Plasti dipping the chrome

Im thinking about plasti dipping all of my chrome on my truck. (rims, bumpers, and grill). Does anyone have an idea of how many cans it would take.

I think my truck took around 5 cans. I would suggest buying a little extra and return what is unused. In hindsight, I would have bought some to spray out of my gun, or at least bought a better nozzle to put on the can. It turned out just fine, but your finger may be swollen for a week and you want to clean the nozzle in between each coat!

MarshRam said:

I think my truck took around 5 cans. I would suggest buying a little extra and return what is unused. In hindsight, I would have bought some to spray out of my gun, or at least bought a better nozzle to put on the can. It turned out just fine, but your finger may be swollen for a week and you want to clean the nozzle in between each coat!

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How many coats did you do? And do you have a picture you could post

I think I did 4 coats, maybe 5. However, I was very conservative with my applications to ensure I got no drip. You can probably just do 3'coats. I also recommend a bit extra on the front. I'll take some shots and post them for you in a couple hours. If you have never done this before, let me know, there are a couple other tips you should be aware of before doing this.

First thing is, the plastic on your rear bumper, does it need to be re-glossed or is it in good condition. If you need to give it a renewed finish, do that first, you won' t be able to tape off the bumper after the dip is on, the tape will rip it right off.

I'd suggest picking up this 6 pack https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E975MPI/ref=crt_ewc_title_gw_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER fo the price

and this trigger
https://www.amazon.com/Can-Gun1-201...rd_wg=EfFII&psc=1&refRID=5G8E1C8GASGA1FJ5GSYQ

that should get you good. I did both bumpers and my mirror caps (grill isn't the stock one so i won't include that in my usage amounts because mine used less than the stock would) and in total it was about 4 cans. 5 coats on the bumpers. It won't go bad sitting around (if stored properly) so to have an extra can or two will only help you when you notice you need to touch up. Usage will totally vary depending on how you want to apply it as well.

You can do a "dust coat" which will give you more of a textured finish and help avoid drips. Or you can go wet coats which will level it all out and give you a much smoother finish, however drips can happen a lot easier with wet coats. If you do wet coats you'll use more.

Get a bucket of warm to hot water and drop the cans in. in between coats drop them back in. This will help it spray much cleaner

This will be my first time. So any tips are appreciated. Also what do you mean by dust coat and wet coat. And my rear bumper doesn't have any plastic. Except for the black step piece.

Pretty sure he was talking about the black step, I took mine off, sprayed, and then put it back on because I didn't have any reason to spray it and wanted to protect the rest of the bumper.

Dust coat is exactly what it sounds like, a light coat which doesn't 100% cover. A wet coat looks wet when you lay it down, its heavier which allows the plastidip to self level.

- Dust coat. Just try to get an even layer of plastidip with out going too heavy in any one area. The goal is within 2 to 3 coats max to fully cover the part. After that you'll want at least another 1 to 2 coats so that it has thickness so it can be peeled. Spray it too thin, don't do enough coats and it will be a PAIN to take off.

- Wet coat, you spray just heavy enough that the plastidip looks wet, this will level out and create a very smooth finish. 2 coats should fully cover, and then again 2 more coats will insure that you can peel it.

Has bugs or road debris ruined any of the dip in the front on grill or bumper


4.7 v8
Hi flow cat/flowmaster exhaust
7 inch lift/5 inch lift
20 inch falken wildpeak at3/33's

My grill is a honeycomb design not the stock so for my grill no. My front bumper still looks the exact same as the day I sprayed it (which was less than a month ago but based off what many others have said they've gone well over a year with no issues)

Wait the honeycomb style grill isn't stock?

I am talking about my grill, I have an aftermarket grill that is all honeycomb. Your grill would likely take 1 to 1 1/2 cans I'd guess.

Yes, I was talking about the back bumper step. You can use a trim and bumper paint or clear coat to renew your plastic. Works excellent! But, do it before the plastip if it needs it.

mdifilippo gave some good info. That first shot is an example of what your first coat should look like. After that you can go thicker. Also that wrap job is good. You can get over spray off, but its easier to cover a large section and just pull that plastic when done. The job is done at that point with no rubbing and scrubbing to do. If you get concerned about drips, just stop spraying when you feel that concern coming along. Its better to have to put an extra coat or two on vs. screwing it up and starting over! I did the dust coat on my grill and everything else flat. I'm getting ready to get rid of the dust coat, it's a real pain to clean.

Have had it on for 9 months and it is as clean as the day it was put on. Have a couple very small chips on the front bumper, I could just apply a small coat on them and you wouldn't notice unless inspecting closely. I have to redo the front bumper anyway, so will go heavier on it next time as well as the grill, 5-6 thick coats. In the shot below you will see some chrome bumper showing. If you don't have a gap to spray back under that, just take that upper portion of the bumper off. The entire chrome and edges should be painted, so that piece really should come off imo. That is a mistake I made. Pictures aren't great, was hoping to show the dust vs wet look. Storm was coming in just as I was shooting. The lighting gave the black a grey look. It doesn't look like that at all, it is dark black.

Also, just realized you were doing your rims, definitely get 6 cans. I haven't done rims before, but I have read they don't last long. Could just depend on the job they did. Lastly, the small wait time between each coat is boring, if you drink beer or smoke cigs, have them on hand Good luck, it will turn out fine!

By the way, this is what happens when you cant get under your plastic pads, pic 1. Have repainted 4 times.

Got me some Raptors for 50 bucks to hold me off. Getting ready to paint new then throw some plastidip on. Pads come off, that is a great thing, problem solved. Have a small gap on my back bumper pad where it meets the bumper, so I was able to get enough plastidip under it and have never have had an issue with peeling or tightening out from under the pad after the plastidip fully cures.

As for care, I use the netted side, pic 3. Works excellent except for the dusted grill, I use water and an air compressor on that, so go with wet paint job, it's much easier to care for..