Shop wont paint lowers

[OneBadAudi]

So i took my car to a body shop to get the lowers done, he said that nothing will stick to the paint..I told him that i have personally seen other a4's with their lowers painted and he said it will chip and come right off..

Whats the deal?

Is he a scam or is he right?


Thanks
Miles

[pondside36]

He is wrong, mine have been painted since Waterfest and I drove there from B-more and then to Cape Cod (420 miles) and back to B-more and I don't have any chips on my front bumper yet. There is a special bonding agent they need to use to paint the plastic IIRC. Check out another shop.

[BNZ TOY]

Probably not a scam if he won't take your money but yeah, check out another shop.

[OneBadAudi]

any body know the name of the compound to get it to stick?

[phantom b6]

My friend who works at a body shop painted mine and all he did was sand them and spray them.

They've held up fine for 6 months

[Audituning02]

There are numerous different kinds of plastic adhesion promoters that will work just fine.( Try SEM Plastic Adhesion Promoter) I would say go to another shop who might know more about painting raw plastic parts. Sounds like he just wasnt too sure about the preperation process.

[Capt. Obvious]

They can be painted no problem, just like your stock front and rear bumpers are painted (same damn material). The shop just doesn't want to do it because they have bigger fish to fry (read: insurance jobs).

[Maverick]

yeah, they dont make much on painting the lowers, besides, its a lot of labor to do them

[davidlizard]

they have to use plastic primer, and flex add to every coat to prevent stone chipping...

[Groove1797]

Just be happy he refused to do shitty work and cost you more cash down the line when you need to get them repainted. Like everyone has said, go to a different shop with purim prepping knowledge.

[04QuattroTurbo]

any body know the name of the compound to get it to stick?

Paint adhesion promoter or a brand called "Flex". They use the chemical on bumpers and stuff.

[etnies]

ive had mine painted for over a year now, and there perfect still, anyone know that guys name that sells the s4 door blades on here?

[mcjuicer]

What did you guys pay for the painting of the lowers??

[etnies]

mine was 600 can i think

[rxrep]

Calling BS on the shop. Use adhesion promoter, like they said. I like the 3M stuff. There is a readily available brand called "Bulldog" that will work in a pinch.

Flex additive changes the hue and darkens paint color. Matching paint on bumpers is hard enough let alone adding that to the mix. I don't know many good body shops who will use it unless they HAVE to. I have not seen a need to use it on any B6 part. Flex has nothing to do with adhesion, and nothing to do with helping from rock chips. Flex is only there to get pliable parts back on to a car. Once the paint has cured, the flex ain't "flexy" no mo. It is a common misconception that it stays pliable over time. It's only designed to be bendable for about 72 hours.

Painting lowers yourself isn't that hard of a gig, and the nice thing about it is that it's not a good sight line to see flaws. Good way to pop your body painting cherry.

[OneBadAudi]

^ haha thanks guys....will look into it, i knew it was BS but ur right about the insurance thing...Im sure thats why

[vdubstreets]

you do relize 2004's came with painted lowers from the factory dot dot dot.

[F16HTON]

If you remove and replace the lowers from the car yourself, you will save about $200.

[ben light]

Mine have been done for about 3 years. no problems what so ever.

[OneBadAudi]

If you remove and replace the lowers from the car yourself, you will save about $200.

so ur sayin its cheaper to get painted lowers through the dealer then get mine painted?
not to sure what ur sayin...

[F16HTON]

No, I am saying if you take your lowers off of your car, then take them to the paint shop...you will save $$

Painting them is a no brainer, however the materials (paint and prep) are expensive.

[OneBadAudi]

yeh thats true....I was planning on taken em off anyway when i got em painted but down here in south jersey, u dont have much to work with in a way of shops and all the mechanics know about is fords and chevys, dont know shit about audis.... when i got the car inspected, the mechanic said the rear main seal was leaking..Uhhh def was a valvecover gasket...You could See it.haha simple folk