jun 25, 2014 12:21 pm

:lol: Thanks! I wasn't sure if I would like white wheels, so plastidip was the cheapest option. Leaving it like this all summer and then buying white actual wheels this winter for it.
Image

neongirl87
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Post by neongirl87 » Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:05 pm

thanks for the write up!

Ramroid
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Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:24 am
Location: Kentucky

Post by Ramroid » Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:31 pm

neongirl87 wrote:thanks for the write up!
Welcome. I'm in the process of dipping my wheels straight copper with black accents. It'll be done in the same process. I should write a how to on stripping the wheels down to bare aluminum and polish them like i just had the misfortune of doing..

neongirl87
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Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:57 pm

Post by neongirl87 » Fri Jun 27, 2014 6:58 pm

Ramroid wrote:
neongirl87 wrote:thanks for the write up!
Welcome. I'm in the process of dipping my wheels straight copper with black accents. It'll be done in the same process. I should write a how to on stripping the wheels down to bare aluminum and polish them like i just had the misfortune of doing..
you should!!! it would help novice people like me =)

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