marks146

The shift console and radio dash pieces of my C4 were scratched when I bought it. Not one to overlook things like that I searched high and low to find factory paint. Like most of the stuff for a C4 it's either not stocked or unavailable, so creativity kicked in.

I had read about painting cars with Plasti-Dip and started reading up on the stuff. Being a rubber coating I figured it would give the same texture as the factory coating. Also it peals off with some effort if you care to remove it, so I figured I had nothing to loose.

I ordered some Plasti-Dip pre-prep stuff from an online source. Once received I went to town on pealing off the original factory coating. It took some elbow grease and time but I got it all off. After washing all the plastic parts off with soap and water to remove any dash dressing and oils I laid down the first coat.

The first coat is suppose to be a light coat to prep the base for follow-on coatings. Don't be too concerned about how it looks. It might not look too smooth at first, but after it dries it levels out considerably.

I ended up doing everything from the dash to the arm rest with the stuff.

I applied 4 coats total and couldn't be any more pleased. It is as factory looking as you could ask for, and if it does get scratched I'm told it can be resprayed and the rubber will soften and blend in.

Plasti-Dip. I've since used it to cover the entire underside of the front hood, the air dam, front license plate filler, wheel wells, spare tire holder, battery tray and ECM bracket. This stuff is great and comes in a few colors. Go online and search to find colors and suggestions for other uses.

I'm very pleased with the stuff. I might do the rear valance of my C5 when the weather breaks and I take it out of storage.

Mike40094

Mark

Looks good man. How durable is it? I have been looking at doing this to my console as it is scratched up also but concerned it my not take well after a few months. If you touch it, does it leave finger prints, etc?

ghlkal

Very interesting.

Can you post of pic of how it looks under the hood?

marks146

It takes a few days to really take a set. During this time you can scuff the finish if you rub it. But once it dries I don't see any scuffing occurring. It seems durable, but time will tell. The scratches I covered looked horrible, so if I have to respray it will still be worth it. There are a few uTube videos on the stuff. That's where i learned the most about the stuff. You should do some web surfing to find the videos. There are guys that spray their entire car with this stuff and go through power car washes without damaging the finish. See the videos.


I will do that. It's brass ***** cold out in Pennsylvania. So I'm going to wait for it to get a little warmer than 5 degrees to take a few pictures. But I promise I will.

They don't make under-hood blankets for the C4 so this is the next best thing. It looks really good. The rubber coating gives it a black semi-gloss soft mat finish. I really like it, and it covers the natural ageing well. You will see it soon. Oh, I also sprayed the air cleaner box with it. It really livened up the area, and freshened it up nicely.

daddysvet92

That looks great!
I also bought a can to try the stuff before you submitted your post, and I was curious to see how it looked. But a little cold to try and spray it in the garage, so I'll have to wait till spring.
Great job!

marks146

Buy a second spray can. You'll end up finding lots of uses for it.

Turn on the space heater. Find a hair drier or heat gun and have at it. I've been applying it in my garage heated to 60`F, using a heat gun to give it a set. Once it takes a set let it dry on its own. As it dries it tends to stretch and smooth out nicely. At first use I wasn't happy because it looked like it was going on like splatter paint, but as it dries it smooth out and dries to a semi-gloss mat finish.

There are rare times it produce an undesired texture after drying, but it can be removed easily and resprayed. It peals off, if coaxed, like a sheet of rubber. I think the cause was poor surface prep.

1slov6

What did you use to get the OE coating off the shifter plate?

mrmtrtrnd

You say it dries smooth? The first photo looks a little like a splatter finish or a little rough.

ColaBear

@mrmtrtrnd,

I think the 1st interior photo is grainy so the finish looks rough. The pic of the license cover seems to be a lot smoother.

marks146

It wasn't a picture of the dash, but a picture of the whole car. I blew it up to crop out all but the dash. So it's a crappy picture. The license filler is what it looks like.

marks146

Not the best photo, but here you go. It's still only 12 degrees out so I ran out, snapped the picture, and ran in.

It came out better than I expected, and I didn't put a lot of effort into the prep. I just wiped it down after I sprayed on the pre-paint and shot it on.

I didn't spray the wheel wells, just the hood.

mrmtrtrnd

Thanks for the clarification and a project that I've been thinking about.

ghlkal

I hear ya - it's 15* degrees here thanks for braving the cold and getting the pic


That looks really good.

marks146

I completely stripped the shifter plate of all parts.

I purchased pre-paint prep spray made by PlastiDip. I put it on a rag and kept pushing the edge of the coating, kind of rolling it off, bit by bit. It took way over an hour to do, but worth it to create a smooth base to coat.

It was coming off easy on some spots and not on others, so I had a workout to get it all off. Persistence and patience paid off. I usually exhibit neither of those traits, so it was a real workout.

marks146

My iPhone camera didn't care for the cold today so the picture of the underhood has some artifacts.

That spray job came out as smooth as the dash and the plate filler.

I have had problems with the stuff, though. It's not 'fool-proof', but it peels right off with a little prodding.

Do a search on uTube for PlastiDip. There's LOTS of videos of things people do with the stuff. There's a fellow in Florida that's created a business around spraying things with the stuff. He sells PlastiDip stuff, too. That's where I got the pre-paint prep spray from. I go to Lowes to buy the stuff. It's cheaper there and the shipping is way more then PA tax. (6%)