Earlier this year I decided to switch the color of my wheels back to the original platinum satin finish that the car came with. As you may know from my previous posts and videos (check out my You Tube channel: GTSilver for this and many other Porsche DIY videos!) I sprayed my factory wheels with matte black Plastidip a while back. Absolutely loved it!
So I captured the 'dip removal process. In a previous post (check it out: http://plenums.blogspot.com/2015/12/plastidip-removal-991-c4s-rear-wheel.html I did a "refinish" of one of the wheels that needed touch-up after a tire swap, but in that case I tried couple of different techniques. This time, I decided to forgo the chemicals and attempt a full removal with just my fingers / elbow grease!
Getting right to it, here is the video, out on my YT channel GTSilver:
I say it throughout the video, and I'll repeat it again here: the amount of effort to remove the dip from a wheel is directly proportional to how thick and evenly you applied the spray in the first case.
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I've had the mirrors on my GT Silver 2014 991 C4S sprayed in Plastidip Matte Black for the past year or so. Decided to remove the 'dip as I am preparing for other projects. To remove the dip I wanted to remove the mirrors entirely from the doors. Thought I'd show you the process of removing the mirrors from the doors. Might be useful for anyone wanting to send their mirrors out for painting, or wrapping, as well as for those who might want to swap their mirrors for another set....
Couple of things to note.... I have the standard 991 mirrors. I do NOT have the power folding, Sport Design, or "GT3" mirrors. However, I believe in any case the procedure to remove the mirror from the door is the same -- remove trim, a single bolt, and pull the wiring harness through the door.
Also, when I bought the car, the dealer had already installed xPEL PPF, and there are small pieces on the mirrors. When I sprayed with Plastidip, I just sprayed right over the film. So, I really wasn't sure if the 'dip was going to bond or "merge" and stain the clear film. But actually what I found is that the 'dip spray peeled-off more easily from where the film was than where it was not! As you can see in the video I shot, the 'dip peels off real easily from the mirrors. Each mirror took me about 30 minutes to peel and clean-up. Where I had difficulty peeling, I simply brushed on some Xylene and wiped the 'dip off! Very easy!
I continue to be impressed by the durability and versatility of Plastidip! It is amazing stuff. My car is no garage queen, so seeing first-hand how it protects the car I am a true believer!
Here's the video posted up on my YouTube Channel - GTSilver.... Please subscribe for more!
I posted a (lame...) DIY video over on my GTSilver YouTube page:
The Background:
Short story is that I have had my '14 Carrera Classic wheels painted with matte black Plastidip for about a year now. I just had new tires installed, and the process of doing so pulled some of the 'dip off. The drivers side rear was in the worst shape and I decided to strip the whole wheel face and reapply. The other three just needed minor touch-ups and a respray.
I am loving this stuff... Even with harsh weather of all kinds, and many washings, the Plastidip on the wheels has held-up extremely well. I had one small instance months back where I had a "chip" in the "dip", and that was easy to fix without refinishing or painting the whole wheel.
I'll post another vid and more on the touch-up process later....
I have never removed Plastidip before, so went into this project with my fingers-crossed. I found tons of videos and online descriptions about painting wheels with dip, but very little on removing. So I decided at the last second to record my work on video, using my iPhone 4S. I know, the quality is crappy, and editing is very poor. I'll work on improving as I do more videos.
Removing Plastidip from Wheel:
The video is self-explanatory. I start-out peeling by hand, then try a heat gun, then WD-40. All worked, with the WD-40 being very effective without any harm to the underlying wheel finish whatsoever. While the peeling by hand method works, and applying heat made peeling a bit easier, the WD-40 method was super effective and I probably should have started there.
Totaling the time I spent stripping, cleaning, and respraying this one wheel I realize it is not a "quick" process. I believe I spent several hours just getting to a point where I was applying new dip. But this was my first time, and I was experimenting (and trying to video with one hand and work with the other), so I don't think next time it will take me nearly as long.
As I was starting the respray, my phone memory hit a wall, so the video abruptly cuts off... but you aren't missing much. I applied something like 7 coats, going heavy as I want the next time I have to strip the dip to be easier.
Happy to answer questions, provide more details if it would help you! Just reply / comment on the video or this post.
