Autoflex peelable paint for F15

[hdAge]

******************************** 12/24/2017 **************************************************

Transformed look after applying 15 coats of Autoflex peelable paint
Paint mix: 3/4 Rare Jade Pearl + 1/4 Endless Blue Pearl and KP Watermelon juice. Finally used a layer of Emerald Green Holographic microflakes. All pearls, juices and microflakes can be found here

https://www.dipyourcar.com
https://www.pearlsandpigments.com/home.php
https://www.kppigments.com













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I have been looking at changing the exterior color of my car, kinda bored with Mineral White and have been thinking of either wrapping via 3M or going with Plasti Dip with Autoflex. I know that plastidip had issues in the past, but looks like their Autoflex highgloss has a good finish and quality. I see quite a few Audis, BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes' getting autoflex metallic jobs. So I'm thinking of giving this a try.

Some sample autoflex metallic finishes
https://www.prodip.eu/AutoFlex-Examples

http://www.autoflexcoatings.com

With autoflex, I can now wax, polish, buff etc. like regular paint. Has anyone done autoflex in the past and has anything to share with?

[hdAge]

No one has used Autoflex yet? I'm sure there will be someone in the forum who has. If not, I'm willing to try this anyway and report back on my experience. I will be shortlisting few colors in the next few days and update on the progress once I decide to get the job done. In the meantime anyone has any questions/requests let me know.

[turboawd]

the only thing i've done is to plastidip my window trim to get the blacked out sport look, and its held up great.

what color would you go with?

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by turboawd

the only thing i've done is to plastidip my window trim to get the blacked out sport look, and its held up great.

what color would you go with?

Thats cool. As far as the colors, I wanted to go with a darker color but then started looking into the M colors and ended up leaning towards them. So still not decided yet which one to go with, but am down to the following list.

1. Mocha Brown http://viyoutube.com/video/PpwEkHFNb...20plasti%20dip

2. Zanzibar Brown or Ipanama Brown ( Audi RS7 was released with this paint )
http://fourtitude.com/news/audi_excl...um-neckarsulm/

3. Rear Jade Pearl
4. Burnt Copper

I'm not sure if they can exactly recreate the Zanzibar or the Ipanama finishes as they are not autoflex colors, but will have to created by mixing the right proportion, other 3 are autoflex colors.

[bbl_jeff]

You might want to also look into Autodip Plus: The World's First Sprayable Vinyl Wrap

[smooveken]

Originally Posted by turboawd

the only thing i've done is to plastidip my window trim to get the blacked out sport look, and its held up great.

what color would you go with?

Don't mean to thread jack. How did you go about doing this? Just taped off the car and spray on the plastidip? Or did you remove the trim first?

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by bbl_jeff

You might want to also look into Autodip Plus: The World's First Sprayable Vinyl Wrap

Not sure if this is available mainstream yet as it says "Coming Soon". Plastidip/autoflex is available for 10 years now, Autoflex was added perhaps few years back.

[Almaretto]

I have done wheels with plastidip and it holds up well, but rubber finish does attract dirt.

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by smooveken

Don't mean to thread jack. How did you go about doing this? Just taped off the car and spray on the plastidip? Or did you remove the trim first?

here's a thread i made when i did this to my old x5.
http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1135985

most trim comes off easy, except for the front doors which requires door panel and mirror removal. but you can just tape off area. done this to my current x5 too.

there's lot of how to videos on youtube for plastidip.

[smooveken]

Originally Posted by turboawd

here's a thread i made when i did this to my old x5.
http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1135985

most trim comes off easy, except for the front doors which requires door panel and mirror removal. but you can just tape off area. done this to my current x5 too.

there's lot of how to videos on youtube for plastidip.

Thanks Man!

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by Almaretto

I have done wheels with plastidip and it holds up well, but rubber finish does attract dirt.

I agree, hence I want to go with Autoflex to get the high gloss finish and personally I like the glossy finish anyway. Having said that I know that Satin finish on the body usually has less maintenance.

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by turboawd

here's a thread i made when i did this to my old x5.
http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1135985

most trim comes off easy, except for the front doors which requires door panel and mirror removal. but you can just tape off area. done this to my current x5 too.

there's lot of how to videos on youtube for plastidip.

Looks cool and yes there are tons of videos on youtube for plasti dip and auto flex.

[DuSh]

I did front grill on my previous car 3 years ago, but unfortunately it was too exposed to dirt, salt and debris during highway driving back in NY. It got pitted all around and flaked from physical abuse. It was still holding up, but was not looking good - I mean finish was all rough, very dated. I'm a bit hesitant now to plasti-dip after that. However, as you say they improved technology and if it's more rigid and tough now - then it's worth a try.
How much it's going to cost you approximately?

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I did front grill on my previous car 3 years ago, but unfortunately it was too exposed to dirt, salt and debris during highway driving back in NY. It got pitted all around and flaked from physical abuse. It was still holding up, but was not looking good - I mean finish was all rough, very dated. I'm a bit hesitant now to plasti-dip after that. However, as you say they improved technology and if it's more rigid and tough now - then it's worth a try.
How much it's going to cost you approximately?

hmm interesting... I think pastidip also had issues with gasoline and in the recent years they have made it fuel resistant, atleast with autoflex I haven't heard of any issues even with offroading, extreme weather conditions etc. The quote I have got so far both plastidip followed by autoflex for a glossy finish is $2k, so I'm willing to give this a try. Even if it doesn't work out after couple of weeks/months, I can simply peel it off and get back my original paint. worst case atleast my factory paint will be protected . But I'm hoping it will last long and I have been told around 2 years and more if you maintain well.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by hdAge

hmm interesting... I think pastidip also had issues with gasoline and in the recent years they have made it fuel resistant, atleast with autoflex I haven't heard of any issues even with offroading, extreme weather conditions etc. The quote I have got so far both plastidip followed by autoflex for a glossy finish is $2k, so I'm willing to give this a try. Even if it doesn't work out after couple of weeks/months, I can simply peel it off and get back my original paint. worst case atleast my factory paint will be protected . But I'm hoping it will last long and I have been told around 2 years and more if you maintain well.

Yeah, if you can get a 2 years out of it with good quality remaining - that's fantastic. That comes to around $85 per month for a new color x5

What about vinyl wrapping - is it better or worse?

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by DuSh

What about vinyl wrapping - is it better or worse?

I think Vinyl wrapping is certainly better and holds longer (~5 years), although the quality gap between Vinyl wrap and autoflex is closing with autoflex quality improving over years. A good vinyl wrap job for a SUV is atleast twice as expensive compared to autoflex. I wanted to go with Vinyl wrap initially, but the reason I'm leaning towards autoflex is that I can wash, wax, polish the car like regular paint and I don't think so I can do that with wrapping. You can though see some youtube videos polishing a vinyl wrap, but when it comes to waxing, buffing, washing etc.. autoflex is like regular paint.

[hdAge]

Finding more on this peelable paint, looks like I don't have to go the plastidip route after all. Can straight use Autoflex and the results are simply amazing. Here are few videos that have used about 10-12 coats of Autoflex (no plastidip) and the finish is expected to last 5-7 years, as compared to 2-3 years for plastidip.

[turboawd]

wow. that looks like paint from here. 10-12 coats? dang. i wonder how much it costs to do a whole car.

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by turboawd

wow. that looks like paint from here. 10-12 coats? dang. i wonder how much it costs to do a whole car.

Well, until now most of the shops I spoke to suggested 6 plastidip + 3 autoflex coats, total of 9. I recently found that using 10-12 autoflex coats gives you OEM finish or better. As far as costs it is about ~$2.5k for a car and $250 more for a SUV, still way cheaper than OEM paint. The best thing is that you can create endless color combinations than what the automaker would provide.

I'm traveling this week, once i get back will start the work and post pictures as it goes through the paint transformation.

[hdAge]

I did talk to a local autoflex paintshop here and they confirmed that they can do this job by applying 12 coats of autoflex, so am gonna goahead and give this a try and let you all know how it turns out. Have shortlisted three colors so far and need help deciding which one to go with , will send out the details soon.

[hdAge]

Now that thanksgiving vacation is coming to an end, I got some time to start the project and have shortlisted the following color options. I want the X5 to have a color that is currently not offered by BMW. Option2 closely matches to the X5M "Long Beach Blue" though. I want to start the paint job in a week and so will have to finalize the color by then. What do you guys think? I know the color choice is always personal and each individual will have their specific taste, but am torn between these colors, hence posting here to see what all of you think.

Maybe I should start a poll. Btw, all of these will be in a high gloss finish (FYI the Carbon Red in Option1 is showing a matte finish, as I could not find a glossy pic of this color)

Option1: Carbon Red


Option2: Aqua blue green colorshift


Option3: Mocha Brown

[DuSh]

Option #2