[335ioncrack]

The inevitable happened. 442m wheel corrosion!
At first I didn’t know what it was. I googled “white spots on bmw wheels” and found “white worm on alloy wheels”. Turns out what I have is corrosion and it’s pretty common to these wheels. Mine also started in the center like usual story, and is spreading. I want to address it as soon as possible to avoid too much damage to wheels. My car is not under warranty so I will have to pay out of pocket to fix this.
Now I’m thinking to get them stripped and powder coated.
What do you guys suggest which color I should go with since my car is alpine white? I want to do gloss black but that’s very common and will show dirt very easily.
My other choice would be satin black, matte black, anthracite or gun metal.
Any other options/opinions?
Thanks in advance!

[BimR]

Are your calipers painted? That could dictate some of this. Also do you have chrome or black trim? I like gunmetal in your case. Maybe with painted calipers? But again, tough to tell without seeing a picture.
Btw my wheels are glossy black because they looked better with blue calipers according to my car guy who basically does what he wants 🤣.

[Randy Johnson]

Gunmetal!!!

[Desertnate]

I'd go gun metal with a satin or gloss finish.

I'm not a fan of black wheels and matte black wheels seem to always look dirty to me.

[335ioncrack]

Originally Posted by BimR

Are your calipers painted? That could dictate some of this. Also do you have chrome or black trim? I like gunmetal in your case. Maybe with painted calipers? But again, tough to tell without seeing a picture.
Btw my wheels are glossy black because they looked better with blue calipers according to my car guy who basically does what he wants 🤣.

Hey thanks for your input.
My car is base model 335i sports line. With red stitching on seats and steering wheel. I recently spray painted my calipers red to give my car a little more red accent. Also got the roof wrapped gloss black. The trim around the windows is chrome(not a fan of it tho). I have carbon fiber gloss finished trunk spoiler and the kidney grills.
It would make sense to go gloss black on the wheel. But it’s too common and I know it will look dirty all the time. And if the rims are clean then the dirty tires stand out even more with gloss black wheels, unless you keep putting some tires shine everyday.

I’m leaning more towards gun metal, anthracite, or satin black.
Thanks again.

[335ioncrack]

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

Gunmetal!!!

Also one of my top choices.
Thanks

[335ioncrack]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

I'd go gun metal with a satin or gloss finish.

I'm not a fan of black wheels and matte black wheels seem to always look dirty to me.

My thoughts exactly, I think gloss black will always look dirty. Or the dirty tires will stand out if not dressed in shiny tire shine!

[BimR]

Originally Posted by 335ioncrack

Hey thanks for your input.
My car is base model 335i sports line. With red stitching on seats and steering wheel. I recently spray painted my calipers red to give my car a little more red accent. Also got the roof wrapped gloss black. The trim around the windows is chrome(not a fan of it tho). I have carbon fiber gloss finished trunk spoiler and the kidney grills.
It would make sense to go gloss black on the wheel. But it’s too common and I know it will look dirty all the time. And if the rims are clean then the dirty tires stand out even more with gloss black wheels, unless you keep putting some tires shine everyday.

I’m leaning more towards gun metal, anthracite, or satin black.
Thanks again.

Gunmetal!!!!

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by 335ioncrack

My thoughts exactly, I think gloss black will always look dirty. Or the dirty tires will stand out if not dressed in shiny tire shine!

Gloss black will also show scratches VERY easily. You'd have to be very careful in how you wash them and/or have to occasionally polish them out to keep them looking good.

[tturedraider]

Gloss Gunmetal

[AspektUSA]

Originally Posted by 335ioncrack

The inevitable happened. 442m wheel corrosion!
At first I didn’t know what it was. I googled “white spots on bmw wheels” and found “white worm on alloy wheels”. Turns out what I have is corrosion and it’s pretty common to these wheels. Mine also started in the center like usual story, and is spreading. I want to address it as soon as possible to avoid too much damage to wheels. My car is not under warranty so I will have to pay out of pocket to fix this.
Now I’m thinking to get them stripped and powder coated.
What do you guys suggest which color I should go with since my car is alpine white? I want to do gloss black but that’s very common and will show dirt very easily.
My other choice would be satin black, matte black, anthracite or gun metal.
Any other options/opinions?
Thanks in advance!

I had two 442Ms refinished to fix corrosion on one, and curb rash from the previous owner.

It was $350 for both.

They can CNC machine them, and clear powder coat to match OEM finish - which is the correct choice.

[visionaut]

Alpine White (of course)…
Will match & be unique, though you’ll be a bit busier cleaning…

(Hey, the OP is “on crack”, so… lol)

[alohasurftoad]

black chrome or hyper black

[deviantspeed]

Fluorescent Green, nice and bright!

[J555]

Matte gunmetal is by far the best for the brake dust (and other dirt), if you care.

[smhigh]

Matte Gunmetal

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by J555

Matte gunmetal is by far the best for the brake dust (and other dirt), if you care.

The reason matte gunmetal is "the best" at hiding brake dust is it always looks dirty. So you never know when it is actually dirty. A good gloss black powdercoat looks like jewelry, especially on white. It makes the white pop more and look brighter. You just have to keep it clean, otherwise it looks like matte black or matte gunmetal when it's really dirty!

[J555]

Originally Posted by thebmw

A good gloss black powdercoat looks like jewelry, especially on white.

Agree. However, it last maybe for 50 miles with standard M Sport brakes/pads I have three sets of wheels on my white car - the matte gunmetal, the gloss graphite, and the grey/diamond-cut ones. I hate the gloss graphite, as they get ugly dirty so quickly; it's even more apparent due to the fronts getting visibly dirtier than rears due to a lot more brake dust.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by J555

Agree. However, it last maybe for 50 miles with standard M Sport brakes/pads I have three sets of wheels on my white car - the matte gunmetal, the gloss graphite, and the grey/diamond-cut ones. I hate the gloss graphite, as they get ugly dirty so quickly; it's even more apparent due to the fronts getting visibly dirtier than rears due to a lot more brake dust.

Brake pad replacement to low dust is a must! Otherwise, gloss black will be matte black in 50 miles, as you said.