rotarywanker

Plasti-Dipped my wheels with a combination of three colors: original flat black (base), copper metalizer, and silver metalizer. I was going for a flat anthracite look with just a hint of bronze at certain angles and in certain lights. It came out as I hoped it would. Here are the steps:

Purchase 2-3 cans of Black, 1 can of Copper, and 1 can of Silver.

1. Remove your wheels. Some people shoot dip on their wheels without removing them, but it is very hard to get every angle with them on the car. To get every angle, you would need to manipulate the orientation of the can so much that you'd get uneven spray. Can always needs to be oriented vertically.
2. Remove your center caps. Clean them and put them on some newspaper to prepare for paint.
3. Cover your inflation nipples with masking tape.
4. Clean your wheels. I used Super Clean to get rid of all the brake dust and accumulated dirt, and followed up with a heavy duty degreasing solvent that I had around. The solvent was paint safe so long as you didn't let it sit. Spray/pour it on your towel rather than directly on the wheels.
5. Spray a very light coat of black base. You want about 50% opacity for this coat; it will aid in the adhesion process. Let dry about 30 minutes.
6. Spray a second very light coat. You should be at about 90% opacity at this point. Let dry 15 minutes.
7. Spray a third very light coat. Should be solid flat black now. Let dry 15 minutes.
8. Spray a fourth very light coat just to add some thickness to enhance durability make it easier to peel off down the road. Let dry 15 minutes.
   
9. Shake your copper metalizer can very well - at least a minute - and spray an extremely light but even dusting over the black wheels. You should be left with a very subtle hint of copper.
   
10. Shake your silver metalizer can very well. Spray a light dusting - same as the copper. This should bring the black to life while dimming down the copper.
    
11. Spray 3 more very, very light coats of silver metalizer. I'm talking very light cloudy mists from 24-36 inches away, just a couple seconds per 'area' of the rim. At this point, you should barely be able to see the copper, but the wheels should really appear metalic with an anthracite color.
    
12. Spray one more very, very light coat of copper. Should bring the copper back to life. The reason we sprayed the first coat early on was to help ensure even copper coverage, given that we are using so little.
    
13. One more very, very light coat of silver.
    
14. Let everything dry for at least 4 hours in 60-80* F. I did them in a heated garage. If it is colder, let them dry 6-8 hours. They should not be tacky when you put them on the car.
    
15. Optionally, peel away the Plasti-Dip from the mazda emblem on the center caps to reveal the original chrome finish. Note my center caps came out like **** because I forgot to paint them the first time around, and rushed the job right before I mounted the wheels. So here is a close up of what a bad application of plasti-dip looks like. Big, thick, sloppy coats.
    

Done. I've dipped many wheels on my cars over the years, and they will hold up >2 years without wear if you take care of them. Don't scrub them with abrasive materials/bristles, and keep them free of dirt by washing them with water. Can go through car-washes with no problems.



Pep Boys carries all three colors I used.


Before:




After:

REtali8

iTrader: (2)

Not bad. Out of curiosity, if you were going for anthracite, why not just buy anthracite from dipyourcar.com?

rotarywanker

Wasn't going for straight anthracite, was going for anthracite with slight copper tint. If I had gone with anthracite, I wouldn't have had control over my individual levels of black/silver/copper. Would have made it hard to get the copper so faint but evenly coated.

Chrishoky

iTrader: (9)

Looks good!

Wolfrx8

Did you coat the inner barrel of the rims or just the shinier outer part?

LiveWire

iTrader: (1)

I found that light coats cause the "can't peel off easily" issue. Fair warning if you ever go to remove it.

delhi

Curious that you didn't cover up the tires? How did you deal with ove-rspray on the tires?

Jmart153

Is it difficult to dip the badges?

Gotcorgi

The overspray on the tires isn't too bad to get off. Just takes some good rubbing to get off. It's not the most fun procedure but it'll work. You can also stick some playing cards in between the tire and the wheel or trusty ol painters tape.

Badges aren't too bad. Tape a rectangle around the badge you're doing (doesn't need to be tight around it at all). Mask the absolute hell out of the rest of your car though because the mist is nearly impossible to get off. I thought i did a good job masking until i was claying like months later and so much came off. But clay bar does get off the mist no problem.

yurcivicsux

it looked better before.

rotarywanker

Says the guy with really ugly wheels (that he spent money on!)

yurcivicsux

your plasti-dip job must have been free with no time invested, no materials? i value my time unlike you and will think twice before posting in this thread again.
Next time you're at pep boys picking up more mods grab some Black Magic tire shine spray it makes the dip really pop.