Why plastidip, horrible idea

I would rather stick my hand in a meat grinder than plastidip my rims again. Between washing my truck and Thoroughly cleaning the rims I’ve spent 7! Hours and still have a couple cans of glossifier left to go. It’s miserable just go buy some new rims

 

Time consuming for sure! Let us know when you're ready for those new wheels, John - we'll make sure you're taken care of

 

I dipped my FN Six Shooters since I got them second hand for an insane deal. They were black and I don't care for black wheels since a $5k set of black wheels look the same as $500 black wheels from more than 15ft away, so whats the point of spending a bunch!? Anyway, enough ranting.... I got Bronze Gold from DipYourCar and the satinizer. Went on pretty good, took about 3 hours (wheels were off the truck) and for my first time using dip seriously it turned out great and has held up very well! I did one can of color per wheel (stopped at the line behind the spokes of the hoop) and 2 cans of satinizer over the full set. The only reason I did the satinizer is that it advertises that it has UV protection and I didn't want fading. Also, dip is very easy to repair if I get trail rash, which I expect.

I know dip gets a bad rap. But 95% of the people that say it's junk don't take their time to do the prep work and that is THE single most important step!

 

I'm seriously thinking of doing this. I have the dip already. My only issue is I don't have room in my garage to pull the truck in. Has anyone done them out in the driveway in open air? Get anything on the rims by doing it that way?

 

I didn’t have a problem. I’d highly suggest taking your wheels off the truck, it’ll save time and eliminate a lot of headaches

 

Thanks. How do you clean the wheels now?

 

I haven’t crossed that path yet. I refused to spend $30 of the cleaning products that dip your car promotes. With my lift and camper shell I’ll have to wash at home or at a diy car wash. I’d just be cautious about power washing the coating

 

I've heard power washing is ok as long as you use a fan pattern and don't just beat the wheel to death with it. So I'd assume it'd be just like washing any other wheel. I agree with the dip your car stuff. It is a touch expensive. I wonder if something like purple power or simple green would work? I use that on my wheels for years and it takes all the brake dust and road from off pretty easy. It seems like it wouldn't be to harsh.

 

If you spend 5k on a set of wheels, someone needs a kick in the balls and head check.

 

So for cleaning I would use a degreased like Purple Power no stronger than 5:1 ratio is needed or Dawn Platinum, 1/4c to a 32oz bottle works great!!! Work one wheel at a time as far as cleaning. Get a decent brush and you’re golden.

As far as cleaning goes. I haven’t had any issues yet. I generally use Armor-All Wheel and Tire cleaner, though I hate all other Armor-All products. The reason I like that is it also gets rid of “tire browning” also known as ozanantes, cleans the wheel good, breaks down brake dust nicely and is available almost anywhere. With that I haven’t had much need for a pressure washer on the wheels and tires. If you use a spray and pray bay then you kinda have to just that for yourself. The ones in my area I keep it about 12” minimum from the wheels. But my truck normally doesn’t get very dirty. When it does I generally clean it as soon as possible so it’s easy to remove.

As for dip on your tires after spraying. You can use the dip release which is very cool! Or if you simply use a stiff nylon brush (like you use to scrub tires with) with no cleaners it will come off pretty easily. Dip naturally doesn’t want to adhere to rubber so it comes off fairly easy. But since you don’t want to waste your dip, stay off the tire as much as you can.

Hope that helps!

 

I agree, I was just making a point. It’s only my opinion. It seems like every truck or bro-dozer around my area runs a black wheel, so to me they all look the same to me till I’m next to it at a stop light. But I don’t see why people spend so much on some black wheels when they all look the same from so many feet away. I get the offset and all that to clear certain tires. But there just isn’t much character to them. Some trucks (or cars) I will completely agree that black wheels are the best color, but again I don’t see spending crazy amounts on something that’s just hidden in the shadows essentially.

 

My truck is primarily a farm/offroad/hunting truck and doesn't get on the highway much. I wanted black wheels, but it didn't make sense to spend several hundred bucks when they would only get as scuffed and marred as the ones which were on it.

So, spending an afternoon removing the wheels and carefully prepping them and painting them was totally worth it. IF DONE RIGHT, Plasti Dip can last ages without being damaged - even in the harshest of conditions. I did mine last summer and only one of them needs touching up, and that's from running up against it with my lawnmower and scratching it off.

Like someone else said, the prep work is 90% of the work. And when you go to touch them up it's way easier. All I do to fix messed up spots is wash the area, then get a rag with a bit of paint thinner and clean the affected area to give a smooth mating surface and remove the bits which are peeling back, then hit it with a few spot sprays.

And, as for cleaning them? I wash my whole rig with a 3.5GPM pressure washer using a 15 degree tip - including the wheels, and never have issue. Just don't get 8" away from them and bear down on them and they'll be fine. Once you get the big chunks of mud and thick coat of dust off, you can hand wash.