dcjwlee

Got bored today so I decided to plasti dip my grille and part of my front bumper. Overall, the car looks much more aggressive! I had to try a few designs on the front bumper before I found one I liked.

Pics coming soooon. Waiting for my phone to recharge.

MBRedux

No Pix

dcjwlee

Caught the bug. Doing my rear chrome trim and lettering. Might just take off the lettering for now, spray them, and then order some 2 sided tape to put them back on because taping that **** didn't work so well last time.

dcjwlee

Grill fins plasti-dipped black, lower bumper plasti dipped... but a little skewed.




Rear chrome strip plasti dipped, going to do the star, take the letters off and spray them (taping them is a nightmare) and get some 2 sided tape to put them back on.



Exhaust was pretty dirt with lots of nasty build up on it. Sanded major crap off, left visible finish unsanded and applied plasti-dip. Only one for now, other one is still drying!


More stuff to come.

dcjwlee

I plan on re-doing the front bumper so that the dip only comes up as far as the side"fins" do. This will leave a little strip of forward facing white. It will be hard to pull off (tape) but maybe I'll try tonight if I have time.

victort

can you get a close up of the grill? thanks

dcjwlee

Sure, I actually re did it because the finish was kind of rough. A little overspray ( I think) smoothened it out a bit, but I had to redo it because it got runny on one fin.

Gimme a few.

Edit: it's actually too dark, not enough light in my garage and my cellphone camera is far too crappy. The finish looks like well... plastic.

dcjwlee

A few more pics. Re-did the front bumper, did the tail lights, trunk chrome/emblem, exhaust outlets, and stole the plate frame from the other car so I could black that out too. The trunk looks empty without the badging so as soon as I can get my hands on some 2x sided tape I have the C300 4matic badges blacked out too.

Definitely going to need a spoiler too balance out the rear end.

Not going to get much sleep before I gotta go to work but HEY, it's only Monday and the weekend was wayyy too far for me to wait for!!!!!

Scat01

Somebody get the can away from this guy before he hurts himself...hahaha Just kidding around, but why the heck did you do the reverse lights? and the tips? The front looks much better second time around - I am amazed at how many people are jumping on this plasti dip kick, never would have imagined it would reach the MB world.............

2012c350

I really wish someone would explain the obsession with darkening safety features (lights.) Just don't get it.

stilolos

I'm likeing the look but agree that safety features are there for a reason. How much light shines through?

dcjwlee

If it's any consolation the red led turns shine very brightly through the spray. In fact, the way the light refracts off the plasti dip coating actually seems to increase their visibility when you are looking at the car from the side. BUT light output IS somewhat reduced, if not noticeable when looking AT the lights, it is definitely noticeable when I turn on my hazards and it doesn't illuminate street signs a block away.

I plan on redoing them bullitt style tn. I'll probably end up putting a light tint over the turn/reverse lights, around 55% I'm guessing.

You are correct though, I overlooked the reverse lamps, and that is stupid dangerous to have them covered like that. They ARE visible but output is DEFINITELY reduced.

Boris0126

The front bumper looks good I just got front bumper repainted and got the black strip at the bottom Painted black, how is the plasti dip holding on the bumper?

agedog2gt

how did you tape off things and not rip off the plasti dip when removing the tape? The only way i can think of doing this is actually removing the piece that you want to paint from the car then putting it back on once plasti dip dries.

what did yo do? what tape did you use?

dcjwlee

I used painter's tape until I ran out then used masking tape.

Peel off the tape after every single coat. If you let it dry the dip will come off. Re tape for the next coat. LET IT DRY before you start taping again.

Painter's tape is definitely recommended anywhere you will be masking over already painted areas. Masking tape will probably rip off the plasti-dip depending on how long you have left it to dry. I used masking tape and newspapers to cover the larger areas.

Peel off the tape after every single coat. If you let it dry the dip will come off. Re tape for the next coat. LET IT DRY before you start taping again.

Also, if you start spraying on the paper and move over the item in bursts it will be easier to avoid overspray. Idk, maybe it's just me but I tend to overspray on the first burst.

I'm going to spray the C300 4Matic emblems tonight and put them back on (hopefully this scotch 2x tape works). I think this will help balance out the car.

If I am not too many beers in I will re-do the tails so that the reverse/turn lamp is surrounded but not covered. I personally don't like the covered look either, but it was 7 AM and I had to take a nap before work.



Honestly, It's too early to tell. The grille and bumper are holding up fine... for now. It's been two days, one through rain, and there are no marks BUT I should really wait at least a week or two before I can comment on durability.


Lol, no I agree I think I went a little overboard. Actually, when I blew my nose I was getting little bits of plasti-dip, so I started wearing a mask after that.

I think the tips being blacked out look better in person, I also pushed them out a little further, they were kind of tucked in there. I'm hoping to find a nice shiny diffuser with fins that doesn't require quad exhausts and I think that the black tips will look better then.

Definitely going to redo the tails soon.

agedog2gt

I used painter's tape until I ran out then used masking tape.

Peel off the tape after every single coat. If you let it dry the dip will come off. Re tape for the next coat. LET IT DRY before you start taping again.

Painter's tape is definitely recommended anywhere you will be masking over already painted areas. Masking tape will probably rip off the plasti-dip depending on how long you have left it to dry. I used masking tape and newspapers to cover the larger areas.

Peel off the tape after every single coat. If you let it dry the dip will come off. Re tape for the next coat. LET IT DRY before you start taping again.

I WAS THINKING TO REMOVE THE TAPE BEFORE IT DRIES BUT DIDNT DO IT. IM GOING TO DO IT AGAIN. THX FOR THE TIPS BRO!

overspray on the first burst.

dcjwlee

Just a little disclaimer. I know a lot of you have your opinions on plasti dip but I'm just a novice trying some small tweaks to my car. It's awesome that I can just take it off if I screw up.

Last weekend it's painting, this coming weekend I'm going to try taking the front bumper off for the first time so that I can replace my fog lights (one cracked, one hazed) once the pair Caligreenzzz sent me gets here on Friday. (TY again, $75 for a pair shipped )

I also think I will try changing the engine air filters for the first time.

I know this may seem a bit overboard to some, but I'm just trying to burn some time and have a little fun. It's also getting me warmed up for trying bigger things down the line.

More pics. Not sure which surround I want to go with. These are very rough drafts, just rubbed off the middle area to get an idea of what it looks like. Gonna fully remove and respray. Probably gonna go with the design on the left. Also, a preview of the emblem soon to be reattached.

dcjwlee

Okay, done plasti-dipping. For reals.

End product.





TY for your feedback, everyone!

Scat01

Hey now - I think the taillights look 100% better, and safer....

Zonica

did you plasti dip your driveway?

2012c350

+1

dcjwlee

Lol, can't tell if you're being sarcastic over the internet... but no lol it was raining and it's a B&W photo so it gave the pavement a shiny look.

OttoMcintyre

Doing my rear chrome trim and lettering.

stilolos

Bechul

Hey, that black n white photo looks like you also plasti dipped the driveway, haha j/k