Plasti-Dip wheels

[MOTODAVEO]

I posted this in the 5 series forum but it obviously would work on our Z4s as well...


I plasti-diped the wheels I use in the winter. I was actually pretty impressed with the results so I figured I'd post them here in case anyone else was looking for a little reassurance that it actually works.

My winter wheels are from my old 335xi coupe. They are just cheap Rials I think so I wasn't too worried if this all went wrong. They are 17" and I couldn't believe they fit the 550. They did look ridiculously small. My hope was the black would mask the small diameter and make the wheels look bigger. I think it does. So I'm happy with it.

I read a few posts on the subject and still forgot a few things and disagree with another. But I generally followed the process I saw on the forum...

Clean the wheels first and then wipe down with rubbing alcohol or simple green or something similar. I used simple green and then wiped them dry. Clean dry wheels are a must. Wet or greasy spots cause the bubbling.

Spray multiple thin coats. Cover too much and it will run.







The part I forgot - put quarters in the lugholes and remove after each coat. This is so there is no Plasti dip where the lug nut touches the wheel. People have said the nut tears the plasti dip and then starts a loose edge where it peels off the rim. I just bolted them on and see no issues. When I take them off we will see what happens. If I had it to do over, I would put quarters in the holes and remove them after each spray so there is a clean surface.

I did probably 6 coats of black and then 3 coats of the "Glossifier" The glossifier lets you choose how shiney you want by how much you spray. The 3 coats I did left a nice satin look.

The part I disagree with: You don't have to cover the tire. I saw the videos of guys spraying right on the tire and peeling it off later. Mine did not peel. I left it on for a long time though. There just wasnt anything to peel. It looked like I had tire shine on part of the rubber but it wont peel. Again, I don't know why it didn't come right off but if I was doing it again, I'd stick the 3x5 notecards around the edge and keep the tire clean. As it is, I dressed the tire and they look fine. Now I have incentive to keep tire dressing up I guess.






I did scrape a little off on the side in a few of the lug holes when I torqued the wheels. So be slow and carefull with that socket!

It seems pretty durable. I have run it through the car wash and power washed them a couple times with no problems so far.

They say it peels right off if you want it back to original but I haven't had to try that. I like the look. It was better than I hoped it would come out. And it cost about $40 to do. So if you are on the fence, try it! It was a good result for the effort. People honestly just think they are originally black wheels.

[Crazykoh]

Looks good to me. Thanks for the info.

[rking117]

great job

[F-3]

I really like the look of the car.

[nrevezzo]

Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

[MOTODAVEO]

Thanks guys. It's supposed to stay in the 50s this week though, so back to the Z4!

[BMWZ4RIDER]

Nice job and info.