DrRaySomeDay

I have tried searching this forum and even some 'Stang forums for any info on whether or not it's possible to plastic-dip a set of chrome wheels black but leave the lip of the wheel chrome. I know it's technically 'possible' to do it by just taping the lip off, but I was wondering if anyone had any personal stories about results they've had/heard of.

My only concern is that it will leave an exposed edge of the plasti-dip coat that might make it more prone to peeling off. I love playing with the appearance of my car, but am a poor-*** broke medical student who has to prioritize car spending.

If you hate it, that's cool-you can tell me how stupid it is, I just ask that you let me know whether or not this stupid mod can be made even dumber by faking a set of aftermarket black rims w/ a chrome lip without it flaking off any sooner than if I faked an aftermarket set of solid black rims. We all have our opinions, and as long as you give me some facts w/ the opinion then I thank you for contributing!

Velocity_Vette

This is one of those situations where honestly I would just mask off the lip and rattle can the rest of the wheel black with something like Rustoleum Gloss Black. I've done just this on non-Corvette cars in the past and obtained acceptable results.

You're just going to fustrate yourself trying to get a relatively smooth blend between the Plasti-Dip and what you leave chrome. Any point along the lip where you begin to pull the dip up is going to mean it's likely going to mean you'll have to re-do that portion, or as you said it'll be more susceptible to damage. Masking the lip, prepping the wheel properly, and then painting it with a gloss black will hold up better. Plus it's less likely to get damaged because you would have left a lip (most rattled wheels get their lips damaged by tire installers because the paint adherance tends to be weakest there if you prepped the wheels with tires on). The only obvious downside is you won't be able to pull it off if you get tired of it like Plasti-Dip

Fed Up

It will peel, almost guaranteed. I have quite a bit of experience with Plasti dip, and can tell you that it's cool sometimes, BUT... It's a no touch, no car wash and no wheel-mounting kind of coating. Anyway, for the most strength, it needs to be attached to itself across continuous surfaces, i.e. all the way over the lip and up to the tire. In the end, powder coating isn't really that expensive (I did mine for $400 unmounted and remounted and balanced) and lasts a lot longer.

Black 02

I think a few people have had good luck using electrical tape to mask off plasti dip lines. I remember reading about it on the thread about the lower rear valance. Maybe try finding that thread and go from there. Plasti dip is awesome, and I've used it several times, but I've never tried to make fine lines with it before. Good luck!

umrjmac

The plastidip has to be wet when you remove the tape that you used to edge it. To your point, if the material is damp but not wet, you will get a raised edge. If it is wet and soft all of the way through the edge ends up being pretty flat. I used that stuff to do the wheels and rear bumper lower. I used gloss on top of the wheels so that they look a bit better than normal matte plastidip.

I figured if I like the look enough I can have wheels powder coated and the bumper painted eventually. It is a cheap way to experiment and since it peels off it is low risk.

crazystevex

I power wash mine all the time, though you do have to take care to not hit the edge with full pressure blast or it can peel the edge up when leaving the lip exposed. Took about a year the first time I dipped my wheels before that happened though.

Here is my second run with plasti-dip and it still looks good with no problems.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-boredom.html

crazystevex

If applied correctly and maintained with a little caution plasti- dip will last for years, it was made to recoat tool handles after all..

Acid666

You can do it, you've just got to have some patience, and do some light coats to the insides, and get a littttttle close to your edges for coat one. Coat 2, layer the middle in a little thicker but leave your edges....
Layer 3, use the rest of the damn can and soak the bitch. Lol.
Sucks, but if you want a line you're gonna have to soak it and peel it wet. I'm sure you know this already. It's possible, just gotta have the patience to not over do it.

I did my rear a few weeks ago and am completely happy with how it came out. I did the bottom pretty thick and just did about 50% transparency on the mask line for the first coat to give it something to grab onto once I went with coat 3.




I had some issues with the curves not being as smooth as I would of liked, so I used a plastic razor and kind of edged at it and manual smoothed it out. You really can't cut Plastidip too well and create a clean line (plus I didn't want to cut down into my paint), so I just kinda shaved it almost parallel with the body and just pressed the part that came up back into the dipped part. Worked fine.



Same for rims, but is likely more involved since you'll be going to have to mask a lot more angles and stuff. Try it out and see how it reacts. One thing I noticed is that the line isn't super perfect, so I just kind of jabbed at the rough parts with the plastic razor and it was good enough for me.

DrRaySomeDay

That is incredible looking! How many coats did you use? Did you spray, pull tape, re-tape, 2nd coat, pull tape, etc.? I think I'd like to at least experiment with the chrome lip first and if I'm unhappy with how it holds up, going all black shouldn't be too tough/expensive.

Stroker87

been playing with plasti dip for some time now only time it peals is if you didnt prepare the surface correctly and dont do enough coats! i've done wheels, hoods, stripes, intakes, berger panel & the rear of my corvettes

the trick to getting a good edge is removing the tape while the dip is still wet other wise your going to be pulling up the part you want to stay

these was wheels i did on my camaro they way your asking about, i power washed them every single time i washed the car they never lifted or pealed on me


if you guys are having a problem with it not sticking the surface was not cleaned good enough

nzcars33

nzcars33

I had a friend do the very thing you want to do and he had no problems with his, he said the key is cleaning the wheel real well with grease and oil remover and he said he used painters tape for a crisp edge and removed it a few minutes after the last coat while it was still a little wet. Good luck with your project.

Amazing1

Hey Guys. There is a product sold that you apply to the tires of your car (being careful to not get on your wheels) that will prevent the spray when you are dipping your wheels to not stick to the tires. It works great, so that you can spray a coat directly around the edges of your wheels and not worry at all about the dip sticking.

I've done this on the front emblem of my Lexus, allowing me to create a really neat 2-tone look and surprisingly the dried dip came off in one huge piece.

I'm not sure I can mention the name of the vendor since I'm sure they aren't on this Forum, but if you search for Dipping products for cars and wheels I am sure you can find them.

Sorry, I haven't gotten to actually dipping my wheels yet, so no pictures to post, but trust me, this stuff cost only 5-$8 and works great. And not just on tires, but wherever you don't want the plastidip