Gloss Black or Matte Black
 

Ok, so I decided I'm going to go ahead and powder coat my oem wheels black for more of a sporty look. Should I go with gloss black or matte black? I saw an X5 at the dealership w/ gloss black wheels and it look so sick :wow: I think the gloss black will go really well with my shadow line trim but the matte black would go better w/ the bumper. Is there a way to get a black anodized brushed aluminum look?

I think matte black would look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_1092copy.jpg

Does anyone know how to do a gloss effect on photoshop?

818guy, I called the powdercoat place and they said the powdercoating only adds a couple oz. to the wheels. I guess it would add any significant weight.

the "matte black " looks very "home-made"
maybe the gloss looks better, lets see it!

i like it better stock color gray i aint into black rims

Not feelin' the black wheels dude - especially in matte black...

are those two drilled holes in your front bumpers?? i think i might come out with the same holes at the end of my lease.. i need to figure out a way to cover em up before i hand it in in 2 years and half.. i put the euro plate in ..

About your rims... i would chrome em... black dnt look good on your blue.. just chrome em.. heh .. id still wanna see the gloss effect.. post it up when u get a chance ..

Definitely matte black, looks great

I am thinking of doing the same to my silver x

No luck w/ the gloss black photoshop. I found a picture of a LB 330 w/ gloss black wheel though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/DSC00454.jpg

Miami, the two holes on the bumper were from the stock front licence plate holder. Maybe if you put your front plates on it would hide the holes from the euro plates?

black rims don't look too good to me, which is why I went dustless brake pads!!!

hey, there's a way to save some dollars, just never wash your rims!!

that M3 would look super HOT with regular silver rims IMO

Cool.

I'm not feeling the matte black. But the question is, what do YOU like?

You may also want to see the colors in person at the powdercoating shop. They should have samples to look at, that way you can take them outside and put them next to your X3 to get a "general" idea.

818guy, were you happy w/ the quality when they did your wheels? They are like 45 mins away from my home, just wanted to know if it is worth the effort to go that far.

Sent you a PM.

Hi MysticBlueX3,

I photoshoped my rims to dark grey / black and didn't like it much personally, it made the rims look a little smaller. But if I had to choose, I would go for the gloss look.

I took quick a few photos of my X3, and here are a few things that helped me get better result in photoshop:
- clean / polish the rims so that it's shinny under the Sun
- take pictures of the car in a Sunny afternoon (Sun not directly on top of the car!)
- position the car so that one side of the rims are towards the Sun

Good luck!

If you go black, I'd say get the glossy finish. And that e46 looks hot. (BTW, they didn't make the e46 in 4-door M-series.)

Your X is tough because the black (matte or gloss) kind of gets lost with all of the black plastic of your undercarriage. Body matching them blue may be too much for you and with your shadowline window trim, chrome is out. So my vote is for something like...

http://www.tirerack.com/images/wheel...ystic_Blue.gif