Plasti dip or spray interior trim opinions

[Jacob11531]

Hi everyone,

09 WRX, want to paint those silver trim pieces white including the 2 pieces on the door panels which I believe are glued on.

I've read a lot of forums and watched a few videos and there is a lot of debate/opinion with the use of plastidip or spray paint. Unfortunately most pics I see on forums have a popup for photobucket so I cannot see results well and gets aggerating. Personally I love spray paint but have no experience with plastidip

Most said to use plastidip because it leaves a textured oem looking finish instead of a shiny cheap looking finish. I'm for either, just curious what you guys have to say real quick

Any quick opinions on this before I pick up products tomorrow lol? Had my mind set on spray paint but now I'm just going in a lot of directions

Thankyou!

This is what sparked the idea

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[viper_crazy]

You gotta keep one thing in mind: just because plastidip comes in an aerosol can, doesn't mean it applies like paint. It's different than paint. You basically have to lay down thicker coats for a durable and easy to remove coat. As much as it would suck to waste plastidip, I'd recommend practicing how thick of a coat you can go before it runs, maybe on something that you'd like to dip but don't care if it comes out crappy down the road.

This plastidip job lasted shy of 5 years...


And the only reason why it didn't last longer was because I wanted to change it up.


Admittedly, the corners/sharp points of the design are lifting when you look at it closer, but you'd have to be standing beside it to see. I do want to turn this into a decal one day.

Plastidip will also get dirty much quicker so that being said, if it were me, I'd spray.

[SubaWReX]

Viper_crazy is right about spraying PlastiDip. It is far more difficult to achieve an even finish using it in aerosol cans. I feel that using quality brand spray paints will yield a far better finish. DupliColor is my go-to brand for many years with long lasting proper looking results. A mild sanding may be all you need to paints your desired trims because it adheres very well, although you should check with other owners of your gen. Car since I'm not familiar with it.

I must add that color also makes a difference in look of quality. Quite frankly, white interior trims always looks cheap to me. Small trims night look OK in white but I definitely vote against the larger trim pieces, but to each their own. At least this is another opinion to help make your choice. Good luck.

[Zmanwrx23]

If it were me, I would go the plastidip route:

- If you mess up during application, either with over spray, or uneven finish etc, you can either start over or build up more plasti-dip on the part, or get it all off and start over, with spray paint this would be much harder.

- If at any time you want to revert you car back to its original look, say you get tired of it or you go to sell it or trade it in, correctly applied plastidip will come off easy and not wreck the surface finish of those parts

- Any time I have ever spray painted anything in the interior of a car, as soon as the sun heats it up, or the car gets hot inside, like parked in a lot all day, when you come back be ready to inhale lots of fumes. I can't speak for plastidip in this regard but I would imagine this would be less of an issue for it.

- as Viper pointed out, application of plastidip is key, I've dipped tons of stuff from nerf guns, to rims, to computer cases, to tail lights. I would practice on something you don't care about, say a 5 gallon bucket, and get the hang of it. Additionally there are LOADS of videos on the web detailing how to get the best results.

Hope this helps

[Fndragn]

If your going to paint it don't cheap out on parts store spray bomb. Go to a paint supply house and get some legit aerosol paint. SEM makes a decent interior dye( that's what they call it, it's actually just a real good aerosol paint. Look at Eastwood.com and they have kits available for all the prep also. I used this to turn a grey truck interior black. It held up decently. Better then cheap spray paint that's for sure.

[knesek]

this is a little different but i wrapped mine. pretty cheap and doesn't take long just need a good quality wrap and a heat gun

[nasioc444]

I would go with Plasti-Dip. Easier to look nice and closer to a OEM finish compared to a typical spray paint job.

[Jacob11531]

One quick question I just need your opinions, I am going to spray paint the parts tho.

Since I want these parts to be as durable as possible and not come off with a fingernail scratch I want to do this right (and I have done a lot of spray painting before, just some steps from other forums are confusing me).

After I use primer should I sand before basecoat then sand again before clear coat? Specifically the last step, I've never sanded base coat before adding clear and it came out fine but a lot of what ive read is a 50/50 so im having a hard time making the right decision.

Lastly im going to do a practice panel seeing the difference between a matte or gloss clear, maybe the matte will break up the cheap look of painted parts.

Just curious what you guys have to say. Thanks!

[SeattleJerry]

you dont want gloss, nothing in the car is gloss. mask a lot. overspray will get everywhere in a confined space

[esohrx]

Maybe go with a wrap on the dash, I too have a 09 wrx and was thinking of spicing up the dash. I know there's plenty of DIY videos on youtube for that. Cool thing with wraps is that you can get creative since there are different types of designs.

[greydog]

Go to a professional paint store where body shops buy. Better products and good advice

[jarbooby]

plasti dip will give you a flat color while a dip can get you whatever you want or even a style

[Mazinger15]

A tip. If you can afford it, buy extra trim pieces and use those to paint. And since you are painting, you can save a bucks a buy one that's not perfect.

I always like having the original trim untouched and store it in case I want to return to stock.

[Fino]

Originally Posted by knesek

this is a little different but i wrapped mine. pretty cheap and doesn't take long just need a good quality wrap and a heat gun

I'd recommend wrapping instead as well. No overspray, you can get any finish you want, and it won't get scratches as easily. Won't be much more expensive than dip either.

[Fndragn]

This is funny, overspray? These pieces surely aren't being painted in place still in the dash!!!

[J0hnnyUtah]

I plasti-dipped some of my center console trim this weekend. It was relatively easy. Just takes multiple coats. If you decide to go that route don’t be afraid to lay down some dip. That stuff likes to go on thick.

The nozzle got a little dirty on one of my coats and sprayed some big droplets on one of the pieces I was working on. I just let it dry for about ten min and peeled it right off.

[Shak180]

I would say spray paint if you're willing to take the time and do it right . Doing it right would involve a light sanding to promote adhesion, using a proper product to remove the oil from the surface being painted, etc.

[2slofouru]

Originally Posted by J0hnnyUtah

I plasti-dipped some of my center console trim this weekend. It was relatively easy. Just takes multiple coats. If you decide to go that route don't be afraid to lay down some dip. That stuff likes to go on thick.

The nozzle got a little dirty on one of my coats and sprayed some big droplets on one of the pieces I was working on. I just let it dry for about ten min and peeled it right off.

I did the same in my 07 2.5i The oem paint was all sratched up and plasti dip is easily removed if you scratch it. Lasts a really long time inside the car and sometimes a few years on the outside. It's not a perfect match to the gunmetal looking vents, but close enough.

My 95 impreza is plasti dip red on the outside, several of the panels are different colors so my friend offered to dip it all red until I decide on an actual paint color to go with. It lasted a few years and is now disintegrating but not a bad way to go if you want a change for a while.