It seems like everyone is getting some Plasti Dip for their wheels now. I sometimes even see an entire car Plasti Dipped. It’s a cheap alternative to changing the look of your car. Sure you can do it right and get your wheels powdercoated, but I don’t think $25 and about 4 hours of your time is a bad investment.
My friend was thinking about Plasti Dipping his wheels black, so we decided to do a little Plasti Dip party! The wheels I’m painting here are Apex Arc-8 18×9.5.
What you need:
4 cans of Plasti Dip. I used 4, but you may need 5 depending on the size of your wheel and how many layers you’re planning on spraying. Cheapest place to get is from Amazon.com.
Jack + stands
Water
Soap
Washing mitt
Tire shine (optional)
Cheeseburgers (also optional)
Rule #1 about painting, always take your time prepping the surface of what you’re spraying. You want to promote adhesion with the paint and surface so make sure you clean off all the dirt.
You’re probably wondering what the tire shine is for. There are two ways you can spray without separating your tire from the wheel.
One, you can put index cards around the lip of your wheel so you can cover the tire from the overspray.
Two, you can spray tire shine on the sidewall of the tire. When you overspray the paint onto the tire, the tire shine will act as a barrier and the paint will peel off rather easily. You just have to make sure there is absolutely no tire shine on the paint-ready surface of the wheel!
I sprayed 4 coats of Plasti Dip, starting with a very light layer for the first pass – about 50% transparency. Dry times between each coat should be 15 minutes. Keep the spray nozzle 6-8 inches away from the surface. Spray with constant back and forth movement. Do not ever hold the spray directly in one spot. This is how mine looked after the 4th layer.
Now before you put the wheels back on the car and torque your lug nuts down, dry it! If it doesn’t dry properly the lug nuts will tear the paint when you torque it down. Ask me how I know. Full dry time should be at least 2 hours.
You’re all done now. Just don’t forget about the cheeseburgers.
Pretty sick.
Yes sir.