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The Official MK5 Denver/Huff to MK6 Detroit conversion DIY

PolakRidingAGerman

The Polish Prince
Location
Ottawa, ON. CANADA
Car(s)
2008 VW GTI
Nice work man!
I'm new to the site (1st post), and I'm really glad I found your DIY... I just bought an '08 GTI with 18" Dufs, but I really want the inlays to be black instead of gunmetal (ie. to make them Detroits... I think), and wanted some advice, since my Dufs already have a polished face and inlays. Is this reasonable/feasible/possible? What do you think is the best way to proceed? wet sand just the inlays, and then just skip to step 5? I wonder if the factory clearcoat on the gunmetal inlays is even able to be sanded down... Any ideas or other owners who've tried this input appreciated!
 

LateAPXR

Ready to race!
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
This looks REALLY good and I'd love to do this to my wheels. Just a few questions I don't think I've seen posed/answered yet though…

I assume you painted the inside of the wheels black too, not just the inlays?

What did you do about wheel weights…did you paint over them or mask them out? Or did you remove them, paint, and then reattach?

And on that note, if you ever needed to have the wheel rebalanced, can a shop attach the wheel weights to the paint or would that be problematic?
 

nicolasl46

Go Kart Champion
Location
Middle Village, NY
Car(s)
VW GTI MkVI
This looks REALLY good and I'd love to do this to my wheels. Just a few questions I don't think I've seen posed/answered yet though…

I assume you painted the inside of the wheels black too, not just the inlays?

What did you do about wheel weights…did you paint over them or mask them out? Or did you remove them, paint, and then reattach?

And on that note, if you ever needed to have the wheel rebalanced, can a shop attach the wheel weights to the paint or would that be problematic?

I've painted my winter steel wheels, and the shop attached the weights right on them. after this winter they still holding up pretty good.
 

MYGTI07

Ready to race!
Location
MIAMI
Car(s)
07 GTI
Just tried this today on My 18" Huffs. I am backing out because the tape doesn't seem to stick to the polished face. I bought the Maximum adhesion Edge Lock tape and no luck. :mad:
I might just send them to get the inserts professionally painted instead.
:frown:
 

Tempted2Speed

is cooler than you
Location
Sacramento
Car(s)
2007 GTI CW 6MT
Sorry guys/ was kinda on a hiatus. mygti07, did you follow the diy to the letter? Your paint should have no problem at all with sticking
 

bkpr

Ready to race!
Location
Houston, TX
I assume you painted the inside of the wheels black too, not just the inlays?

I couldn't find an answer to this. I'm about to give some Denvers the Detroit treatment, did you flip the wheel over and do the inside also? If not, can you see and grey when you look inside the wheel holes?

Thanks for the excellent write up!
 

Tr!tan!um

Schnellen geher!
Location
AlAbAmA
Car(s)
2008 GTI, white
Yes, it will look like poo if you dont make sure the inner wheel is black as well. Kinda like my huffs when I half ass washing them.
 

Arcturus

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
I'm thinking about doing this over the winter when my Huffs come off.

I've got some nasty scratches on one of my rims. Will wet sanding be enough to get rid of them?

Also, how do you deal with the valve stems? Do you just remove the caps and spray the stems?
 
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gmmills

South African
Location
Atlanta, GA
Car(s)
CW GTI
If you already have grey inserts with a layer of clear coat, how will this affect the diy? Just sand it off and continue with the diy?
Thanks
 

Method82

Ready to race!
Location
Raleigh NC USA
Car(s)
GTI
I'll have to try this while I save up for the 18" Interlagos wheels I want. But I drive my car everyday. so it may mean i'll rock around on a spare every other day or something like that...
 
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