Schaef
Well-Known Member
- 63
- 29
We all hate that fake plastic chrome on the front of our cars, right? It's all shiny, but gets dirty easier than sin and is just a freaking bug magnet
Then let's get rid of it, with the magic of Plasti Dip
You're going to need...
-some plasti dip (one rattle can'll do ya easy)
-some playing cards, or flash cards, or anything similar
-some painters tape
-some newspaper
First off, to keep the badge nice and shiny and the center of attention, as every H should always be, you're going to want to tape it up. Don't worry about completely sealing it, just make sure the tape is on enough to seal up to the thin strip encircling the H, like so
Don't worry about not getting it perfect, plasti dip is an incredibly forgiving material
Then, take your newspaper and cover up the part of the engine bay nearest to where you will be spraying. It's fine to get plasti dip on anything, except for the engine, your radiator, your brakes, or anywhere you can't reach, for obvious reasons
Next, take your cards and slip them in between the fake chrome and the black plastic that you don't want to dip. This helps to make a nice crisp line, especially under the H, where it is very difficult to spray without this kind of protection. This process is very much experimentation, as that's how I did it. It may not look pretty, but as long as you've gotten all the parts you really don't want it getting on covered, and taped and/or carded near a nice clean line you're hopping to end at
I can not stress this enough, perfection is only necessary when you're talking internal components. Body panels, plastics, even headlights will receive no harm from being plasti dipped, as you can simply peel it away when it's dry
Now, you're ready to spray. Make sure to shake it very well, for at least a minute or two. You're going to want to lightly cover the area in long sweeping motions. Don't rock it back and forth, the mistake I made the first and second coats I did. Don't start a spray in the middle of the area, and always keep it light. Very light
Your first coat, you should be able to clearly see the silver through it. Think of it like static tv, where the black is the plasti dip, and the white is the fake chrome. When I say light, I mean light. It's always best to need more coats than have it bead, or worse, drip
This was even too much, a mistake I made. But like you see, even a mistake like this doesn't really ruin the end result. Continue this process as many times as you need to, spraying a light coat, waiting fifteen minutes, and repeating. I did six layers, but that was because I missed the very top part, the part covered by the hood, on my last few, and it was bothering me
Just take however many coats you feel you need. After fifteen minutes, look at it, and see if you like how it looks. If not, do some more
After you're content, and it's all good and dry (give it about half an hour before you start removing tape and cards and such), well, start removing tape and cards and such. Carefully peel away plasti dip in areas you don't want it. I made the mistake of taking the tape off of one of my sections on the left too fast, and I took off just a little of plasti dip covering the fake chrome on the very bottom. Almost impossible to notice, but it's probably enough for my perfectionist personality to redo it in a few weeks
Once you're done, you're left with a classy, yet sporty front end. The front end the 2012 Civic was always meant to have
Then let's get rid of it, with the magic of Plasti Dip
You're going to need...
-some plasti dip (one rattle can'll do ya easy)
-some playing cards, or flash cards, or anything similar
-some painters tape
-some newspaper
First off, to keep the badge nice and shiny and the center of attention, as every H should always be, you're going to want to tape it up. Don't worry about completely sealing it, just make sure the tape is on enough to seal up to the thin strip encircling the H, like so
Don't worry about not getting it perfect, plasti dip is an incredibly forgiving material
Then, take your newspaper and cover up the part of the engine bay nearest to where you will be spraying. It's fine to get plasti dip on anything, except for the engine, your radiator, your brakes, or anywhere you can't reach, for obvious reasons
Next, take your cards and slip them in between the fake chrome and the black plastic that you don't want to dip. This helps to make a nice crisp line, especially under the H, where it is very difficult to spray without this kind of protection. This process is very much experimentation, as that's how I did it. It may not look pretty, but as long as you've gotten all the parts you really don't want it getting on covered, and taped and/or carded near a nice clean line you're hopping to end at
I can not stress this enough, perfection is only necessary when you're talking internal components. Body panels, plastics, even headlights will receive no harm from being plasti dipped, as you can simply peel it away when it's dry
Now, you're ready to spray. Make sure to shake it very well, for at least a minute or two. You're going to want to lightly cover the area in long sweeping motions. Don't rock it back and forth, the mistake I made the first and second coats I did. Don't start a spray in the middle of the area, and always keep it light. Very light
Your first coat, you should be able to clearly see the silver through it. Think of it like static tv, where the black is the plasti dip, and the white is the fake chrome. When I say light, I mean light. It's always best to need more coats than have it bead, or worse, drip
This was even too much, a mistake I made. But like you see, even a mistake like this doesn't really ruin the end result. Continue this process as many times as you need to, spraying a light coat, waiting fifteen minutes, and repeating. I did six layers, but that was because I missed the very top part, the part covered by the hood, on my last few, and it was bothering me
Just take however many coats you feel you need. After fifteen minutes, look at it, and see if you like how it looks. If not, do some more
After you're content, and it's all good and dry (give it about half an hour before you start removing tape and cards and such), well, start removing tape and cards and such. Carefully peel away plasti dip in areas you don't want it. I made the mistake of taking the tape off of one of my sections on the left too fast, and I took off just a little of plasti dip covering the fake chrome on the very bottom. Almost impossible to notice, but it's probably enough for my perfectionist personality to redo it in a few weeks
Once you're done, you're left with a classy, yet sporty front end. The front end the 2012 Civic was always meant to have
