Plasti dip side skirts and front lip

[atc789]

Hi everyone,

I have a white model S and I like the look of painted side skirts and front lip. I'm wondering if I could plasti dip the front lip and side skirts in white colour and then use the glossifier to get a similar look to having it painted? Has anyone tried this before on black plastic ? Any thoughts ?

 

[wildtigg3r]

Just from what I have seen what plasti dip can do, you can basically plasti dip anything. Just get the right color and gloss and spray away.

 

[freeewilly]

Why not use real paint for your side skirts and front lip? I don't think plati dip can match color as well as paint.

I like plasti dip because I can try any color I normally won't get when buying a car, and remove them whenever I want, it last up to 3 years. Since you're matching your white model s, it's unlikely you want to remove it. Do it properly so you wont' end up having 2 different kind of white.

 

[nagerseth]

@freeewilly is right... The dip won't match. I'd recommend just doing the entire car.

 

[sickfox]

@atc789 - If you're going to plastidip it, I recommend doing one part first and apply the gloss paint to see if it matches the color of your car. then you can decide if the difference in color (2% - 5% difference) is acceptable.

i have a pearl white MS and painted my lower trims and its not 100% match. the difference is about 3%. if you look at it closely, then it's noticeable, but if you just glance at it, you won't even tell the difference. see below.

Tesla Model S P85 Ben Revzin 2015 for Koncept Cars 2

• sickfox
• Jun 17, 2015

Tesla Model S P85 Ben Revzin 2015 1024x683

• sickfox
• Aug 3, 2015

 

[Fi488249]

Try it, what's the worst that happens. Best thing about plastidip is, if you don't like it, peel it off. I'm not a fan of the unpainted plastic on the bottom, looks cheap to me. I went and bought plastidip and glossifier for about $6 each at Home Depot and tried it on the back. Of course it doesn't match the paint exactly, but you can't tell. And I think it looks better. Someone also told me after you do plastidip and glossifier, use turtle wax spray wax on it to make it look and feel more like paint, and last longer. I'll be doing the side skirts next now that I know how it comes out. I'll post pics.

 

[mdevp]

View attachment 202233 View attachment 202234 View attachment 202235 View attachment 202232 View attachment 202231 Try it, what's the worst that happens. Best thing about plastidip is, if you don't like it, peel it off. I'm not a fan of the unpainted plastic on the bottom, looks cheap to me. I went and bought plastidip and glossifier for about $6 each at Home Depot and tried it on the back. Of course it doesn't match the paint exactly, but you can't tell. And I think it looks better. Someone also told me after you do plastidip and glossifier, use turtle wax spray wax on it to make it look and feel more like paint, and last longer. I'll be doing the side skirts next now that I know how it comes out. I'll post pics.

Thx for the pics. Did you put down a black base and then while plasti over it? I'm assuming you used aerosols, right.

 

[Fi488249]

No, I didn't put down a black base. I did 8 coats of white plastidip in order to get it fully covered, and then 3 coats of glossy coat. The color really isn't bad as far as matching the car. I wish it was a little more glossy. I might try spraying it a couple more times with the glossifier, or find something else to spray it that's high gloss.

BTW, I've never used plastidip or sprayed anything on a car before. This is a very easy and inexpensive DIY. $12 and about 2 hours. I'm hoping it lasts for at least a year, but whenever it starts to look bad or peeling off, I'll just take it off and spray again.

 

[USMC_Mustang]

Try treating the dipped area with Dip Coat protective spray. It really brings out some luster, and also protects the PlastiDip finish. At least it does when applied to black and dark gray.

 

[Fi488249]

I'm going to try turtle wax ice spray on the plastidip. I've heard good things about it on plastidip, that it protects it and makes it shine and feel like paint. I'm doing my side skirts this Thursday, I'll take pics and post when it's complete.

 

[Alaron]

I strongly suggest looking into autoflex. FLDarren, the 'flex-maestro, was nice enough do a chrome delete to my ride as well as color match all the plasticky lower ends ( sideskirts, diffuser, etc.). Unlike Plasti-dip, It has the same glossiness levels as regular paint, with all the convenience of peel-ability that dip comes with:

 

[RWcarbon]

When using plasti-dip, I recommend buying extra and ensursing your coats completely cover the area you want to paint. From personal experience, I would somewhat cake it on so it doesn't start peeling within a couple weeks.

 

[Fi488249]

Did my side skirts today. Was very happy with how it came out until I peeled the tape off, and it took some of the Plastidip with it. I managed to salvage it so it doesn't look bad. Cost me another $12 and a few hours of my time. And yes, I caked it on. Did 10 coats of white and 4 coats of gloss. I'll see how it holds up. Worst case, I peel it off and I'm out $24.

 

[gerti]

I strongly suggest looking into autoflex.

That looks sharp!

 

[p666d]

Nice work on the white! I'm actually thinking of doing the opposite and getting all the lower plastics gloss black (the car is MC red). Not a huge fan of how the body-colored parts look on facelift cars

 

[Alaron]

That looks sharp!

Thanks man! Darren really knows his stuff!

 

[Chief holley]

I strongly suggest looking into autoflex. FLDarren, the 'flex-maestro, was nice enough do a chrome delete to my ride as well as color match all the plasticky lower ends ( sideskirts, diffuser, etc.). Unlike Plasti-dip, It has the same glossiness levels as regular paint, with all the convenience of peel-ability that dip comes with:
View attachment 202639 View attachment 202640 View attachment 202641 View attachment 202642

That looks really good! What was the price to get something like that done!?

 

[Chief holley]

Did my side skirts today. Was very happy with how it came out until I peeled the tape off, and it took some of the Plastidip with it. I managed to salvage it so it doesn't look bad. Cost me another $12 and a few hours of my time. And yes, I caked it on. Did 10 coats of white and 4 coats of gloss. I'll see how it holds up. Worst case, I peel it off and I'm out $24. View attachment 202689 View attachment 202690 View attachment 202691

I really like this! Man, if I had a white car with the dark wheels, I would definitely go for this! I was looking into doing something like this, do you have to mix the black and the gloss together or do you spray the black first, then use the gloss afterwards?

 

[RWcarbon]

Did my side skirts today. Was very happy with how it came out until I peeled the tape off, and it took some of the Plastidip with it. I managed to salvage it so it doesn't look bad. Cost me another $12 and a few hours of my time. And yes, I caked it on. Did 10 coats of white and 4 coats of gloss. I'll see how it holds up. Worst case, I peel it off and I'm out $24. View attachment 202689 View attachment 202690 View attachment 202691

Looks great!! Have you considered plasti-dipping your window trim as well?

 

[Alaron]

That looks really good! What was the price to get something like that done!?

Thank you Holley! I just paid for the materials ( couple of hundred) since FLDarren gave me the "friends and family discount," but for a full blackout package for the entire car, its close to a grand, if done professionally.