Hey everyone,

First timer here so bear with me if this sounds like a rookie post...I had a G25 for a while and didn't do too much to it besides tint and debadge. I recently traded in the G25 for a dark gray G37 sport. Obviously ecstatic about the upgrade, but looking to do a bit more to the car. Friend of mine has the Q50 sport and he and I spoke about plasti-dipping our rims. I know a lot of people have bad tastes in their mouths over plasti-dipping but given the price tag and how easy it is to remove, I figured I would give it a shot and maybe later down the line I can paint the rims after a refinish. (Previous owner made friends with the curb) Question is, do I want a matte or gloss plasti dip? It's tough to look at pix on google and would be ideal to look in person but this is my best option since it's going in tomorrow haha. I realize it's all personal preference but I wanted to gauge what may look best with people who have a better idea than I do.

Thank you!

 

Gloss should be easier to clean which is a plus since it's not that easy to clean the regular p-dip, at least in my experience.

 

Gloss would also look better, IMO.

Have you ever seen a car where the owner once plastidipped the wheels, but the dip was all ripped and peeling over time? It's not good, man. And that's going to be you.

You have the 18" OEM Sport rims, right? If these are the wheels you want to keep on the car, my rec is that you network for a paint shop or powdercoater with a good reputation.

 

^ what they said. The matte wheels on a shiny painted car looks awful. Saw one the other day and felt bad for the person. Honestly you could sell your Oem wheels and upgrade to some sick wheels for half the price.

 

Okay awesome, thank you for the responses. I was leaning towards gloss so this definitely helps!

 

Just to add another voice in agreement- yeah, gloss is the way to go. Matte dipped wheels always look cheap or worse, like hubcaps or a spare. People have gotten very nice results with Plasti-dip. It's just that most people don't want to take the time to do it right and just blow through a few cans without thinking.

 

I did mine in graphite and like how they came out. This was right after I dipped them so it looks really clean. Wanted the gunmetal look like porsche wheels.

 

Looking good Vaio, but won't those Beemer guys revoke your key fob if they find dip on your coupe? Seriously, that BMW does look fine!

 

Yes, it was just temp to see if I liked the dark wheels before I powder coated them. But it has been almost a year now and they still look good. Might peel and try a dark bronze next.

 

Hope i'm not late to the party. I did a matte black on my black 08 35. If you have the sport wheels like I do, be prepared for a battle... they are not easy to do. Here is a picture of the after. I did buy the glossifier for the plasti dip but actually opted not to use it as I liked the way it turned out. I have a few more if you want.

 

the car is currently in the shop so fingers crossed, but thank you all for the responses. Beamer and infiniti look great. Big fan of this site already, nothing like other sites with jabronies just being a$$holes.

 

It's always sunny on MyG37

 

Another cleaning tip for you.. DYC sells a product called Dip Coat, that is supposed to give the color a little more pop, avoid scratches, and give you a slicker less rubbery feel. It's expensive ($30 ish for a large bottle). I just finished re-dipping my wheel and decided to try this stuff because the rubber feel always bothered me. It does what it says it does and works ok, just ok... But I have discovered that turtle wax ice gives you pretty much the same results and and even slicker feel, and It's like $5 a bottle.

 

Check out this product, Audodip.

 

I bought a can of the black and tested it out. Wasn't a fan of the way it sprayed on. It was like too much pressure was coming out of the can making it more difficult to get and even coat. It is very slick and glossy but very difficult to get a smooth finish. Also somewhat difficult to peel off and scratched insanely easy. Results from a spray gun might be better.

Here's another newer product that's pretty legit and IMO will have a promising future in the industry, if they play their cards right:

Halo EFX Automotive Coatings

I tested this one as well,
Pros:
- I believe its vinyl based (feels like vinyl when dry) and is smooth vs. rubbery so the texture is a win.
- Sprays on evenly, easy to achieve a smooth finish.
- Peels very well.

Cons:
- Aerosol colors are currently somewhat limited, although it looks like they give you the option to purchase your own pearls and send them in to be mixed in an aerosol can which is very cool.
- Scratched pretty easily.
- Wasn't easy to get a really glossy finish.
- I tested a few of the pearls they sell in cans and it was challenging to get even coats without looking blotchy.
- Some of the promising sounding pre-mixed pearl colors they sell did not give me the results I was hoping for. I was left with some extra cans so I'll probably play with it a little more.