[weißundblau]

Got tired of looking at the peeling trim on my steering wheel and decided to fix it on the cheap! Picked up a can of Plastidip at Lowes for $6.00 and went to work. I followed this http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243169 to get the trim off and it was very easy.

Once the piece was removed, I unscrewed two T20 torx screws on the silver trim on both sides to remove it from the main black trim Once that was done I started to spray with flat black Plastidip. I did about 7 coats of Plastidip on the trim and let it dry about 20 minutes between coats. I put everything back together by just reversing the steps and it looks as good as new!

I then decided to fix the roof trim that has started to peel on the driver's side. I removed the trim by starting at the rear with a flat head screwdriver. Once the clip on the rear is released it's just steady pressure working towards the front and the whole piece will come off. If a few plastic clips break in the process don't sweat it because it will still hold with the ones that didn't break. Did about 5 coats on the trim with about 20 minutes between each.

Plastidip is a great product and needs NO PRIMING and is pretty fast drying. Great thing is if you're not happy with the results just peel it off and start over.

TIP: When removing the trim from the wheel START AT THE BOTTOM and work up towards the buttons, comes off much easier this way.

[Reckless335]

I'm going to do this later. I don't really like the chrome slats on the side of the steering wheel. I might plasti-dip them black.

[ThatRWD]

How does it feel on the hands compared to before ?

[TheGlobetrotter]

Originally Posted by ThatRWD

How does it feel on the hands compared to before ?

I did this about four months ago and the Plastidip could not take the heat from the sun. So it started peeling. I'll give it another shot next week.

In terms of feel, it's not as smooth as the original. You only realize that after it peels off again though

[LI_Goalie]

I just did this also. I decided to plastidip the trim and the silver accent trim. I did not remove the peeled BMW soft feel wrap before applying the plastidip. For the first 3 or 4 coats you could still see the dip in the wheel surface from the peeled trim, but after the 5th coat it pretty much went away 100%. Very satisfied with the results, we'll see how it holds up.

[jwzimm]

One question, why wouldn't you just prep and paint the trim rather than plastidip? Plastidip's main claim to fame is that it isn't permanent and can easily be removed which in this case doesn't seem to be the goal.

[LI_Goalie]

Yes, but to be honest I am just too lazy to prep the damn thing for paint

[weißundblau]

The reason I went with Plastidip over paint is due to the feel. Paint doesn't have the tacky feel that plastidip has which is close to what is on the wheel from the factory. And yes plastidip can be removed BUT I have no plans on removing it so no problems there.

[chisss]

I did this on the shifter trim because the stock "aluminium" sticker was peeling off, plastidip didn't hold up for more than a month before it started to peel off.

However I have the front grille plastidipped black and that seems to be holding up for almost 2 years now so as long as you don't touch it, it should be fine! lol

[TheGlobetrotter]

I've tried Plastidip on some surfaces, and for something like a steering wheel where there is a lot of contact with hands / movement of items, it will not last.

[Whateva]

Plastidip, you get what you pay for.

[335iNavyGuy]

FYI you should never plasti dip something you touch on a daily basis. Its not designed to hold up. You should just use Acrylic Enamel paint or wrap it.

[BeastMode335i]

Thanks for the tip, going to give this a shot today... I must drive a lot diff than most, because I rarely ever touch that part of the steering wheel lol..!

[ccraig13]

Originally Posted by chisss

I did this on the shifter trim because the stock "aluminium" sticker was peeling off, plastidip didn't hold up for more than a month before it started to peel off.

However I have the front grille plastidipped black and that seems to be holding up for almost 2 years now so as long as you don't touch it, it should be fine! lol

+1 my grill has been going strong for about 2 years as well. Touch ups are a breeze.

That's too bad about it peeling off the cover though. I was banking on dipping as well