Painting the crash bar

[gman959]

I’ll be getting my RS4 style grill soon and I decided to go with the kind that doesn’t have the filler plate. My concern is that the crash bar which is sliver will be very noticeable and would stand out so I figured paint it black. My question is should I use heat resistant paint or should any old spray paint work? I have a can of black spray paint and a can of black plasti-dip layin around and was trying to figure out which to use. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks


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[A4B7Avant]

Bed liner spray.

[klrider44]

I used a can of flat black paint, nothing fancy




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[rhfosu]

Regular spray paint is fine. Make sure you scuff the surface and clean it well with a degreaser.

[gman959]

Good to know that heat won't be an issue. My fear though with spray paint is that it will chip off, that why I was leaning towards plastidip. Is this a legitimate concern?

[Ashtonts]

Good to know that heat won't be an issue. My fear though with spray paint is that it will chip off, that why I was leaning towards plastidip. Is this a legitimate concern?

Yes but I can’t imagine it would be severe enough to notice with the bumper and grille still on.

I’m going to be using a sheet of black HDPE that I’ll be adhering to the crash bar. If the plastic gets chips, it’s black all the way through so it won’t show. It’ll look a bit nicer than the crash bar too which is a plus

[rhfosu]

Good to know that heat won't be an issue. My fear though with spray paint is that it will chip off, that why I was leaning towards plastidip. Is this a legitimate concern?

It will definitely chip off over time. Rocks, bugs, etc. Paint doesn't like to stick to aluminum.

[al3k]

Doesnt the front bumper also have fill material behind the oem grille? do people cut this away?

[rhfosu]

Doesnt the front bumper also have fill material behind the oem grille? do people cut this away?

No...I don't think so. I just replaced my grille in October and I don't remember anything back there.

[Charles.waite]

It will definitely chip off over time. Rocks, bugs, etc. Paint doesn't like to stick to aluminum.

Aluminum? Like the material that makes up all our body panels?!



But yea chipping is for sure a concern, and Plastidip isn't any better. Prep it well, clean, quick sand, degrease, primer, and lots of coats of black, and it should last a while. Most of the time the chipping is really bad is when the paint never really adheres to the metal not because the paint is inherently fragile.

Realistically there is only so much you can do though. Black shows chips the worst, my front end looks okay, but get closer than 5' and you can start to see all the rockchips in the factory paint. Its inevitable with black. Most other colors hide it a lot better.

[KingWulfgar]

I used platidip. Never chipped or flaked off noticeably. You don't see it through the grill that much.

[Ashtonts]

Doesnt the front bumper also have fill material behind the oem grille? do people cut this away?

No...I don't think so. I just replaced my grille in October and I don't remember anything back there.

Yes it does. Some people (like myself) trim that out when they run a full mesh grille.

[Dondbg]

I used a can of flat black paint, nothing fancy




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This ^^


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[yxri]

I used high heat and it chipped. Then used plasti dip. Been good to be for 22k miles

[yxri]

[Ashtonts]

^^ to be fair most people won’t have this issue as the crash bar isn’t completely exposed

[Charles.waite]

Your car is so subtle. 🤨

[matthewcharder]

I actually used black bbq grill paint from home depot and it has held up without chipping. Plus, its flat black so it doesnt call attention.

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[acline6147]

I used black brake caliper paint

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[acline6147]

I used black brake caliper paint

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[acline6147]

I used black brake caliper paint

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Not letting me post a pic

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[Rbb1485]

I used plasti-dip, over a year now and holding up very well, no chips, etc

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[ghgoldberg]

Truth is, all of these paints will work fine: Plastidip, Bar-B-Q paint, caliber paint, rustoleum, etc. By far the most important thing is surface preparation, as was mentioned by previous posts. Painting aluminum is no problem (look at an airplane) but the surface must be primed.

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