The Easy Way To Remove Stuck On Plasti-Dip

Old Plasti-Dip can be a pain in the A** to remove. Trust us. We know.

Testing 3 Different Ways: Dip Dissolver, Goo Gone, and Brake Clean

There are a lot of rumors floating around about how to quickly, and affordably remove old, weathered, or thin Plasti-Dip that is peeling off or fading away. Dip Dissolver is a proven method, but what if you don't want to spend $30? We've heard of rubbing alcohol, brake clean, carb cleaner, Goo Gone, even rough rags all being used to remove Plasti-Dip from all kinds of surfaces. We decided to test a few of these out and show you the results so you can decide how you want to spend your time and money. We tested the most popular method we could find, Dip Dissolver, Goo Gone, and Brake Clean. 

Plasti-Dipped Spare Wheels

We have a set of community drift spares that have been floating around the Full Tilt garage. This set of 4 wheels with "usable" tires cost us 40$ a couple of years ago, and they came pre-dipped from the seller. He didn't tell us their original color, but the coat of black Plasti-Dip has actually help up pretty well over the years, with the center being the best condition and the edges all thin and ruined from curb rash.

We could tell how old it was because it was turning brown as only seriously old Plasti-Dip has a habit of doing.

Either way, it was time to do some test, and find out what was beneath the Dip.

Test 1: Dip Dissolver

First up, we used the dip dissolver as a control test. I had some left over from a previous project, and we needed to make sure the real thing would do the job on these wheels. You can pick up the dip dissolver here: Dip Dissolver. I applied a thick coat of dip dissolver to half of the wheel and let it sit for about 5 minutes in the shade. We used a normal garden hose to wash it off and this was the result. Definitely not the color scheme we expected to find.

Test 2: Goo Gone

Next, we are going to try Goo Gone on the other half of the same wheel. I have used Goo Gone to remove Plasti-Dip before, but results really depend on what condition the dip is in. If its really thin, or extremely old, Goo Gone has a much better shot at working. Dip applied recently, or with appropriate thickness is going to be a real challenge for the Goo Gone. 

After coating the Dip with Goo Gone we let the rim sit for about 5 minutes, coated it again, and started scrubbing. The Key to using Goo Gone is elbow grease. It doesn't dissolve it so it can be washed away, but it does weaken the bonds to the surface it's applied to. This means that with a stiff bristle wheel cleaning brush will really come in handy. After scrubbing for about 15 minutes these were the results. 

The areas of the Dip which were thicker or less weathered, such as the sides of the spokes, were only about 50% removed after some intense scrubbing. The thin Dip around the barrel and edge of the wheel came off with much less effort. Ultimately this is definitely an option, but you will be saving about $15 to spend an extra couple hours scrubbing and cursing.

Test 3: Brake Clean

Last we move on to Brake Clean. Keep in mind that we live in California where only non-chlorinated brake clean is sold. I decided to give the Brake Clean and advantage and only try to remove the remainder of the dip on this wheel. The method was to spray brake clean directly on a small area of dip and then scrub it with a microfiber towel. This turned out to be completely futile. At first, it was simply liquifying the dip and smearing it around the rim. Witch harder scrubbing it began removing the white and purple paint on the wheel! My recommendation, DONT USE BRAKE CLEAN.

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