Plastidip or paint the grill surround?

C

Chris_D

Elite
 Mostly Holland. Sometimes UK.
So after plastidipping the winter wheels and being sufficiently impressed/pleased with the results I'm now considering doing the grill surrounds.

The 3 options: Plastidip, paint, buy new.
Anyone plastidipped them? The thing that makes me hesitate going this direction is that plastidip can tear and chip easily and I saw a zed here recently in some thread that I've lost where he's obv dipped them and they look a bit threadbare with bits of chrome showing through.
The wheel bolt surrounds on my winter wheels have also incurred chips due to whipping the fronts off to swap in new LED sidelights. I was pretty careful taking the wheels off too.

Being in 2 minds and wanting the option to reverse and peel off if I'm not really sold on the look (maybe too much black on black) I'd rather avoid painting and being a bit of a tight-wad I'd prefer not to buy a new black set. I've heard aftermarket plakky grills are a sh!te fit too.

Anyone dipped them? Results after a year? re-dip required? PITA to keep looking good?
Photo 18-12-2016 16 29 48.jpg
(ps. My new office unit being built in the background there. checking on progress just before crimbo. not much progress as the nice polish gentlemen buggered off mid-december. will be nice to get out of working from home and have a bit more space for the scanners and plotters at last! :wink:)
 
What I have seen is that the chipping is pretty awful and looks tatty pretty quickly.

I bought the all black (matt) grills instead and flogged the old ones.
 
They will look scruffy in no time, £37 will get you these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matte-Black-Front-Kidney-Grill-Grille-For-BMW-Z4-E85-E86-Coupe-Cabriolet-2003-08-/152303008337?fits=Model%3AZ4&hash=item2375f77a51:g:OH8AAOSwA3dYGcXp
 
pvr said:
What I have seen is that the chipping is pretty awful and looks tatty pretty quickly.

I bought the all black (matt) grills instead and flogged the old ones.
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hmm, thought as much :/
 
Marlon said:
They will look scruffy in no time, £37 will get you these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matte-Black-Front-Kidney-Grill-Grille-For-BMW-Z4-E85-E86-Coupe-Cabriolet-2003-08-/152303008337?fits=Model%3AZ4&hash=item2375f77a51:g:OH8AAOSwA3dYGcXp
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i had no idea the e85 and e89 grills were the same size! thought the e89's looked bigger. whodathunkit!
I heard these aftermarket ones were a questionable fit? are you running these colin?

Also found a slightly better deal with cheaper postage to NL:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matte-Black-Front-Kidney-Sport-Grille-Grill-For-BMW-Z4-E85-E86-Coupe-2003-2008/262586270792?_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D7ab9462a5e25404c865b272516aee847%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D152303008337

edit: oh i see, your ebay ad just shows the wrong z4 colin. bit misleading to describe e85/6 fit and show a photo of an e89. that's ebay for ya!
 
Chris_D said:
Marlon said:
They will look scruffy in no time, £37 will get you these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matte-Black-Front-Kidney-Grill-Grille-For-BMW-Z4-E85-E86-Coupe-Cabriolet-2003-08-/152303008337?fits=Model%3AZ4&hash=item2375f77a51:g:OH8AAOSwA3dYGcXp
Click to expand...
i had no idea the e85 and e89 grills were the same size! thought the e89's looked bigger. whodathunkit!
I heard these aftermarket ones were a questionable fit? are you running these colin?

Also found a slightly better deal with cheaper postage to NL:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matte-Black-Front-Kidney-Sport-Grille-Grill-For-BMW-Z4-E85-E86-Coupe-2003-2008/262586270792?_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D7ab9462a5e25404c865b272516aee847%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D152303008337

edit: oh i see, your ebay ad just shows the wrong z4 colin. bit misleading to describe e85/6 fit and show a photo of an e89. that's ebay for ya!
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Yeah, it threw me too at first! I linked to it cos it was the cheapest, but there's lots to pick from around the 50 quid mark
I was lucky enough to buy OEM ones off a forum member 'as new' for £30 (owner was selling his Zed and flogging off all his mods first http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=88789&p=1312566#p1312566)
 
All depends on your driving Chris. Motorway driving sees them chipped pretty quickly. Town and fun roads you will be fine. I painted mine and they are going strong. Also only takes 20 minutes to give them another coat of paint.
 
I painted mine and are easilly touched up did try some black ones from ebay but the weren't a great fit so sent them back
 
I plastidipped mine about 7 months any and they still look fine, not a mark on them. I just did the chrome surrounds. Just realised I've done over 7,000 miles since then, so it's not as if they've not been exposed!

Mike
 
I sprayed mine with 3 or 4 coats of black Plastidip in January of 2015, have done just over 8k miles and there is not a mark on them. Cheaper than crappy plastic Chinese ones and you can peel it off if you don't like it. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks all. Good to get ur opinions. I'll av a crack at dipping them tomorrow if it's nice and dry weather. Then keep an eye on them.
I buzz over to Köln in Germany to see clients occasionally and it'll be interesting to see if they can withstand 120mph on the autobahn.... :wink:
 
I bought some OEM ones off the forum split them and painted, plastic primer then satin black, as I didn't really like the finish to plastidip but wanted to keep the original set should I want to go back.
Probably not the cheapest option but gave me what I wanted, and a quick dust over will sort out any future chips.

Stuart
 
Chris McTightarse does not dip hand in pocket, you should know that by now.
 
pvr said:
Chris McTightarse does not dip hand in pocket, you should know that by now.
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There's a reason my mortgage was paid off at 34 and my business turned over £180k last year. Part of the reason for being a Tighty McTightwad in certain areas. :wink:
 
Dipped! It seems to be a common myth that plastidip, flakes, peels, melts, bubbles or explodes over time. This is complete crap. Unless of course one happens to apply it incorrectly over a non prepared surface or only a few coats of paint are applied. Usually the prep is a simple wash and clean. Dipped mine 6 months ago along with my wheels. I've jet washed and scrubbed them once sometimes twice a week in the summer, driven to Cornwall and back a few times, been out in 32 degrees and 0 degrees and they're still as good as the day I dipped 'em. No flaking, peeling or explosions. First pic is 6 months ago second pic was last week.
IMG_1067.JPG
IMG_1688 copy.JPG
 
Chris_D said:
DMC63 said:
Dipped!
Click to expand...
Nice :thumbsup:
Whole thing or just surrounds?
Click to expand...
The lot. Un-clipped and washed them allowing them to dry in the sun. This time of year I'd pop them on a radiator for an hour to make sure all the water has evaporated. I laid them flat and sprayed them from the usual four angles in each spraying.

IMPORTANT!! Dipping in the cold weather isn't advised but can be done. When cold the paint congeals in the can. After I had a tyre changed the dip (not rim) was slightly peeled. I had to locally repair the area and re-dip. If anyone needs to repair a minor scrape (Kerbing) without peeling the lot and starting again I'd be glad to advise. I had to keep the can submerged in warm water to keep the paint from congealing and allow 30 mins between coats.
 
DMC63 said:
Chris_D said:
DMC63 said:
Dipped!
Click to expand...
Nice :thumbsup:
Whole thing or just surrounds?
Click to expand...
The lot. Un-clipped and washed them allowing them to dry in the sun. This time of year I'd pop them on a radiator for an hour to make sure all the water has evaporated. I laid them flat and sprayed them from the usual four angles in each spraying.

IMPORTANT!! Dipping in the cold weather isn't advised but can be done. When cold the paint congeals in the can. After I had a tyre changed the dip (not rim) was slightly peeled. I had to locally repair the area and re-dip. If anyone needs to repair a minor scrape (Kerbing) without peeling the lot and starting again I'd be glad to advise. I had to keep the can submerged in warm water to keep the paint from congealing and allow 30 mins between coats.
Click to expand...

yeah, experienced that when i did my winter wheels. each can for each wheel was half-full but wouldnt spray. brung them indoors for an hour and hey presto, spraying again!
 
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