Chillswitch |
01-08-2015 03:49 PM |
Everything I know, I learned from the internet.
9 Attachment(s)
It's 2015, and so I decided to some experimenting. I wanted to try out a black roof (white car) and see how it looks. I watched some You Tube videos about plasti dip and decided to go for it.
First, I washed and clayed the roof of the car to get a clean surface. I also removed the drip rails (long black plastic trim on roof) and the antenna, which I taped from the back side. I taped off around the roof and areas to be painted, then put a .5 mil drop cloth over the entire car and taped that in place. Then I cut out the roof section on the tape lines, so that only the plastic is cut and not the tape (or the paint underneath). After taping that edge down to the existing tape lines, I was ready to go. This is pretty much a fail-proof way to paint any panel, and I recommend it to anyone in the future. I wiped the roof down one last time and shot a tack coat, and let it dry 15 minutes. I ended up applying four wet coats, changing direction each time to avoid streaking. It didn't work--I still have streaks from the final coat.
While I was at the store getting supplies, I also picked up some red plasti dip and another drop cloth, because why not. I unrolled the second drop cloth to its full length and cut it in four sections. I stuffed it behind the spokes of the wheels and opened it up to cover the brakes and the barrel of the wheel. I also taped off the the threads of the valve stems and removed the center caps. I cleaned the wheel as best I could and applied paint the same way--4 wet coats after a tack coat. I didn't mask off the tires because everything I read said it should peel right off anyway (dirt, uneven surface, etc). While I did get a nice peel around the edge of the wheel, the thinner areas of overspray did not go as well. I used mineral spirits and brake clean to get the rest of the paint off. It took a LONG time, but the results are worth it.
You can see the streaks on the roof and the runs in the wheels, but I did it as an experiment! I wanted to drive around with this for a while and see if I like it, which I do! The car looks awesome. Reminds me a little of a gt3rs, from our boxer brethren Porsche. Next I'll get some vinyl for the mirrors and roof and hydrodip or powdercoat the wheels.
This little project was cheap--$50. That includes the 6 cans of paint, 2 drop cloths and a roll of tape. The results aren't impressive and I didn't anticipate perfection either. I just wanted to play with some colors and see what I could come up with. I'm so thankful for the internet for all the information we gather daily. While Back to the Future didn't predict the internet, it still got some things kinda right about 2015: Peelable paint--just not peelable face lifts. Soon, though, I'm sure.
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