westopill

So i have a 2000 Lexus ES300. It's color is Black Onyx two-toned with grey on the bottom.Unfortunately the paint has seen better days. The previous owner really burnt through the paint with his rotary polisher which he clearly didn't know how to use. It would look great if it just got repainted, but unfortunately that is something that i cannot afford. I love the way the car looks with black glossy paint, but it's losing its shine. I'm thinking about eventually (in a year or so) plasti dipping it matte white, or two toning it matte white and grey. What do you guys think? Is it worth it since the car is so old? I'm a college student, so i plan on keeping it a while. The guys over at dipyourcar.com have a professional car dipping kit for around $300-400 that's a "Do It Yourself" job. If I end up dipping it, this is where i will buy from. They have some great instructional vids on how to do it. Either way, i think matte white would look fantastic on this car. Matte black would look rather bland i think. Let me know what you guys think.

Jetfire

iTrader: (3)

go for it if it;'s something you're willing to spend money on to try out. Just be careful of application, watch out for overspray and apply thin and evenly in layers to reduce orange peel. Get a paint gun rather than doing it with rattle can.

monkey92

iTrader: (3)

good advice from jetfire, i would however, buy a can and test it on a test spot, reason is because ive heard that the texture isnt very smooth, so i would test it and see how you like it before committing to the $300 kit. unless you have already seen it before and like it then the white would look pretty sick

westopill

I have seen pics of many plasti dipped cars and white seems to look the best on any car. I think the reason is because you cant really see reflections on white paint, so it looks as though it was painted with a fresh coat of new paint. Also, i think if i plasti dip mine eventually, i'll go two tone with a white top and maybe a silver or grey bottom layer. I'm bound to plasti dip the car eventually (in a year or two) since my clear coat is failing, and i think that for around 300 dollars, it's about as good as it gets. The kit actually includes the spray gun that the people at dipyourcar.com use to do thier professional paint jobs for customers. So it would work just fine.

monkey92

iTrader: (3)

a two tone would be interesting to say the least, a little bit of old school.

Schmexus

How does that stuff hold up to washing? I'm guessing a pressure washer is out of the question? I've used it on other things before and it peels off fairly easily. I don't see how you can have it on a vehicle and still be able to wash bugs and bird crap off without damaging it?

seyelabrev

iTrader: (2)

Washing wouldn't be a problem. I've ran thru a touch less car wash multiple times. If you keep a safe distance using a pressure washer, you'll be fine. I had mine till earlier this year and lasted 2 years total till I peeled it off.

Just be cautious not to use any kind brush.. That'll scrub it right off.

westopill

seyelabrev is absolutely right. Washing it shouldn't be a problem. dipyourcar.com has a video on YouTube showing how to use a pressure washer on plasti dipped paint. Its very safe as long as you don't use aggressive wash methods such as scrubbing or rubbing the plastidip.

westopill

Here's a video of a plasti dipped white Lexus IS250 that was washed with a pressure washer.

Schmexus

Wow I had no idea it was that durable.


He used the foam brush in the video. Is that not advisable?

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

FWIW, my coworkers car has held up fine for well over 1.5yrs now. Little pinholes around the wheel wells, but for the use and cold brutal winters it's sees up here I was very impressed.

The application is key to get it right, if some time is spent on one panel vs. the next you'll be able to spot there is a difference in thickness or runs. Mind you, his WRX is fluorescent orange, so it may be more evident.

I was going to do this to my ES, but with a gloss finish. Never got around to it though.

westopill

It's probably not something that anyone with plasti dip should do regularly. (Maybe if your extra careful) Over time it could ware out the plasti dip or peel it. You especially don't want to use that foaming brush on a painted surface as it will scratch the crap out of it. People put that thing on the ground, then put it back up. I think the best way to clean a plasti dipped car from what I've seen is to use a foaming gun, then rinse with a pressure washer. If you don't have a pressure washer then using a garden hose sprayer should work just fine.

Schmexus

That foam brush doesn't come near my car. I see people using the squeegee on their paint before they run their cars through the auto-wash and I just cringe. Might as well grab a handful of rocks and scrub it down with that first.

seyelabrev

iTrader: (2)

I used a spray gun opposed to a rattle can, and probably applied 5-7 coats of it. To be exact, I used 2 and a half buckets of matte black colored plasti dip (on a black based color car). If you decide to do white plasti dip, it might take a little more since your base color is black. Just be aware to spray places such as mirrors equally and the area under the rear bumper since it was a HUUUUUGE PAIN to remove lol. Good luck!

dapimpee

I would not.