I dipped my whole car

[Venom13132]

I have plans to paint my M in probably two years. I have some major vacations before that so its not in the budget right now. So since my car has failing clear coat all over, a different color roof, rash on all 4 corners, and a darker blue rear passenger fender, I decided to do a temp dip so my car is all one color till I can paint it properly. It took a lot of taping and prep work but I managed to get this done in two days about 6hrs each day. Would be quicker if I didn't have a hard top. here are some pictures.

Before::
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All masked off
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Base Coat of Gunmetal Grey
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First coat of Blue Quartz
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only 5 pics per post... see post #2

[Venom13132]

Here is the finished product
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I am pretty happy with the result. It looks really good from 5-10' away. Its a matte finish. The garage I used was a little dusty and it was 90f out so it dried a little quicker than I wanted so its not as smooth as it could be. But considering the time and cost of the project it looks great. Its nice to have the car all one color and have all the major blemishes covered up.

Edit* More finished photos on Post #17

[Bobkid]

I was prepared not to like it, but you did a really nice job and it looks good. I should probably do the same to mine to cover all the road rash until I get around to a full repaint.

[khammack]

It does look much better than I expected. I just wonder if it will last 2 years. Do you think if it gets bumped and some of the "dip" comes off you will be able to spot treat it? It does make the lines of the car pop.

[PapaRob]

Nice work! As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters.

[Mless5]

Looks surprisingly nice - top job!

[Venom13132]

I was prepared not to like it, but you did a really nice job and it looks good. I should probably do the same to mine to cover all the road rash until I get around to a full repaint.

that's what I figured. My before pictures don't really show how bad it looked before hand.

It does look much better than I expected. I just wonder if it will last 2 years. Do you think if it gets bumped and some of the "dip" comes off you will be able to spot treat it? It does make the lines of the car pop.

that is a concern for sure. From what I've seen it should hold up. worst case I can peel any damaged area and respray it at any time.

Nice work! As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters.

Looks surprisingly nice - top job!

Thanks for the positive comments. It is definitely just a temporary solution. I have often though about painting my car in a Satin/Matte finish with the Estoril Blue. We will see how I feel about it after some time passes.


All said and done I spent about $250 on this project. I got a full dip your car kit from dipyourcar.com which I got 25% off. My buddy had the dip sprayer system already so I used that. I spent about $60 at harbor freight on tape, masking paper, a metal paint stir, and some other misc items like respirator and gloves. 110% want to wear a mask when spraying.

[BimmerBreaker]

Looks decent, maybe more "baby blue" than I'd want but I'm sure the photos don't do it justice either...

My concern with plastidipping a car you intend on painting is removing all the dip after you are done. It rarely peels off as nicely as it does on the youtube videos...

[Schreier]

I normally don't like dipped cars, especially dipped matte-black street cars or trucks. But your color is in the realm of the original, and now the hardtop matches the rest of the car. Appropriate color choice! Well done! It is a big improvement over the original, and I bet looks even better IRL.

[Kram71]

Is it possible the blemish on the before picture bothered you too much? That happens to me with many things including cars. I thought your before picture looked pretty good.

[Venom13132]

I normally don't like dipped cars, especially dipped matte-black street cars or trucks. But your color is in the realm of the original, and now the hardtop matches the rest of the car. Appropriate color choice! Well done! It is a big improvement over the original, and I bet looks even better IRL.

Yeah, I wouldn't do this as a permanent thing. It is a fun way to change the color of a car on the cheap. Vinyl wrapping costs about the same as a paint job. This cost about $250 and 12hrs of my life. It makes me feel better to have all the damage hidden and have the car all one color! I do like the matte blue. Its as close to factory color as I could find and it shines a lot when the sun hits it.

IMG_1995.jpg
Here you can really see it shine with the full sun hitting the back of it with the garage door open. I am going to go pick up the car tomorrow. I will get some outside photos then.

Is it possible the blemish on the before picture bothered you too much? That happens to me with many things including cars. I thought your before picture looked pretty good.

Its hard to see in photos for some reason but the pass rear fender in person was noticeably a different shade of blue. The obvious hard top was silver. The hood looked like crap with huge areas of failed clear coat. Then each corner of the front and rear bumpers had major rash where the paint was completely gone and scratched into the plastic. I am not very good at taking "before" pictures otherwise I could have highlighted the bad areas more effectively. The before pictures really don't do justice on how bad the paint/body was.

[ECSTuning]

I can't knock it. Looks great for a tempt in setup before the real paint job!

-James

[Kram71]

Yeah, I wouldn't do this as a permanent thing. It is a fun way to change the color of a car on the cheap. Vinyl wrapping costs about the same as a paint job. This cost about $250 and 12hrs of my life. It makes me feel better to have all the damage hidden and have the car all one color! I do like the matte blue. Its as close to factory color as I could find and it shines a lot when the sun hits it.

IMG_1995.jpg
Here you can really see it shine with the full sun hitting the back of it with the garage door open. I am going to go pick up the car tomorrow. I will get some outside photos then.



Its hard to see in photos for some reason but the pass rear fender in person was noticeably a different shade of blue. The obvious hard top was silver. The hood looked like crap with huge areas of failed clear coat. Then each corner of the front and rear bumpers had major rash where the paint was completely gone and scratched into the plastic. I am not very good at taking "before" pictures otherwise I could have highlighted the bad areas more effectively. The before pictures really don't do justice on how bad the paint/body was.

I understand. Pics can be deceiving. I just figured since I can see all the blemishes on my car that nobody else sees on my car that others might be suffering from my version of car perfectionism as well. I admire you taking up such a large task. Well done!

[BimmerBreaker]

Would love to see some pictures out under the sun! The garage lighting makes it look like a pastel baby blue but when it hangs it butt out of the garage its a gorgeous, deep metallic blue

[Venom13132]

Would love to see some pictures out under the sun! The garage lighting makes it look like a pastel baby blue but when it hangs it butt out of the garage its a gorgeous, deep metallic blue

I had to wait for someone to drive me down to pick the car up from my buddies garage. Picking it up tonight after the evening rush dies down. So I will get some better photos!

[Venom13132]

Well I would have got some nice out door photos yesterday but my new Odyssey battery was completely dead yesterday when I went to get the car and I spent my evening getting the car started so I would no longer be stranded at my buddies garage.

[Venom13132]

I FINALLY got a new drivers side mirror, got it sprayed and put onto the car. I am still missing a drivers side door handle trim. Parts.com sent me two left sides through some fluke. (was in the correct packaging with the correct part # but the incorrect part). Any way here are some quick parking lot photos at work today.

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[potxoli]

Looks fantastic!!!

[Venom13132]

Thanks potxoli!

All said and done it took me about 14hrs and cost about $250. Would have cost more if I didn't have the spray gun. If I were to do it again going blue quartz onto an already blue car I would not have got the kit that came with the grey base. When I sprayed my mirror and side grill on their own I did not use the base coat and you can not tell a difference. I would probably do a little better masking job but the over spray comes off pretty easily with a microfiber towel. I ended up peeling off the dip from the rain channels on the top. When the top was silver I did not like the black. When they were covered in the plasti-dip you could still tell they were there and it made it look like I painted over something. I think it looks better black, just a little contrast on the roof.
I also did a little touch up on some spots that didn't get full coverage and you cant tell I sprayed over them at a later date.

I am going to Indianapolis Cars and Coffee this Saturday with my buddy and his 06 Z4 M Coupe so I will get some more photos then. It is supposed to be another clear sunny day. Hopefully my drivers door trim piece will come in by then. I need to order a NeverDone front grill also since I don't have one currently.