Change of Wheel Color

Hi All, I was not sure if I wanted to make a permanent change to a darker wheel color, so, I plasti dipped my wheels anthracite gray with just a light gloss. I really like the new look and I cannot believe how good the plasti dip comes out. The car used to be a little too silver for me. The new wheel color breaks it up a little. My intent was to see if I liked the color and if I did, I would probably have the wheels powder coated. But, I will leave the dip on until it begins to look shabby. Sorry the after picture is dark....the project took a little longer than I thought. Ray

That looks really good, it looks like the finish came out pretty exceptional! How long and what prep was involved?

+1 looks great.

Thanks Lite and Evan!! I owe you all a better picture....the wheels pop nicely in the daylight. In the photo I provided, they look a little like black holes...which is what I did not want. In better light, they look exactly how I hoped. I got my dip at www.dipyourcar.com - great service, great packaging and rapid shipping...not affiliated in any way. I bought the gloss wheel kit with prep cleaner. The process was very simple. I took off the wheels (you don't have to) and I cleaned them with the cleaner. I then put on 5 coats of color and two coats of gloss. I did not want them to be glossy, I just wanted a sheen on them. Another two coats of gloss would have made them glossy. There is a ton of youtube videos on plasti dipping your wheels....some better than others............I was really concerned it would be cheesy.....it does not look cheesy in any way!!! - and I am a pretty hard to please guy when it comes to that kind of stuff.

looks good, Im a fan of black twists... easy diy.

That looks good, silver wheels on a silver car is so bland. I've considered that route, but always wondered how well it would last.

I have no idea how it will hold up....I will keep you guys posted..... One guy that left feedback on the dipyourcar site had the same dip for 3 years and was still going strong....we will see.

Dark wheels look great! Good job. I went the powdercoat route......same color.

Looks good! Sent from my iPad using Rennlist

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I like silver wheels, in general, but for a silver Carrera coupe, the black seems like the winner. Good choice.

Thanks your positive feedback!! If anyone is thinking of using Plasti Dip, PM me - I have some lessons learned that will save you some time and frustration.

Ray, you should post your lessons learned here. That way if someone searches for "plasti dip wheels" they will find something useful.

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+1 Those turned out great

Looks great! I am biased myself as I have black turbo twist. Many will debate if powder coating or paint is better. Pros and cons to both but I prefer powder coat for durability.

I love Plastidip. I did the wheels on my car a few weeks before I sold it.

I really shouldn't have sold that car.

Darrick - thanks so much for providing that picture (nice car by the way)...I have been thinking about putting on that very same side lettering....I really like that way that looks....it dresses it up little. DISCLAIMER- I am not an expert...just a guy with some cans of plati dip and a mission to make my car look better. I have been asked to put my lessons learned on the thread: You can do the job with the wheels on the car - again see youtube. But, I wanted to make sure the wheels came out really good and I did not want any over spray in my wheel wells or anywhere else. I opted to take off the wheels. I only took off two at a time instead of all 4 because I had a jack limitation. BUT, to save time; 1. Take off all four wheels. 2. Clean the wheels using the Pre Dip Spray (other cleaners may work fine, but, I can only testify to what I used) 3. Mask off the tires - BUT, leave a half inch of tire exposed where the tire contacts the wheel. Do this because you want to peel away the over spray to create a perfect edge on the dip. The reason you mask the rest of the tire is because the outer part of the tire will not receive enough dip and you cannot peel it. You would have to use a wire brush or a solvent to get it off....and none of us want to put a solvent on our nice tires. I chose to mask off my Porsche symbol and the valve stem. 4. Lean the tires against something so they are at an angle, but still mostly vertical. You are working with rattle cans and you need to keep them somewhat upright. (note: plasti dip sticks to porous stuff like rough concrete or pavement - so put plastic down or you will have a mess) 5. Spray on at least 5 coats of color (1 can per wheel) and then spray on the gloss coats if you want a little gloss. The experts say that you need 5 coats if you want it to be "peelable". Of note - you spray this stuff from about 4-6 inches away versus 10-12 inches for paint. It sprays on a little rough, but, it smooths out. Allow about 10 minutes between coats. 6. Wait an hour after your last coat and put the wheels back on your car. The dip is very durable when it comes to water and temperature. It is not forgiving to being struck by hard objects. So, when you put your wheel back on, pretend you are playing the game Operation....do not touch your wheel with the tool or you will rip the dip. It gets a lot stronger as it cures over a few days. But, it is super fragile the first few hours....ask me how I know..... Hope that helps. Watch a few videos on youtube and your project will come out great. Again, I am no expert. I am just a dude, with a car that was too silver that likes DIY stuff. Enjoy, Ray

Thanks Ray, your wheels look good with the color contrast.

Also, if you do tear/chip/peel a section of the Plastidip, it's pretty easy to touch up.

I got a handful of PMs from people asking for more pics of my wheels, so here you go: Sorry, I don't have many other pictures than that as I sold the car about a week later.

I guess no pressure washing here... Has anyone used harsh brake cleaner on their plasti-dipped wheels? Just curious...

Actually, you can pressure wash plasti dip as long as you use an 1800psi or less system and don't intentionally get up under an edge - so says the website - they show it being done on video. A brake cleaner would damage the dip. Any solvent should be avoided - again, I am not an expert - I read that on the website.

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very nice! are those fenders rolled? spacers? Love the white letters on the tires... need some spec on the suspension.

Rear fenders were rolled flat, front fenders were untouched. 18mm spacers in the rear, 8mm in the front. Also, the tires were 295/35/18s in the rear and 235/40s in the front. The tire letter paint was supposedly made specifically for tires, but it totally sucked and only lasted about three days. :/

Looks great! Plasti-dip now comes in a ton of colors. From Blaze Orange to Camo Green.. I haven't used it myself, but two friends have been running plasti-dipped wheels for over a year and so far it has held up perfectly. A Sprinter van and an F150, so taking much more abuse than your typical Porsche...

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If you store your car for the winter and you can remove the wheels. You can easily shop around till you find a body shop with guys you like. Then drop your wheels and ask them to spray them either when they have some down time or when they next fix a black car. If they are anything like the guys I hang out with you will definitely get some traction with this offer, likely a great discount and best of all a car paint hardened finish you can clean and wax repeatedly. I did this with my 986 and after they painted them they looked better than factory.

A few more tips for anyone thinking of doing this... Keep the rattle cans standing in a bowl or pail of hot water for a few minutes before spraying. It makes for smoother finish and less 'sputtering'. I used a different technique than OP for masking. I bought a few decks of playing cards from the dollar store and put them in betwheen the rim and the tire. Seemed to work fine for me. Get a spray gun handle from a paint shop or hardware store. Will make the job SO much easier on your fingers. Many people do resprays right on the car, after the wheels start looking a bit brown after a few weeks. Just mask up the calipers and around the fender and go to town. When I went to remove the Plastidip from my thin spoked wheels, it was a nightmare. Especially in crevices on the wheels. Maybe there is an easier way to get the stuff off, but it never came all off for me, and the wheels looked like crap after that until I sold them for a discounted rate. So, don't beleive the hype about it being easy to remove. It takes forever, especially on thin spoked wheels. pre plastidip lots of curb rash I flopped a full house Finished product Spray gun handles

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Looks awesome. Thank you for providing specs. Very helpful. Any rubbing at all?

Btw for anyone interested in this, they sell about a dozen different colors at Pep Boys if you're local to one.

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Zero rubbing.

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Great. Thanks!

Oh yeah, small caveat to that statement: I had to trim the rear bumper a little bit up by where it bolts to the quarter panel. It took 5 minutes with a cutoff wheel and a quick spray of primer/black paint and you'd never know it was trimmed.

I did my C4's winter solid turbo twists last year. Held up great, and all of the information is spot on. A few minor points and a pic of my car. 1) Definitely take the wheels off. I tried doing them vertically but got too much running, so I laid them flat and it seemed to work much better. 2) "Too many coats" is way better than "not quite enough coats". 3) It will look like crap at first. Keep at it and it dries beautifully. 4) It's actually pretty durable. You can take it through car washes and/or spray it with a pressure washer and it'll survive. Mine mostly made it through the whole winter, with the exception of one small area that I'll have to touch up this year. No big deal.

Here is that better picture I promised you.... Ray

Yeah, I know.....I need to redo my caliper...Thanks KK - one of your stickers will soon be there!! Ray