Plastidip'd my wheels (or am I saving for new ones?)
02-19-2014, 01:01 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Plastidip'd my wheels (or am I saving for new ones?)
Maybe both, eh?
So previous owner dropped some coin on these GFG three piece wheels. While not a huge fan of chrome, I did love the huge chrome lips. The painted sections, not so much. Upon purchase two and a half years ago, there were a couple of small areas where the clear coat was coming off. I got a couple of quotes to deal with it from local wheel repair places AND the only GFG distributor in town. The black and clear are laid down on top of the base chrome; all the quotes were to disassemble, strip the centers, then repaint. And they wouldn't guarantee the paint since it was going onto chrome. Ugh. Oh, and the cost ranged from $400-$600 A WHEEL. I guess I had my "sucker" clothes on. I could get a set of used stock wheels for that...often with new-ish tires!
Fast forward to recent times, and more of the clearcoat and even some of the black was leaving for greener pastures.
I tried some vinyl wrap (faux carbon fiber!) and it looked phenomenal for a week, but it lifted around the hub because of the concavity there. I even tried the adhesion promoter stuff that 3M sells for vinyl application. I think I got an extra day out of that.
So, off to dipyourcar.com and ~$60 later, I've got four cans of black plastidip and 3 cans of glossifier.
See the pics to see the worst of the four wheels (removing the vinyl took a lot of clear with it). I decided I did not want to spend a lot of time making the surface perfect (other than cleaning with soap&water then some total prep). I hoped the plastidip would make some of the imperfections less noticeable.
Lessons learned:
(1) make sure you look to see what areas will be visible from the front and plan to spray some of these from the back
(2) careful with how you mask, if you're masking areas. I first just stuck sheets of paper in lip of the wheel, which was great for painting the front. I then realized i needed to tape it down to be able to get the back properly. Taping it down made it difficult to remove without fouling up the plastidip right at the edges
(3) I didn't use the glossifier. the plastidip doesn't do a great job of hiding the problem areas (you can see small ridges at <5ft). I think the glossifier would make them even more obvious. So flat black it is.
(4) longevity TBD. I think I'd rather shell out money for some stock wheels over trying to fix these, considering no one will guarantee they'll stay fixed. I could be wrong (any experts out there?) but I'm not sure wheels can be recoated (with paint or powdercoating) after they've been chromed, and that's the only real fix I'd want to go with.
Anyway, check out the pictures starting with the nasty initial look, coats 1 thru 5, and on the car.
I'll let you know how they hold up.
So previous owner dropped some coin on these GFG three piece wheels. While not a huge fan of chrome, I did love the huge chrome lips. The painted sections, not so much. Upon purchase two and a half years ago, there were a couple of small areas where the clear coat was coming off. I got a couple of quotes to deal with it from local wheel repair places AND the only GFG distributor in town. The black and clear are laid down on top of the base chrome; all the quotes were to disassemble, strip the centers, then repaint. And they wouldn't guarantee the paint since it was going onto chrome. Ugh. Oh, and the cost ranged from $400-$600 A WHEEL. I guess I had my "sucker" clothes on. I could get a set of used stock wheels for that...often with new-ish tires!
Fast forward to recent times, and more of the clearcoat and even some of the black was leaving for greener pastures.
I tried some vinyl wrap (faux carbon fiber!) and it looked phenomenal for a week, but it lifted around the hub because of the concavity there. I even tried the adhesion promoter stuff that 3M sells for vinyl application. I think I got an extra day out of that.
So, off to dipyourcar.com and ~$60 later, I've got four cans of black plastidip and 3 cans of glossifier.
See the pics to see the worst of the four wheels (removing the vinyl took a lot of clear with it). I decided I did not want to spend a lot of time making the surface perfect (other than cleaning with soap&water then some total prep). I hoped the plastidip would make some of the imperfections less noticeable.
Lessons learned:
(1) make sure you look to see what areas will be visible from the front and plan to spray some of these from the back
(2) careful with how you mask, if you're masking areas. I first just stuck sheets of paper in lip of the wheel, which was great for painting the front. I then realized i needed to tape it down to be able to get the back properly. Taping it down made it difficult to remove without fouling up the plastidip right at the edges
(3) I didn't use the glossifier. the plastidip doesn't do a great job of hiding the problem areas (you can see small ridges at <5ft). I think the glossifier would make them even more obvious. So flat black it is.
(4) longevity TBD. I think I'd rather shell out money for some stock wheels over trying to fix these, considering no one will guarantee they'll stay fixed. I could be wrong (any experts out there?) but I'm not sure wheels can be recoated (with paint or powdercoating) after they've been chromed, and that's the only real fix I'd want to go with.
Anyway, check out the pictures starting with the nasty initial look, coats 1 thru 5, and on the car.
I'll let you know how they hold up.
02-19-2014, 01:44 PM
#5
They look much better.
FWIW I had some chrome rims years ago that were starting to corrode on the surface from salt, and heard all the usual stuff about not been able to refinish them. I sanded the surface and painted them with Rustoleum Hammered paint (to help hide the imperfections). The paint stayed on just fine and several years later they still looked great.
FWIW I had some chrome rims years ago that were starting to corrode on the surface from salt, and heard all the usual stuff about not been able to refinish them. I sanded the surface and painted them with Rustoleum Hammered paint (to help hide the imperfections). The paint stayed on just fine and several years later they still looked great.
02-19-2014, 03:32 PM
#7
You are correct about glossifier showing the defects more. How long they will last like this largely depends on your prep and how you treat them. (did you use pre-dip spray?) My wheels are dipped with Anthracite metallic and gloss.
When washing your wheels, only use water. Unless the wheels are super dirty, soap is not necessary. Also, be very careful when drying. I actually use a semi-damp cloth to dry mine. Any snag from a towel could rip through the surface of the dip and show through to the wheel. I've had mine dipped now for almost 7 months and they still look as good as when I originally did them. I have, of course, done a couple touch ups here and there but nothing major. Hope this helps! Also - great job! They look better than I expected!
John
When washing your wheels, only use water. Unless the wheels are super dirty, soap is not necessary. Also, be very careful when drying. I actually use a semi-damp cloth to dry mine. Any snag from a towel could rip through the surface of the dip and show through to the wheel. I've had mine dipped now for almost 7 months and they still look as good as when I originally did them. I have, of course, done a couple touch ups here and there but nothing major. Hope this helps! Also - great job! They look better than I expected!
John
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02-19-2014, 05:00 PM
#8
Former Vendor
The flat black looks great 
Nice work. Now you just need some Black Lug Bolts. For more information Click Here.
Nice work. Now you just need some Black Lug Bolts. For more information Click Here.
02-19-2014, 05:03 PM
#9
Advanced
Thread Starter
You are correct about glossifier showing the defects more. How long they will last like this largely depends on your prep and how you treat them. (did you use pre-dip spray?) My wheels are dipped with Anthracite metallic and gloss.
When washing your wheels, only use water. Unless the wheels are super dirty, soap is not necessary. Also, be very careful when drying. I actually use a semi-damp cloth to dry mine. Any snag from a towel could rip through the surface of the dip and show through to the wheel. I've had mine dipped now for almost 7 months and they still look as good as when I originally did them. I have, of course, done a couple touch ups here and there but nothing major. Hope this helps! Also - great job! They look better than I expected!
John
When washing your wheels, only use water. Unless the wheels are super dirty, soap is not necessary. Also, be very careful when drying. I actually use a semi-damp cloth to dry mine. Any snag from a towel could rip through the surface of the dip and show through to the wheel. I've had mine dipped now for almost 7 months and they still look as good as when I originally did them. I have, of course, done a couple touch ups here and there but nothing major. Hope this helps! Also - great job! They look better than I expected!
John
When you touched up, did you just spray more or use a brush or what? I had a couple spots (you can see them in the reflection in the chrome lip in the final shot around the rim) where I went back later with an artists brush to fill in what the masking took off.
Does brake dust really come off with just water?
Any special precautions you take when putting on/taking off lug bolts? ECS's post jogged my memory that putting them on was an exercise in precision.
02-19-2014, 07:42 PM
#10
Their pre-dip spray smells like a soapy mixture of detergent and alcohol. To the best of my knowledge it is a less harsh way of treating the surface with rubbing alcohol. (which can also be done)...
When I do a touch up I just spray very lightly and use many small "coats". A brush will always leave texture and the goal is to make them look factory painted.
Brake dust should come off with just water, especially since you only did the centers. If you need to use soap it wont hurt but you shouldn't need to for every wash.
I bought those same lug bolts from ECS after doing my dip and YES you must be extremely careful not to scratch the inner areas as you're changing bolts.
When I do a touch up I just spray very lightly and use many small "coats". A brush will always leave texture and the goal is to make them look factory painted.
Brake dust should come off with just water, especially since you only did the centers. If you need to use soap it wont hurt but you shouldn't need to for every wash.
I bought those same lug bolts from ECS after doing my dip and YES you must be extremely careful not to scratch the inner areas as you're changing bolts.
02-20-2014, 10:56 AM
#13
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Thread Starter
thanks...it's actually a Realistic STA-225 (with Quatravox!) circa '77...back when Rat Shack actually sold some decent stuff. Tuner is really incredible. Needs regular doses of deoxit and fader lube, but is otherwise perfect for the garage.
I've opted out of most IC based stereo stuff...Marantz 1200 & 1150 in the house with fairly modern speakers, Marantz 2215 & 2440 in the office with JBL L88's and Realistic Nova 8B's ($20 for the 8B's that needed love, and they threw in the STA-225). Learned a lot about basic electronics reviving/rehabbing some of that stuff. Have a couple of Pioneers (SX-680 and SX-950) waiting for an application.
I've opted out of most IC based stereo stuff...Marantz 1200 & 1150 in the house with fairly modern speakers, Marantz 2215 & 2440 in the office with JBL L88's and Realistic Nova 8B's ($20 for the 8B's that needed love, and they threw in the STA-225). Learned a lot about basic electronics reviving/rehabbing some of that stuff. Have a couple of Pioneers (SX-680 and SX-950) waiting for an application.
02-20-2014, 09:52 PM
#14
Rennlist Member
OT
thanks...it's actually a Realistic STA-225 (with Quatravox!) circa '77...back when Rat Shack actually sold some decent stuff. Tuner is really incredible. Needs regular doses of deoxit and fader lube, but is otherwise perfect for the garage.
I've opted out of most IC based stereo stuff...Marantz 1200 & 1150 in the house with fairly modern speakers, Marantz 2215 & 2440 in the office with JBL L88's and Realistic Nova 8B's ($20 for the 8B's that needed love, and they threw in the STA-225). Learned a lot about basic electronics reviving/rehabbing some of that stuff. Have a couple of Pioneers (SX-680 and SX-950) waiting for an application.
I've opted out of most IC based stereo stuff...Marantz 1200 & 1150 in the house with fairly modern speakers, Marantz 2215 & 2440 in the office with JBL L88's and Realistic Nova 8B's ($20 for the 8B's that needed love, and they threw in the STA-225). Learned a lot about basic electronics reviving/rehabbing some of that stuff. Have a couple of Pioneers (SX-680 and SX-950) waiting for an application.
Sure, the ultra high end fills that niche, but I mean the days of REALLY good $500 amps and preamps - no more. It's OK though, after mariage and kids, the whole "dedicated listening position" is way behind me. 3.8 liter boxer is my music now! also "behind me" 
02-21-2014, 09:13 AM
#15
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