FYI, I could paint that roof for around $250 since I have the black on hand and need to use it up (shelf life, its a waste if it sits around too long), so if that plastidip stuff is anything more than $100 in materials, if your time worth more than $150 and the “do it once do it right” thing matters its not really worth it. And for wheels, we powdercoat for around $85 a wheel.
as for whats needed to do something right:
Prep is everything. Get a gal of “surface cleaner, paint prep” for $20 from NAPA or an autobody store. Spritz it on, and wipe it off with a clean paper towel. that removes dirt, sap, grime, and more importantly the WAX and polishing compound thats usually embedded in the paint. All of those thing, the wax in particular, will repel paint or that plasti dip stuff and make it “lift” or fisheye when you spray it on.
Get a roll of good autobody masking tape, the green stuff. Mask off your sun roof if you have it, trim in the drip rails/channels perfectly. Then get a roll of masking paper for $20, cut it up as needed and lay it over the green tape half way, then tape over the paper, sticking it to the masking take you already laid down as for the paint edge. this can be laid on quick and set in 1/8th or 1/4" from the “clean edge” where the masking is going to protect what ever its applied to from overspray. I have rolls of car cover plastic, that staticly clings to the car and wide enough that one pass, front to back covers the entire car to the ground, and cost all of about $4 in material to do so. Way better than 10+ passes of 28" wide paper tapped together!
Overspray goes all over the place, even in stagnant air. entire car should be covered, granted that plasti dip apparently just rubs off, its still a ton of un-necessary work removing overspray.
As for painting that stuff on, I have no idea and I never used it. BUT I can imagine, the narrow spray pattern that comes from a spray can (about 3-4" wide max) makes for a shit load of passes to cover, assuming atleast a 30-50% overlap with each pass. which opens the door to uneven coats. Proper spray guns we use have a everything from a 6" to my primer gun shooting a 15" fan! Allowing for even coverage and wet out.
Lastly this is something you cant do outside, especially in the winter! so a heated garage, and what ever cure time is a must i would assume with that stuff.
Yeah, i am a salesman for my business, for sure. But my honest opinion, rattle canning anything autobody never comes out like it would from proper tools, technique and skill from an autobody shop. Sure that stuff isn’t permanent, which I guess is cool… but paint can be repainted too. So taking the easy way out isn’t necessarily the best way to do it.
