I know there are going to be a bunch of people that are going to get pissed off but I really have to ask this question. Don't know if anyone out there is thinking the same thing. I've seen tons of cars that have nothing done to them driving on dipped stockies or have dipped body panels on them. I've never been a fan of cheap mods and plastidip as a temporary protection is an awesome option but seeing more and more dipped cars on the street has got me thinking about why it could be considered rice.

Car guys hate useless spoilers, coffee can mufflers, and generally cheap tasteless mods. But haven't really heard any opinions on this. I feel like enjoying your car involves doing what you want to it but cheap modifications just irk me every time. Feels like people don't give enough of a crap about paint so they just dip their cars to escape having to keep it maintained. Not to mention that dipping your car adds a bunch of weight in general.

I don't know if anyone shares the same opinion but being a serious enthusiast involves taking some risks and plasti dip seems like a weekender's option. Like a henna tattoo vs a real tattoo.

Anyone thinking the same? Or otherwise?

 

To me, rice means a mod that either adds no performance, removes performance, or affects the senses negatively. Obviously, the latter is subjective and will change from person to person. To me, price has very little to do with rice. If someone can take the time to make dip look good, then more power to them.

I think some people think WAY too much into their car as something more than a material item. Almost as if it actually creates a status for them.

 

It can't be much worse than all of the cars with the fake Buick fender vents. I haven't seen much around Pittsburgh yet as far as plasti-dip goes, but the ricers around here tend to be a little late to the party.

 

And thats fine but when its so common that everyone uses it on factory fresh cars to make it look more aftermarket it gets tacky. If it looks good, thats great but it does add weight. Assuming its only asthetics one's after thats fine but as a mod alone I feel like its way to common and over used. So many people here just black out their emblems or black out their wheels or worse paint their speed 3's with bright colors and throw on an illest sticker.

Also its not really a cost factor. Things that are important need to be good and cheap products like caliper covers or replica wheels and crap like that really annoy me. Especially considering cheap products can be dangerous. Some things cost more for a reason. Plasti dip doesn't put anyone in danger but it is a very fake and easy way for a lot of people to pretend like they give a shit.

 

I see several Civics with fart cans every day, but almost nothing else with dip on it around here. I have yet to see a full car in person but I have noticed a few cars with trim done in it. Most of the pics I've seen are of Audis/BMWs etc. It's not a race inspired cosmetic enhancement so I'm gonna say no on rice. Tacky maybe depending on how it's used but that's up to personal taste. I like blacked out trim, not a fan of doing stuff green/orange etc.

 

^Makes sense.

 

Anything can be rice, it all depends on the execution.

Just because it is cheap or free doesn't mean it's rice. You wouldn't call weight reduction rice would you?

 

Trying to define rice is like trying to define the word terrorist.

People will call a tow hook or rear wing on a car rice, even if the car is tracked.

They won't call plasti-dip rice because a lot of them use it themselves.

When I see plastidip I think of someone who wants to mod a car but is broke and/or lazy. When I was in high school all the kids would paint their trim/emblems/wheels with black paint. You would see kids driving brand new bimmers with everything painted black in their driveway and chipping. Looked bad.

 

Yea, thats what I mean. Its lazy and people expect to be treated like real enthusiasts when in fact its cheap and half assed. Vinyl i'm okay with because it takes great execution to get it right and does make your car stand out and isn't just something everyone does. You see it a lot but certain executions look really good. Most people who want to half ass their car wouldn't bother throwing vinyl on.


Yeah, weight reduction isn't rice because its done for a reason but plasti dip in a lot of cases is the easy way for someone to black out their car and make it aftermarket and is just lazy. Also weight reduction done the right way with carbon fiber is expensive and most people don't bother with it. They would rather buy vinyl and stick it on their hood which again is rice.
Like I said most people do it to their car because they want it to look cool but it makes me lose respect for them and their car even more. Their paint's scratched like crazy but they have replica wheels and blacked out emblems and call people who take the pain of doing up their car stupid or crazy for investing that much. Thats what's annoying about it.

 

 

I wouldn't call plasti-dip because ALL the car communities are doing it, not just Japanese cars.

That said...I think its a waste.

 

Right I guess i'd have to redefine it to be more tacky than rice. I can understand if someone doesn't really care about car care and wants their car covered so they don't have to clean it but the art of keeping a car clean, using sealant to protect the paint, waxing it and generally maintaining it kinda feels lost. No one bothers about that but can spend a grand on getting their car covered in plasti dip.

 

lol at these ricers!












Extra rice!

 

Short answer, no.

I think saying it's a waste is a little too far. To me, it's no different than vinyl in a can. For my applications with it, esp on my lower valence, it serves it's purpose great. I can touch up the spots that get chipped with rocks and keep it look flawless 100% of the time. If it was painted, it would look as crappy as the rest of my front end

Also, for people who want blacked out emblems...it works like a charm. I don't see it as any different than spending a whole lot more money on new emblems that are already colored. Once you get good at spraying it and really figure out how to get a nice satin sheen out of it, its wonderful stuff.

All of that being said, I don't get when people do their whole cars, wheels, or any other large part of the vehicle. For grills, emblems it's good because it's easy to pass off as not rattle canned, but for larger applications the always look pretty rough. I've seen quite a few of fully dipped cars, and I'm just not impressed.

Rice has many definitions. Giant wings are stupid on some cars, but pretty awesome on others...I think it's all in how it's applied.

 

Plasti-dip is another tool ricers have in their TOOL CHEST...

 

No, i dont see it as "rice"

I fail to see how it makes them "Lazy" And many arent just using black. If done properly it looks just as good as a vinyl wrap, and takes just as much time and execution to get it to look right. Another nice thing about it is it isnt permanent and can be removed, which is why many with BMW/Audi etc.. use it. Its not being cheap when you want to do something to change the car that wont cost many THOUSANDS of dollars for a year of different look

 

Is it lazy to buy a steak and eat it with a fork and knife when animals just tear in and eviscerate their prey? We're humans, we make tools to make life easier. Lazy isn't always lazy, it's using your brain. A quick, non permanent color change/matte paint job that resists chips and scratches. Hells yes. It seems common on the internet but driving around you don't see it too often, it's a nice way to stand out from the crowd without ruining the resale of your vehicle, back to stock in a few minutes.

 

The cars themselves aren't rice. The mod itself is tasteless. It seems like its for people that don't care about their cars but just want to quickly get a result. The maserati btw has glossy wheels so that's not dipped.
Nothing wrong with that when it first came out. Now though like I mentioned everyone does it. Especially people that just posers.

 

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I was trying to add that pic on at the end.
When fast and the furious came out, people that actually did things with their cars hated that kind of culture. It seems like people now are doing the same thing.

 

Well I guess you guys don't see it as often. Around utah everyone has blacked out wheels or emblems or parts of their cars. Its rare to see a car with custom paint, or clean vinyl job or even original wheels. Everything is just pretty looking or replica's.

 

To each their own. Cost has nothing to do with one's enthusiasm for cars. Are you more of an enthusiast than a college student simply because you have more disposable cash to spend on your car?

Plasti-Dip is cheap, but that doesn't mean it's tacky, or ineffective. As stated above it's all about how you use it. Everything in moderation.

Here are some expensive cars that I consider tacky:







My point: Cost is irrelevant.

 

Never said cost was the problem. I said people are willing to spend more on things like replica wheels and caliper covers than the real thing for the fact that it is considered cool. Cost is irrelevant but it is that very fact that makes it tacky since everyone here uses it everywhere.

 

It's a tough call. A TON of ST owners (on the forums) are plasti-dipping their wheels. I'm not sure I would call it rice, but I definitely think it should not be a permanent solution. I think if you want a different color for your wheels, get them powdercoated. I believe in doing it right.

With that said, I rarely see PD in person. So the fact that we're car enthusiasts and are active in communities allows us to see this behavior more than the average person.

Unfortunately I see people do something like bright blue or bright pink on their ST, and I die a little inside. I say to myself, what are they thinking?

Then at times I see someone do a nice graphite or a gold with a metal and glossy finish, and it actually looks not bad. But as I mentioned before, nothing beats doing it the professional way the first time.

In the end, people can do what they want and I won't care. It doesn't affect me. If I come across a thread like "dipped everythin last nite what u think?" I'll probably skip it. But every once in a while I'll see a thread where someone took the time and care and actually made it look decent, and I'll give them props. If I was in their shoes I'm sure I'd appreciate the same thing.

 

Then we can agree that, as with everything else, moderation is key.

 

True. I'm curious about a couple cars here. Will see how the cars turn out in a year after they take it off. I've heard of some clear coat failures during the removal process.

 

Weight, really?

 

Wow, I didn't even know this was a thing? Seems pretty tacky to me but I've gotten to where I really want to keep my cars completely stock these days. Just getting old I guess...

 

Yeah was wondering how much it would add if the whole car was done. Not much. Just a pound or two

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/11288...45055239404833








http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gd-exter...ip-w-pics.html

Not a lot of complaints online but this just makes me wonder.

 

On the STI link you posted, I would imagine the clear was already failing if it took the clear with it. My buddy has an 04 WRB STI and the clear is shot paint chipping on the hood scoop and spoiler, a few other spots with bad clear. He's planning on doing the scoop and spoiler in Plasti Dip soon to hold it over til he can do a repaint. I'd imagine if we did the whole car in that case it would look worse when removed. No comments on the Inifini but I've heard of people complaining that Nissan paint sucks. If you had a crappy Maaco paint job I'd imagine dip might fuck it up too. That said I'm probably still gonna dip my whole TL one of these days and don't anticipate any issues.

 

I agree with Aman, cost IS irrelevant. It's not what you do but how it's done!!!

 

Dude we're not talking about cost. If I was only concerned about cost I'd be against getting a car vinyl'd. Then getting a paint job would be the only way to care for your car.

This whole thread is in reference to the fact that plasti dip is so common now that everyone is doing it and besides a couple cars here and there that look really good because the job is done right most of them are just blacked out cars with people claiming to love car culture when in fact its trying to escape the care you car needs.

Paint correction is freaking rare to see these days, most cars have swirls in them and most people find cleaning their cars a chore. Can plasti dip look slick? Yeah after reading a few comments here and looking at the pics above, it sure can, but the general vibe i get when i see someone with blacked out plasti dip wheels or panels on their car is that you don't care but want to be considered an enthusiast.

Barely anyone notices those details anymore and its sad to say the least.

 

Do we really believe all the cars above are plastic dipped? I find it hard to believe that some of those nice cars are rattle canned instead of vinyl or matte paint jobs

 

Not to mention the jeep that looks like it's been covered in rhino lining.

I've used it a couple of times, but mostly for utility. Oddly I find it doesn't actually work that well for actually coating tools.

I used it because the way I sit in my truck I see as much sun in the hood as in the sky. It worked very well, but doing a whole car sounds like a pain.

After about 7 or 8 months it came off during a rain storm on a road trip. I'm thinking of doing it again.


I understand what you are saying though. If I see a kid leaving a pep boys with 12 cans of plasti dip, a cherry bomb, and a fake hood scoop. I'm taken aback with surprise. At the same time, who cares?

 

I think OP just has some deep-rooted hatred for plasti dip

 

OP, you need to get out of SLC stat. Not everyone is plasti dipping their cars. It may be common in the community you interact in, but I can assure you that it's not everywhere. What you will find when you get out is that in almost everything, there is someone willing to do a half ass job and talk it up ten ways to Sunday. These people are "full of it" and don't deserve energy expended on their BS.

How do you feel about exhaust systems since most people just buy a Magnaflow for $100, slap it on their car, and act "like an enthusiast"? Are exhaust systems tasteless?

Something else you will likely encounter when you get out us that 99.9% of people don't care. I work with close to 1000 very intelligent people and I bet only a handful know what plastidip is. I bet none of them lose respect for anyone who wants to put it on their car. They don't care about what someone wants to do to THEIR car. The person with the Rhino lined Jeep doesn't care what you think, and they don't go to car meets. Don't lose sleep over it.
This is a problem with the perception of it. You can put PD in a professional sprayer, put your car in a booth, and come out with a result better than vinyl. It's not just kids with spray paint.

 

Buy it by the gallon, spray it with a good sprayer and you can get great results.

 

Paint that peels off like that was faulty to begin with. There was a serious lack of adhesion and would have likely had issues down the road without the plasti dip.

 

Agreed. Plastidip didn't do that, the pressure washer did. Notice too that it is only on the side skirt which looks like a different color altogether. Plastic trim pieces lose paint much easier than aluminum panels.

 

doh, didn't even think of that. Now it is making sense, thanks man