PlastiDip wheels

[ElementZOE]

i never really liked the Rally Red color of my E. i have considered repainting it, but that is expensive. so embracing the red and black was all that was left which means my wheel color has got to go. the cheapest black wheels i found were $400. i have purchased cheap aftermarket wheels back in the day, and they were crap.

after watching the PlastiDip guy on youtube doing his wheels while on the car, i decided it seemed easy and would give it a shot. my experience went nothing like the video on the net and i spent over 5 hours doing my wheels.

i could not seem to get the PlastiDip to come out of the can in a smooth spray. instead it was a long stream of goop like silly string. i tried different nozzles and nothing seemed to work well. i contributed my issues to the weather since it was in the 30s yesterday when i did this. but, when i sprayed on a cardboard box long enough the spray would get smooth for a few minutes. i probably wasted two cans just getting the spray right. i even started using my back bumper since i wanted it black too and would just wipe off the run spots. the wheels turned out ok. i like the black look a lot better on my rig and think it will look really sick when i paint the brake calipers red. afterwards, Yoshi told me there is a trick to getting PlastiDip to spray smoothly, but he hasn't told me that trick yet. overall, i like it and thats all that matters. here is a few pics i took before the sun went down. there is still newspaper behind the wheel, but i will take some better shots.

first coat



left side



right side

[murso74]

gotta tell you i usually hate all red cars but the rally red/black combo of the element has almost always been a favorite of mine

[Yoshi]

I can't wait to see this at the meet

[pizzachef]

Originally Posted by murso74

gotta tell you i usually hate all red cars but the rally red/black combo of the element has almost always been a favorite of mine

^^^Ditto^^^

[magic]

When I did my wheels last winter, I had them off the car. I put a pair of bright work shop lights over the wheels for a while. It warmed them up. I also left the Plastic Dip cans in the house until I needed them. Found the spray from the cans was fine and consistent when warm, when cold the spray was clumpy.

[misdirection11082]

I gotta say I love my RR and black and I did have black plasti dipped wheels. Yours looks good with the setup your running.

[Vermonter]

the red is better than kiwi IMO. you should consider peeling the dip off and taking another shot at it when the temp warms up just so you have a smooth finish. i did mine in the sun when the weather was around 60, i had my wheels off anyway since i was putting on rsx steel braided brake lines and i was also painting my calipers red. if you take the time to do it right, it pays off.

[ElementZOE]

i will give her another go this summer when it gets warmer. the good thing about the plastidip is it comes off and is not that expensive. i really love the look of my Element right now. another thing i noticed is that my wheel weights are on the outside, so i will have those moved prior to doing my wheels again. i look at this as a learning experience. the last time i used a rattle can i was like 10 years old living on a farm in Alabama painting a wheelbarrow.

[2009 ELE]

Just wondering, for those of you who have done this, do you have problems at car washes? I figured maybe the high pressure water or whatnot may cause the plastidip to peel?

[Stoked]

Originally Posted by 2009 ELE

Just wondering, for those of you who have done this, do you have problems at car washes? I figured maybe the high pressure water or whatnot may cause the plastidip to peel?

No, car washes won't peel the dip but replacing a tire will.