Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Plasti Dip Coating Wheels

264K views 146 replies 84 participants last post by  G9803 
#1 · (Edited)
Since I managed to screw up my first couple of tries at doing a Plasti Dip coat on my stock wheels, I figured that maybe I could save someone else the trouble.

Before:


Materials:


  • 5 cans of spray-on Plasti Dip
  • Bottle of rubbing alcohol
  • Wheel cleaner
  • Scrubbing brush
  • Soft Cloth
  • Something large and disposable as a backdrop (I used a large piece of cardboard)
  • Roll of blue painter's tape

1) Remove the wheels. I did two at a time so that I could be cleaning and masking one in between applying coats on the second one. Just to save some time.



2) Clean the wheel the best you can. I used a pressure washer to get as much of the dirt and brake dust off as possible, then a scrubber and some S100 to scrub the rest off (and clean up the tire sidewalls a bit too). And I know, S100 is supposed to be a motorcycle thing, but I had it laying around and couldn't find anything else. Did the trick though.

3) Let the wheel dry, and then put some alcohol on a cloth and give the wheel a once-over with that. Remove the center cap (unless you want that painted too).

4) For masking, I used standard blue painter's tape. Some people use index cards and I tried that, but I wasn't very good at it and the index cards kept moving in the breeze. Mask the main areas around the tire including the white lettering. Overspray that makes it past the tape can be brushed off afterwards, if you can even see it.

5) The holes for the lugs need to be covered. I made the mistake of spraying the entire inside of those holes when I did my first three wheels. Upon mounting the spare back on the Jeep, the lug nut twisted the coating and caused the entire coat to start peeling off the wheel as I torqued it down. I had to redo it. Then with the other two wheels, I had to take a knife and surgically remove the inner portion of all 5 holes, which is a real pain. So for the remaining wheels, I used the blue painter's tape to cover the "visible" portion of each of the 5 lug nuts.



Place the lug nuts in the wheel to clock the contact portions. Fully masked:



6) Now we start painting. Very important -- do not attempt to fully black out the wheels on the first pass. If you do, there's a good chance that it will start to bubble or pool up, and it will be difficult to fix later. Stay about 12" above the wheel and spray evenly all around, don't worry if there is still silver showing through in some spots.



Let it dry until all of the black has lost it's wetness/glossiness. Depending on conditions, it's usually 5-15 minutes. Then repeat the process. Continue repeating until you have at least 4 coats and the entire wheel is black. Make sure to check around the lug nuts, around the valve stem, and around the edges.

7) After the final coat has been sitting for a few minutes, carefully pull our the lug nuts without touching the rest of the wheel. You can then start carefully removing the masking from the wheel.



8) Flip it over and spray the inside as well. I sprayed everything except the center portion that would contact the hub.

9) After a minimum four hour dry time, pop the center cap back in (if applicable) and mount the wheel back on the Jeep and start on the next one. Personally, I made sure to be careful with the surface for a full 24 hours, just to be safe. But I mounted them after 3 or 4 hours, just handing by the tire and not the wheel. :)

Final result:





View a larger version of this photo

Best part -- if anything gets screwed up, just wait for it to fully dry and peel it off and start over! :)
 
See less See more
8
#33 ·
Posted this in the other thread, but figured some might not see it.

Since I am a big advocate of this stuff, I feel I should tell you guys about this site I found.

DISCLAIMER:

I am not affiliated with this site AT ALL. I have absolutely NO VESTED INTEREST in this site, nor do I care if anyone buys from them.

The site is DYC Home - Plasti Dip For Your Car - Resources & More at DipYourCar.com NEW Glossifier

Now, why do I love this site...

1) They sell it by the GALLON, which makes spraying LARGE areas very easy, especially if you load it into a spray gun (watch the videos of painting an entire car.)

2)They have colors you can get nowhere else, exclusive to them.

3)They will mix colors for you (custom colors.)

I just ordered the car kit (red) and will spray my entire S2000. It is already red, but I want to keep it pristine, and this is a great way to do it. Check it out for yourselves. The glossifier and the metalizer are awesome products.
 
#34 ·
So Im almost convinced by plasti dip. yesterday I went to ACE and got their last can of the stuff and painted just my spare wheel so I could get a feel for it and see how i liked it etc.

I'll post some pictures of the process, and the final result.
Let me know what you think about it compared to what I already have, should I continue and do the other four???
 

Attachments

#50 ·
I searched every auto parts and hardware store for paint. Brought a bunch home and tested all on the back of rims. I already tried pasti dip but wanted something that looked a bit glossier but not too glossy that it looked painted and not metal. Ended up with rustoleam hammered black and really like it. I need to decide what to do with the center caps and lugs. I either paint the lugs to match or paint the center cap with chrome paint or paint it black and leave the lugs chrome. I don't want it completely black. although on my wife's jeep she wanted the silver rims so I plastidipped the lugs and center caps and looks better than not. will post pictures later. Part of me wants to put a steeler yellow logo on the cap, but as much as I am a fan, probably not cool. Also bought clear engine enamel to clear coat it with. Figured it would keep the rims preserved the longest. If it can withstand 500 degrees and takes 7 days to cure I hope that means it is a bit stronger in the end too.

Is anybody doing anything to match the lugs and center caps?
 
#54 ·
help

First two wheels done and look terrible . Did just about same as most light coats to cover then alittle heavier . Noticing some areas looked rough unless a heavy coat giving a wet look..In my experience light coat take ur time painting. Now on 4 th can on just two wheels and finish still sucks . Wtf did I do wrong . Washed ,cleaned with a cleaner ,washed again then Dred in sun . Pulled into garage to paint . Not cool
 
#55 ·
First two wheels done and look terrible . Did just about same as most light coats to cover then alittle heavier . Noticing some areas looked rough unless a heavy coat giving a wet look..In my experience light coat take ur time painting. Now on 4 th can on just two wheels and finish still sucks . Wtf did I do wrong . Washed ,cleaned with a cleaner ,washed again then Dred in sun . Pulled into garage to paint . Not cool
If it is rough, you are spraying from too far away. If wet, you are spraying too much in one coat.
 
#59 ·
I want to Plastidip my rims so I was thinking I'd just rotate the (5) tires at the same time. I've got about 4k miles on my JK so it's early. Is there any reason this would be a bad idea?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top