r/plastidip • • Dec 05 '15

New to dipping? Check out our helpful wiki.

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30 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • Oct 16 '19

Plasti-dipping FAQ

9 Upvotes

We get a lot of repeat questions from newbies here regarding misuse of plast-dip, so we created an FAQ to address a lot of them. Will add more we find them.

Q: What is plasti-dip?

A: Check out the wiki introduction

Q: Can I paint or clear-coat over plasti-dip?

A: No. The dip will not peel afterwards and will be effectively permanent but won't be durable or look good. If you're going to paint, don't bother using dip at all.

Q: Can I dip over <material>?

A: See the wiki table. If it's something you touch frequently such as a phone case, it will not hold up.

Q: Can I use dip in my home for walls or trim instead of paint?

A: No. It will scuff easily and won't hold up, plus why would you paint your home in rubber? Use paint for your home decor and bathroom renovations. Dip is not a substitute for home paint.

Q: How many layers do I need?

A: At least 4 for a base to be peelable. That's at least four layers of solid matte dip, not counting glossifier or TopCoat or metalizers.

Q: Can I spray clear/glossifier/metalizer dip directly onto my surface?

A: You can, but it's not intended to be used like that and will have issues peeling later because it's thinner than normal matte dip. Glossifier, metalizers, and TopCoat are meant to be sprayed over a solid base of dip.

Q: How many gallons for my car? What about rattle cans?

A: Use the dipyourcar.com site to judge it, and look at what others have used. You won't do a Mustang in two gallons!

Don't use rattle cans to dip large areas like body panels. Using rattle cans will lead to streaks and very thin coverage over a large area, which causes peeling issues. It'll look like crap, your hands will hurt, and it's not worth doing. If you can't afford to spray your car with the right setup using gallons, you straight up can't afford to dip it. Sorry.

Q: How many cans for my wheels?

A: Generally it's one can of a base color per wheel if you're not spraying the barrels. For glossifier it's more like half a can per wheel over your base coats.

Q: Why are my edges ripping when I pull off the tape and masking?

A: Stop letting the final coat dry before you remove the tape. Spray the final coat, let it liquefy the layers so they let go of the tape (10-30 seconds), then remove the tape.

Q: How do I remove overspray or dip that was applied too thin?

A: Goo Gone, paint thinner like naphtha or xylene, or Dip Dissolver. Strong solvents like gasoline or brake cleaner can remove it as well but they're more of a mess. You could also clean the surface and spray more dip until it's thick enough to peel off when dry, but that tends to be more tedious.

Q: How do I avoid streaks with rattle cans?

A: Overlap your passes by 50% coverage, keep a wet coat, and don't use rattle cans on large areas. You'll need a sprayer gun for large things like body panels to have a wider spray pattern and avoid streaks.


r/plastidip • • 1d ago

AZ Zeque RP-81 🇯🇵

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10 Upvotes

So there is this brand in Japan that sells a Plasti-dip like paint called AZ Zeque. Cans are only $4.99 on Amazon.

Results are pretty impressive. This is two undercoats of black and four coats of gold (RP-81) ontop


r/plastidip • • 1d ago

Strontium-Aluminate pigment powder for hand tools?

2 Upvotes

Heyo, I love glow in the dark on my tools, but there are very few tools that come with glow in the dark handles. Could I mix strontium-aluminate powder with plastidip? Anyone ever done something like that before? I see the most relevant posts regarding glow in the dark are from over a decade ago and the outcome is underwhelming, but I think that may be because of the kind of fluorescent mix used would not carry much charge, and especially when used with car painting (as it seems the most common attempt of application in this sub) would be rather thin compared to what I would hope for my hand tools. What are your thoughts on the idea?


r/plastidip • • 2d ago

Did this go well??

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13 Upvotes

Hyper Dip - piano black

Kind of rushed it as it got pretty late at night by the last coat. I think it looks just ok but don’t know if I didn’t make the coats wet enough or too thick? Clearly uneven in some spots, and this should be glossy not matte.

Ok with it currently but could I add an even coat on top to get more gloss? I already did 5 full coats plus 4 dust coats. Dust coats were more heavy handed than I’d like, then like I said I started to rush the full coats towards the end.

P.S. I removed the excess from the tire walls after the pic was taken.


r/plastidip • • 1d ago

best way to get shiny black

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2 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 4d ago

BMW M850I PLASTIDIPPED

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22 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 5d ago

Dip Dissolver hard to get. Any ideas?

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10 Upvotes

Long story short I have been trying to get my hands on a bottle of Dip Dissolver and it isn't working. What's the secret to getting this stuff to central CA?

Details: a direct order from DYC got damaged in shipping, never arrived, and I was out $35 (claim denied). Later I tried an Amazon order from a 3rd party, knowing Amazon has better customer guarantees, and that one too mysteriously wasn't fulfilled. Amazon automatically initiated a refund.

eBay prices are $55 which is pretty ridiculous. I just have some wheels that came black (I assume plasti-dipped too thin given how it's coming off) and I'd like to reveal the lovely clearcoated finish underneath. Goo Gone and a plastic scraper are taking too long.

Appreciate any help out there!


r/plastidip • • 6d ago

Plasti dip removal

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4 Upvotes

Hey guys, recently bought this truck and the old owner put plasti dip on it and did a pretty shit job, I tried to take a bit off but it’s extremely stubborn. I have tried to use a plastic scraper and have also tried wd40, a heat gun and a pressure washer but none seem to be doing the job nicely. I know the paint underneath isn’t the best so im considering just adding more plasti dip and actually just doing it nicely. Any advice is appreciated, cheers


r/plastidip • • 11d ago

2 month update on the pink Mustang

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24 Upvotes

The car looks great and is holding up really well. No complaints. There are a few ways I’d like to do differently, so I’m planning to put a couple more coats plus dip pearl, with some flake. But it may be in the spring.

My driveway is also still just as pink. And I’m still not bothered by it at all


r/plastidip • • 11d ago

Bubbles forming?

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5 Upvotes

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here... I did two other emblems with zero issues and now I'm on the third one here and it's bubbling like crazy. Any solutions?


r/plastidip • • 11d ago

Never plastidipped before

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8 Upvotes

I have some run covers on my Tesla but I want them to go from black to white. What the best way to achieve? Do I need to prep the plastic as in sand down than spray? Or can I just clean them than spray? Here are some pics of the rims


r/plastidip • • 12d ago

Door sill paint wear

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2 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 14d ago

Blacked Out Emblems (Plastidip)

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2 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 16d ago

Modernization facelift feasibility and difficulty as a first-time plastidip project?

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8 Upvotes

I crudely drew over the areas I’d like to plastidip (although I missed the front end from the fender to the already-plastic feature on the lower center of the bumper).

Also included stock images of the car itself to show the un-drawn-on surfaces.

Basically I want to follow the natural flat surfaces on the body (skirts and fenders, under headlights) do a chrome delete for the trim, the wheels, and front door handles.

Also added a crudely-drawn duckbill spoiler that I’m not 100% sold on yet, but if I end up wanting it I’d do that too.

Thoughts? I’ve never done a plastidip project before. Looking for opinions.


r/plastidip • • 17d ago

Plastidip Matte Black

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4 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 17d ago

Durability on car kept outdoors

6 Upvotes

Whats the typical lifespan of plasti dip on a car kept outdoors 24/7? I have my snow tires done and seemed to hold up, but my roof is starting to get cleacoat failure so was looking to just spray black or a similar shade blue to prevent rust and the base coat washing away


r/plastidip • • 18d ago

Peel test on an old gas cap turned into a two hour rabbit hole

5 Upvotes

Was just supposed to be a quick check to see if a base coat of Performix black would peel clean off a plastic gas cap I'd sprayed weeks ago for practice. Grabbed a fingernail edge, started pulling, and the whole thing came off in one satisfying sheet like a sunburn peel. That should have been the end of it.

Instead I spent the next two hours digging through my garage looking for anything else I'd dipped just to peel it back off. Found an old license plate frame, a interior door handle, even a random hex bolt I must have dipped by accident while testing spray patterns months ago. Every single peel felt weirdly rewarding in a way I can't fully explain to people who don't do this.

What I'm noticing after a few months into this hobby is that the peel quality tells you almost everything about how the application went. Clean full sheet peel means even coats and good cure time. Little confetti pieces flaking off usually means I rushed a coat or didn't wait long enough between layers, especially in that 55 to 60 degree range where dry time drags.

Curious if anyone else has a stash of random household objects they keep just for peel practice. Mine has grown to an embarrassing pile of test pieces that serve zero functional purpose other than giving me something satisfying to strip on a slow evening.


r/plastidip • • 21d ago

First time practicing

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16 Upvotes

Hey all,

Practicing a little bit before I take it to the car. The top of the emblem has gotten a little rough from the final layer (6th layer). Is this something that can be fixed without a solvent? Like adding another layer? Or if I want to get rid of that, do I have to start from the beginning again?

On another note, is this purely cosmetic? Or will this greatly affect lifespan of the dip?

(It has been drying for about two hours)


r/plastidip • • 23d ago

Red plastic dip on rsx

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38 Upvotes

2nd time plastic dipping this time on my rsx I tink it turn good what you all think


r/plastidip • • 28d ago

Sharing some dip work Ive done over the years

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22 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • 28d ago

Dipped my Grand Marquis Slate Blue. This color is sick.

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44 Upvotes

r/plastidip • • Sep 13 '26

UPDATE: I tried WD40 and it removed almost all of my plasti dip.

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35 Upvotes

unsure why dipyourcar dissolver didn't work.But the comments from my previous post recommended WD40/Gasoline. Next steps are to prep for dipping tomorrow.


r/plastidip • • Sep 10 '26

Is this even possible?

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3 Upvotes

Trying my best to chrome delete my forester. Have had 2 attempts at plastidipping the moulds on my windows but not getting any luck.

The problem I'm having is, the chrome is in the middle, and above and below it, are the bits of rubber. When I try to peal the dip off it just doesn't grip to the chrome/rubber edge and I'm left with a half-ass looking end product where there are bits of chrome showing.

My 1st attempt was bad job by me and going to heavy on the spray. My 2nd attempt I was more patient. Did 2-3 layers of a light mist before doing another 3-4 layers a bit more heavy. I even got a thin card and pushed in the dip right on the edge hoping that would help it.

Pealed it off and again, and I could see it wasn't catching the edge, so I got my craft knife and ran that along the edge but it just looks like shit.

Am I better off doing a vinyl wrap on this stuff? Or do I dare buy another can and try for a 3rd time? Any help would be much appreciated!


r/plastidip • • Sep 09 '26

Suitable sprayer that is more affordable than their "G-Force" sprayer???

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2 Upvotes

Suitable sprayer that is more affordable than their "G-Force" sprayer???

Im interested in doing matte black on my 2017 Jeep Wrangler. Can anyone suggest a more affordable sprayer that IS ACTUALLY A SUITABLE REPLACEMENT to their "G Force" sprayer? Ill go with the G-Force If I must but im trying to cut cost if I can.

Thx