kwas911

While I like the stock 20" rims on my 2013 S6, I do find myself wishing I could/would have gotten the black optic rims. Not only do the darker rims give the car a "meaner" look, but they also cut down on brake dust appearance. It is frustrating to spend an afternoon washing the car only to see the rims look awful after a short trip to the supermarket.

Rather than shell out the $$ for powder coating or a new set a rims, I figured plasti dip would be a cheap test. At this point I only dipped a single wheel...I know...I'm lazy!

The result...

I like the color, so at least that portion was a success. What I do not like is the texture. I followed the directions on the can (and what I found on youtube), and the texture is similar to a high grit sandpaper. It is far from smooth. Now, after poking around the "Internets" (thanks Al Gore), I find that the closer you hold the can, the smoother the texture...OOPS! If I proceed with dipped wheels, I will have to remove and re-apply to this first wheel.

The next decision is matte vs glossy. I'm leaning towards a single coat of glossifier to get it to a satin finish.

Deazy

I plastidipped mine gunmetal grey about a year ago and they've held up well. My car is estoril and the gunmetal looks great. I didn't use glossifier because i like the matte finish and don't mind the texture. I use Sonax full effect wheel cleaner and a power washer and they clean up nice without even touching the wheels with a brush.

kwas911

I dipped a second wheel this evening. The finish is super smooth, no sand paper texture at all! I guess now I have to re-do the first wheel.

mik34

Here's how mine looked. I did use a few coats of the glossifier.

tenspeed

Can you spray over the original coat or does it have to be peeled off first?

mikec7s6

how did you get it smooth? spray closer? I did the rear deck lid emblems on my Porsche and it came out semi textured, I was hoping for a more smooth finish. how close do you have to spray?

kwas911

Get closer when spraying...the difference is quite substantial. I tried to keep the spray tip 3-4" and it looks great. I used three coats and a 4th pass for touch up spots. The first coat was very light. Coats 2 and 3 were heavier.

kwas911

You could use a small bit of mineral spirits, rub it on the textured spots then respray. Since mine was the entire wheel, I opted to peel off. I can tell you it doesn't peel off quite as easy as advertised.

kwas911

UPDATE

All wheels are completed...looks great. A super cheap method to test a color change! Hopefully it holds up fairly well.

thelionsden

Looks good!