G-RELL's Full PLasti Dip & Others

[G-RELL]

So here's a quick walk through on my full plasti Dip spray and other mods I've done over the past few months. I've changed a few things on it lately but since I've never started a "G-Rell" thread over the years, they've just sat around on my phone or computer, never making it to LVC. If you guys want any more info on anything you see below, just let me know.

I've gone back and forth over the years on what to do with the body of this car. I bought it with a little over 90k in 2008 and its been a daily driver ever since. It had its fair share of dents when I bought it (kept the price low), and I've added a blemish or two here and there. With it being a 1st gen, and almost completely original, I've always waited for something major to fail so I can move up to an 06. But the damn thing keeps running like a champ. Almost completely original and runs and drives amazingly (KNOCK, KNOCK).

Well wanting to do something with the body, I stumbled across DIPYOURCAR.com on youtube. Not wanting to spend $3K on a respray, I fell in love with this stuff and it abilities. and once the glossifier came out, I was in.

Dents-

Figured if I liked the Dip, no reason not to fix them all (and if i hated the dip, i could just order the paint from paintsractch to fix)... With no body work experience I jumped in: Sanded, filled, sanded, primered, and sanded again... I didn't get them perfect, but close enough for dip.

Plast Dip-

Did some research, and ordered the following. I had ordered it early enough to where I had enough time to get it done well before STL meet. But the gloss white kit was backordered. It finely shipped with enough time to get it done before leaving, but the gloss gallons were damaged in shipping. Luckly I received all the white, and since I had already fixed the dents, I decided to lay the matte white and do the gloss later.

Professional Large Car/Extra
Coverage Kit (4 Gallons)
Options:
Finish: Gloss
Color: White
Kit Type: Standard $487.00

Includes Spray gun
tape
4 gallons of matte white
2 gallons of gloss
drill mixer
paint strainer
microfiber towels
dip wash towel
stickers


Kit - Wheels (Matte Finish)
Options:
Color: Black
Kit Type: Standard $25.50

Fix Kit (As seen on YouTube) $7.00

PreDip Spray $8.49

and two more cans of black from HD (cheaper than the site)

Between the Videos on utube, and their forum on the site, Felt I could tackle this with fairly good results. (i'll get to the roof and other things later)

washed, claybarred, and alcoholed the body

They say you dont have to mask and the lines and edges will peal themselves, But that really just depends on the edge... the majority of ours have some type of rubber seal that would keep it from peeling as cleanly as they do in the videos. so I opted to remove or tape everything. They say if you pull your masking when its still wet on the final coat, you'll have nice clean (untorn) lines...

rigged up the nicest ventilation system I could (worked pretty good...but box fans next time)... and yes thats a fan blowing a fan

They say the best results are to start with light coats, then get heavier, finishing with a wet coat (pulling masking then)

1st coat through last:

unfortunately we had a baseball game that night so I HAD to leave before the last coat and leaving it to dry.

Unmasking went well, but not perfect, I had to cut a lot of areas I was hoping I wouldn't have too... It was all mainly around the door seal and windows. my plan/ method of taping didn't work as well as i hoped and letting it dry didn't help. other then those spots , it went perfect... You have to get pretty close to see any issues, but overall it came out well.. I was actually fortunate the gloss was delayed, so I can fix some spots before glossing.

Overall I love it... there as a learning curve for it, and I have some spots to fix, but Im very happy with the results. I'll be ordering some more white to go over some areas a little better, then add the gloss. I did have under the door handles on the passenger side peal (sag) a bit, but I think thats from poor preping there... DYC has a blend of thinners I ordered to re-liqify the dip, so fixing wont be a problem. I will also be lifting the car a bit next time to help get the lower areas.

I also knocked out the wheels, badges, and exhaust tips.. it was all very simple... light to heavy coats, then dry and peel... Didn't mask anything on the wheels, the tire overspray peeled right off..

I know its not for everyone... and a full respray would be ideal, but for this price, Its pretty fun. and if i get tired of it, it'll peel off just as quickly

I'll keep updating as I work with it .... and will post some other things I've done here lately also....

 

[cubanocelso]

Beautifulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll:Beer

 

[stugots]

Looks good. I had a hard time telling at first glance that it was even plastidip. I'm sure it looks different in person. It will look even better with the gloss. Real clean.

 

[Ben's LS]

Are the exhaust tips dipped or painted?

Your LS is ballin G-RELL. This is why white is my favorite color for them.

Oh, and nice Victoria's Secret magazine!

 

[jjcool00]

If it I had any influence I'd beg you to keep it Matte!!! Forget the gloss!

 

[M4rk]

I prefer how you did the roof by dipping the windshield side moldings.

But here is a question.. let's say your registration says "Color: Black" and now your car is white - cop trouble?

 

[Andrizzle]

Looks great man... I must have missed something. How and why is the roof already black?

And I agree color matching the windshield molding really helps the roof flow!


And I am with jjcool, don't gloss it. Maybe one of their pearlizers/satin coats - but I don't know about the straight up gloss.

 

[G-RELL]

Are the exhaust tips dipped or painted?

Your LS is ballin G-RELL. This is why white is my favorite color for them.

Tips were dipped too... Mine are bolt on and have seen enough to know they'll handle the heat

If it I had any influence I'd beg you to keep it Matte!!! Forget the gloss!

I just might... nice thing about PD is i can add a layer of matte on top of the gloss without any issues... We'll see how tough it is to keep the white clean... washing it is amazingly easy, but getting dirty is just as easy too.

I 've washed it 3 times now,
first with a little simple green on the bugs... all came right off
2nd with no soap just water... cleaned even better.
and 3rd with just water and a little soap for bugs

all three the dirt sprayed right off... it was awesome

I prefer how you did the roof by dipping the windshield side moldings.

But here is a question.. let's say your registration says "Color: Black" and now your car is white - cop trouble?

that was my only reason for wrapping the roof... knowing I could dip those moldings... Just didn't look right without it

first attempt with cheap vinyl... but you can see the sides black. just didn't work

hard to see but you get the idea

with the door jams still being tan (LPG), it wont be a problem, we dont have inspections or anything here in KS, once you register your car when you buy it, your done, yearly registration is done in the mail.... cops just check insurance and registration, they USUALLY dont care about anything else... I have two (well did) 1st gold LS's... if i switched plates and insurance cards, they wouldn't know the difference...

 

[G-RELL]

Looks great man... I must have missed something. How and why is the roof already black?

And I agree color matching the windshield molding really helps the roof flow!


And I am with jjcool, don't gloss it. Maybe one of their pearlizers/satin coats - but I don't know about the straight up gloss.

yeah I'll post more about the roof tonight when i get a chance...

and more when we do Hite's!!!!

 

[RollinLS]

Looked fantastic at the meet. Pictures really don't do it justice. I really like the roof spoiler on it The looked outstanding.

 

[L_King]

Looks good. Hope it holds up. Might be something I try if my paint ever goes by the way side

 

[G-RELL]

Vinyl Roof Wrap

So I've always liked the black roof on cars... I know its more of an import thing, but the lines on it make it possible IMO. For the price of vinyl on Ebay, I figured it was worth a try. First off, Drizzy and Pauly, much respect for doing the whole car. I did just the roof and struggled. Although we figured out a few tricks to help.

I first figured cheaper would be ok... so I ordered a roll of Oracal 651 $40 (IIRC)... although the ebay add didn't say that, just said roof vinyl. The vinyl was not very glossy, but gave it a try

I started with a wash, then claybared, the alcoholed. Between not really knowing what I was doing, a super sticky (clean) surface, and pretty cheap vinyl...it didn't go so hot. It was damn near impossible to move once down. But the biggest problem, was the vinyl was not an air release vinyl. Which made the air pockets almost impossible to remove. Here was the first attempt: (note we just kinda gave up and just laid it down for pictures)

I talked to my tint guy who wraps... we talked about the process and he recommended Oracal 970 RA or 3m 1080.

so ordered the Oracal (a little cheaper), size was 5 or 6x7'. Amazing the difference!

so much easier to work with, it also helped that we both worked on the same corner at a time, I pulled and heated, she worked the air out... also important to remember that heat is your friend. It went well till we got to the front, which took a third person to also stretch and flatten.
once down, Taped the lines, and started cutting. Once cut, stuffing under the window seals, was easy.

again not for everyone, but I like it

 

[hite337]

 

[Upstairs Chris]

But here is a question.. let's say your registration says "Color: Black" and now your car is white - cop trouble?

For what it's worth, I wouldn't care whatsoever, you are entitled to paint your car. If I did even notice it, I'd ask about it, and then in this case a 20 minute conversation about plasti-dip would probably ensue.


Car looks great GRELL. I will be interested in updates discussing living with plasti-dip, and cleaning it. Their dip foam system looks awesome, for any car plasti-dip or not.

[video=youtube;inHYo72DC7Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inHYo72DC7Y[/video]

 

[marcredd]

Hell of a job Rell!!! Sh** is crazy!!

 

[G-RELL]

For what it's worth, I wouldn't care whatsoever, you are entitled to paint your car. If I did even notice it, I'd ask about it, and then in this case a 20 minute conversation about plasti-dip would probably ensue.


Car looks great GRELL. I will be interested in updates discussing living with plasti-dip, and cleaning it. Their dip foam system looks awesome, for any car plasti-dip or not.

[video=youtube;inHYo72DC7Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inHYo72DC7Y[/video]

Thanks, yeah I've always wanted a foam lance... theirs is pretty nice but want $120 or so... may look for a different one.

Hell of a job Rell!!! Sh** is crazy!!

Thanks!!! yours was def an inspiration

 

[jolinc01]

Almost makes me want to dip my car. Nice job G!

 

[Dan Ro]

I'm glad to see that the second round of the vinyling the roof went well. I like how it looks. I'm still doing some bodywork on mine and am trying to spray it on the 22nd otherwise it looks like it would be two months later because of just being busy. It would really work out well if I could do it the 29th but I work the last Saturday of every month. I Plasti Dipped my window trim this evening. I am absolutely looking forward to spraying it, I am so tired of the bodywork. I wish that either I had my own garage or that it would stop raining so much this spring.

I like how you left the black on the sides of the windshield sprayed. I will do that as well. How long did it take for your order from DipYourCar to show up? I already have my gallons of undiluted clear Dip from awarehouseful.com but just ordered my gray base coat from DipYourCar yesterday.

 

[Hawk03]

Good job, looks great! Its good to see you are good at repairing little dents, I have about 1,000 of them to fix on my car from hail, when do you want it? Oh and I'll have ya dip it too.

 

[RigsLS]

Looks real nice G, turned out pretty good from what I can see, however as previously noted, it's not for me.

Enjoy!

 

[PNWLINCOLN]

WOW! I'm impressed, I think my black LS might be getting a makeover its got several body issues that i could fix and then lay some Plasti dip down and it would be good to go.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[G-RELL]

Thanks Guys

I'm glad to see that the second round of the vinyling the roof went well. I like how it looks. I'm still doing some bodywork on mine and am trying to spray it on the 22nd otherwise it looks like it would be two months later because of just being busy. It would really work out well if I could do it the 29th but I work the last Saturday of every month. I Plasti Dipped my window trim this evening. I am absolutely looking forward to spraying it, I am so tired of the bodywork. I wish that either I had my own garage or that it would stop raining so much this spring.

How long did it take for your order from DipYourCar to show up? I already have my gallons of undiluted clear Dip from awarehouseful.com but just ordered my gray base coat from DipYourCar yesterday.

I hear ya on being busy... I was scrambling for a couple weeks trying to get everything done for STL during my busy time of the year... 5-10 hours a night, on top of work, on top of everything else.. Sounds like you got it under control though. cant wait to see it!!

Good job, looks great! Its good to see you are good at repairing little dents, I have about 1,000 of them to fix on my car from hail, when do you want it? Oh and I'll have ya dip it too.

LOL send it on down!!! Just make sure the trunks filled with cash! My dents came out OK, should have sanded a bit more and not used sandable primer... but its fixable.

Honestly though I wouldn't mind doing it for any member... It could be done in a weekend if we worked together (4-5 days if I did it myself). By now any color you could think of is available!

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys!!!

 

[Dan Ro]

I strongly urge people to use paintless dent removal companies. One of my vendors at work knocked out three dents beautifully. So there is no filler there at all, only metal. Right back to how it was when it rolled off of the assembly line.

 

[Andrizzle]

Roof wrap looks great! That is the same film I used on my entire car. Really nice to work with (relatively) - but wrapping a car for more money than it costs to dip it - and considering the actual dipping process can take a few hours. I will never wrap an entire car again! I probably had well over 50 actual man hours into my wrap. (I worked alone, other than the hood).

I wish plastidip had taken off before I did my wrap.

After I am bored of my matte black - I am definitely ordering a dipping kit and trying out fun colors!

 

[G-RELL]

I had taken it to a body shop to look at the larger dent, they didn't feel it would come out... probably could have shopped it around, but wanted to get it done.

one of the best parts of the dip are the layering abilities... If you want to change something, just add it to the top... no need to peel and start over. The more layers of dip you have the better it covers and the easier it is to remove when u decide to. Each layer bonds with the layers below (reactivating the dried dip below). You may see some different colors outta mine in the future!