I have never used plasti before but have had good experience with dupli-color rattle cans in the past. Nice part with plasti (from what I see) is there is minimal prep and the stuff is cheap.

What I am worried about is how much a dipped grille will show things like dirt, road rash, bird crap, etc. vs a painted grille which would take washes much better; I just get a feeling plasti is a look but don't touch kinda thing.

Just curious what you all think; the grille, emblems and rear spoiler will turn black soon but it's a matter of wrap, dip or paint. I really think wrap would suit me the best since I touch that dumb chrome spoiler constantly so fingerprints are an issue and 1080 from 3M is an absolute doll to work with.

TIA!

 

What kind of finish are you looking for? Dip is mostly matte but you can make it glossy too with some extra work. Here's my old G35 coupe with a plastidipped grille, nothing fancy, just straight rattle can. Cleaned it off with a microfiber and did 5 even coats of dip. Turned out great for a $5 job. Held up for 2 years with no maintenance or refinishing.

For the emblems, dip is probably easiest.

 

Looks great! No problems over the years with cleaning?

I would like to go matte but not the super dry matte look (if that makes sense). Almost a semi-gloss look so it blends with the cars clear coat a little better.

 

It all depends on the application and the look you are going for... IMO wrap is the way to go, but I have certainly dabbled with PD as well. Wrap comes in multiple textures and finishes, looks better, cleans easier, but is in most cases harder to apply. PD, if done right can look OK. They have a boat load of colors available now and it holds up pretty well. It is definitely harder to clean but depending on where it is applied, it's not that bad. I've always used Simple Green to clean PD surfaces, and turtle wax ice for shine/protectant. PD will also be harder to get a glossy finish. I think the best use for PD is try out some colors and see if you like them.

-For emblems, PD all the way.
-Wrap for the grille especially if you want to be able to return the car to stock some day if needed.
-Wrap for the window trim
-Wrap for the chrome spoiler.
- Powder Coat or paint for wheels. PD is a hassle to clean, especially on complex wheel designs... But again, a nice way to see if you dig a certain color and holds up fine even in the winter.

Here's a few pics for some ideas:

Grille PD anthracite grey with graphite metallizer and 1-2 coats of gloss:


Grille Wrapped/Dipped Hybrid - Dipped portion will be coming off before winter...:


Chrome spoiler wrapped Metallic Anthracite grey, emblem dipped anthracite grey :


My soon to be winter wheels - PD Anthracite grey, with tons of graphite metallizer coats and some gloss:


Happy Friday!

 

Look into auto flex. I'm currently getting mine done right now.

It's a plastidip (from a can) but it's a glossy plastidip that looks like vinyl. It's cheaper and would hold up the same as vinyl.

I'm pretty sure you can only buy it in gallons right now because it's a fairly new product.

 

Nope, I've had dirt and bird poop on it and I just wipe it right off with soap and water and a microfiber cloth. For a smoother shine you can add some coats of glossifier.

 

I have plastidip on my grill now.. and honestly I bought the car with it but it has to go.. car is currently up at 180customs getting some minor wrap work done ("pano" roof) and next time it goes back I will be switching from the PD grille to a wrapped gloss black. looks better and hold up better than the PD. I'm not sure hwo long it has been on my car but I can see the original silver peeking through the crack of the pd

 

Lots of buzz about Autoflex lately, sounds pretty legit to me... Mind sharing what your getting coated, color? where its being done? price?

 

TBau651 --- How did you end up wrapping your rear chrome spoiler? I attempted this myself twice last night with 3m 1080 and failed both times miserably... I have a friend that wraps cars for a living and told him I'd throw him some cash to do it for me. He said its a hard piece, but he can do it.

 

-I'm getting my grill (except emblem) and window trim done.
-gloss black
-5280 dip co. In Colorado.
-$85 per side on window trim and $145 for the grill= $315

Here's some pictures he sent me of his work on a Mercedes.

 

Wrap I did dip and wasted my time!

 

Did you leave it on the car when you wrapped it? I was going to remove mine when I do it so I can make sure to get in those spaces btw the chrome and the body.

I was going to take mine by the place down the street and see how much they would charge to do the rear valance.

Car looks great T!! I love that anthracite. My car is white so I am sticking with the white/black combo but man that grey is a super close second.

 

Well first things first if your not doing it already, take the chrome spoiler off the car. I did this a while ago, but if memory serves I cut a strip of Vinyl about and inch and a half wider than the piece on all sides. I Always start by laying down the flattest areas first and going from there.

So... started by smoothing the vinyl onto the top portion of the spoiler(area pointing up at sky when on the car), then trim and tucking the front edges under - toward the front of the car. *** make sure to clean the underside of the edges with alcohol as this is where the vinyl sticks after you tuck it under and acts as an anchor when you start to stretch the vinyl.

Next start stretching the vinyl from the center of the spoiler down and around the back and over the backup camera hole - you'll need some heat here to get the vinyl to conform. Once that area is laid down, begin pulling bottom edges down and slightly away from the camera hole. SOME heat is required especially around the camera hole, but use it sparingly, most of the stretching I did was with little to no heat especially as you get further towards the outside edges.

Then same deal, trim the edges and tuck them under. For the camera hole and trunk button opening, apply heavy heat to the holes, and push the vinyl inwards (I used a balled up microfiber), then trim out the inside when cool.

Lastly, go over the whole area with heat to activate the glue. If you have a few little bubbles here and there give them a few days in the sun, they will most likely go away on their own. If not, pop them with a pin and smooth them out with a heat gun.

Here's a few images to help explain what I'm going on about..

 

Looks great! From what I know this stuff is pretty new so not a lot of places are offering it yet. I might just have to invest in a sprayer and do some experimenting...

 

It's available in matte, satin or high gloss, and can be sanded, buffed, polished and waxed like standard clear coat. Pretty awesome if you ask me.