Plasti-dip added to front bumper (not just lower section), as well as more pictures!

[1clean4runner]

Well... I had today off work and naturally found myself pacing in the garage. I noticed a can of plasti-dip (always have one handy) sitting on the shelf next to the T4R and I decided to kill some time. As some of you know, I've experimented with all different kinds of front end looks, as well as painting the wheels, with plasti-dip. I digress. So I started spraying...

The latest painting is that of the center section of the whole front bumper, not just the lower part. My reasoning: it had all kinds of scratches and rock chips from my frequent highway driving and plasti-dip hides imperfections phenomenally well.

Anyways, it consumed about an hour of my time (most of that spent sitting with a cold beverage waiting for the paint to dry between coats).

Tip for plasti-dipping on partial flat surfaces:

To make a straight edge with plasti-dip, apply electrical tape as your guide line. Then apply masking tape outside of that (newspaper beyond that if you tend to be loosey-goosey with rattle cans). Paint. When done with all coats, find a small flat-head screwdriver. With just enough pressure to break the rubber seal of the plasti-dip, but not enough to scratch the paint underneath in case of future removal, trace the edge of the electrical tape with the side of said flat-head screwdriver. Every couple inches, clean any excess plasti-dip from the screwdriver to ensure a smooth cut. Remove tape and wal-lah... clean edge.

On to the pictures... :bluejump: As it sits now...

OLD PICTURES I think my old photo sharing account was deleted, along with some of the other pictures I posted on here. So just in case, here are a couple of OLD, different plasti-dip pictures to give you soon-to-be plasti-dippers some ideas as to what you may or may not like...

Lower center section, lower chrome portion of grill.

Lower center section, lower & middle chrome portion of grill.

Wheels, whole front grill, and lower center section of front bumper (sorry,front grill is almost impossible to see but its best picture I still have. May be another picture floating around here that I can't find right now... EDIT: Found one).

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the pictures!

 

[krupnation]

Your rig looks pissed off....I like it

 

[BluSkies]

looks freakin sweet!!!

 

[Whitebeauty]

So did u end up doing the whole thing? the grill all the way down...

 

[1clean4runner]

So did u end up doing the whole thing? the grill all the way down...

Pictures 1-6 are the way it sits now. The rest of the pictures are just things I tried in the past.

 

[momo.75]

Looks awesome!

 

[1clean4runner]

Looks awesome!

Thanks Momo! Nice avatar btw! Did you pick up HOJeepster's BFG's?

 

[1clean4runner]

Your rig looks pissed off....I like it

looks freakin sweet!!!

:hatsoff:

 

[JV65]

I love the fact you always have a can of Pasti-Dip handy! I did my badges yesterday. Came out good.

Wondering if you stuffed newspaper behind the bumber so over spray would not get into the engine bay? I have gray cladding & may hit it with Plasti-Dip this weekend. Any tips on getting a nice even coat over large areas?

How thick on each coat?
Distance to spray at?
How long did you wait between coats?
How many coats?

Your Runner looks sweet. As always great job!

Jeff

 

[A_HuL]

The front end looks great, I did my entire front grill with plasti dip and did all my emblems too, I can't seem to master the flat surface though and getting a straight edge, how long to you let the last coat dry before you peel the tape off? Also how well does the plasti dip hold up on rims with the weather and everything, I plasti dipped the center caps on my FJ wheels but I can't make up my mind on doing it or not, I might experiment on my spare first. Always enjoy looking at your additons keep on rolling

 

[1clean4runner]

I love the fact you always have a can of Pasti-Dip handy! I did my badges yesterday. Came out good.

Wondering if you stuffed newspaper behind the bumber so over spray would not get into the engine bay? I have gray cladding & may hit it with Plasti-Dip this weekend. Any tips on getting a nice even coat over large areas?

1 How thick on each coat?
2Distance to spray at?
3How long did you wait between coats?
4How many coats?

Your Runner looks sweet. As always great job!

Jeff

Thanks buddy! Now that you mention it, I did stuff some newspaper behind the bumper. Just enough to loosely cover the radiator.

Gray cladding looks awesome with Plasti-dip. Someone did it here but I forget who. You have probably seen the pics anyways (IIRC it was a gold-ish color 4runner with the severely faded cladding). If not, I'll help search for them.

To answer your questions...

1 For the 1st coat, go light but still relatively even. It'll look a little "splotchy", but that's fine. 2nd coat, spray it on so you pretty much can't see the factory paint. It may still look uneven, but that's fine too. 3rd coat, spray it on until you are satisfied with the outcome. It dries more even in appearance than when wet, so give it some time. You can always add more coats, but 3 is usually sufficient.
2 All spraying is done about 8-10 inches from surface with spray can upright as much as possible.
3 Wait 15-20 min. between each of the 3 coats. The can says 30 minutes, but unless it's 10 degrees and snowing outside, 15 minutes is enough for it to dry. I actually washed my car less than hour after I sprayed the last coat, and everything was fine as you can see.
4 3 usually, but more if I got lazy and missed a spot.

 

[JV65]

Great information! I appreciate the tips. If I get off my arse, & do it this weekend, I'll post some pics. I don't mind the painting (Plasti-Dip)...it's the taping everything off that gets tedious.

 

[thirstyturtle]

Love it. You inspired me a few months ago to do the rest of my grill (already had center piece done) and the center lower part of the bumper. I may try this as well, although I'm worried it'll be too much against my Titanium Silver...

 

[Dusty Driftwood]

I had the same idea...





....it did not turn out as well as yours... maybe I'll give it another shot

 

[NJshadow93]

looks good...but i have to be that guy. How will this hold up? I only ask because in the future i plan on using plasti-dip on my cladding but am worried about how durable it is against the elements...salt, rocks, bugs, dirt, etc. From what I hear, you can't really touch up plasti-dip. I did my side mirrors about a month ago, they are holding up great and look brand new.

 

[1clean4runner]

The front end looks great, I did my entire front grill with plasti dip and did all my emblems too, I can't seem to master the flat surface though and getting a straight edge, how long to you let the last coat dry before you peel the tape off? Also how well does the plasti dip hold up on rims with the weather and everything, I plasti dipped the center caps on my FJ wheels but I can't make up my mind on doing it or not, I might experiment on my spare first. Always enjoy looking at your additons keep on rolling

Yeah the straight edge on a flat surface takes a few tries to get right. About 3 minutes after I sprayed the last coat (when its still wet but not wet enough to run), trace the edge with the side of the mini-screwdriver, or something else like that. That seemed to separate the plasti-dip enough for me to be able to peel off the tape without stretching the dip.

Love it. You inspired me a few months ago to do the rest of my grill (already had center piece done) and the center lower part of the bumper. I may try this as well, although I'm worried it'll be too much against my Titanium Silver...

:cheers: Yeah I think your truck looks great as is. The problem I had with my color is that the painted lower center section was barely noticeable. That's why I thought it could pull off the look with more black.

I had the same idea...





....it did not turn out as well as yours... maybe I'll give it another shot

Give it a shot! This took only about half a can (already had the grill done the way I liked).

looks good...but i have to be that guy. How will this hold up? I only ask because in the future i plan on using plasti-dip on my cladding but am worried about how durable it is against the elements...salt, rocks, bugs, dirt, etc. From what I hear, you can't really touch up plasti-dip. I did my side mirrors about a month ago, they are holding up great and look brand new.

Haha feel free to be that guy! That's what forums are for right?

It should hold up well. That lower center portion was painted months ago and it looks better than the factory paint on the bumper. The plasti-dip is almost less prone to chipping since its rubberized. Note - I don't go through automated car washes though so I can't vouch for that aspect.

You can easily touch up plasti-dip! Just spray over anything that is messed up with a couple more even coats. It'll blend right in with what you've already painted. If you are on the cautious side, peel it all off and start from scratch.

 

[8086bruce]

That looks really good!:thanks: for the pics!!!

 

[jcd]

I was thinking about doing my rims also...I'm wondering how well the plasti dip holds up against weather, salt etc...still looking nice?..
And you had to do the standard clean, sand, prime yeah?
JD

 

[1clean4runner]

I was thinking about doing my rims also...I'm wondering how well the plasti dip holds up against weather, salt etc...still looking nice?..
And you had to do the standard clean, sand, prime yeah?
JD

It holds up very well. If it happens to chip or something, which didn't happen to me, you can just spray over the imperfections without re-doing the entire wheel.

Standard clean with soap and water. Allow to dry thoroughly. No sanding. No priming. 3 coats of plasti-dip (light to heavy), and you're good to go :art:

 

[jaybird93000]

if ya get a chance, could u get some pics of that bumper and grille plasti dip out in the sun? would love to see how it contrasts with ur galactic gray paint!:hungry::banana: just another idea to throw at ya for creative thinking, you could finish off the grille's chrome with plasti dip, then black out the headlights... i personally can't wait to do mine, and i really think it'd take yours to a whole 'nother level of mean machine hahaha! Great job so far tho!