Best Crash Bar Paint - RS Grill

[MrFunk]

I have about 4-5 good coats of Rust-Oleum High Heat Engine paint on my crash bar (running the RS Grill)...
After the first winter here it has a lot of chips and flakes... the salt and cold temps along with sandblast from road sand/salt beat it up pretty good...
I'm going to be installing my new Alpha Boost kit here soon and while the bumper is off will re-apply some new paint on the crash bar - I don't want to be repeating this over and over though every year...

So...

I've heard people with plasti-dip with same issues... is there a better "thicker" paint that I should consider? Anyone have something that has stood the test of time and not chipped? Perhaps a few coats of clear coat on top of whatever paint? How about radiator paint?

Thoughts?

[booost]

I just used plastidip and it's held up fine. If you go that route just layer it on thick.

[aaronz]

Was in the same spot as you, ended up having my shop put a rhino liner type costing that had a little bit of a rubber bounce to it. Survived this Chicago winter perfectly.


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[RJRAUDI]

I get my car back with the RS grill tomorrow and I just used the rust-oleum automotive rubberized spray, which I hope will hold up. I wonder if bedliner paint would be a more durable option.

[fromario]

Was in the same spot as you, ended up having my shop put a rhino liner type costing that had a little bit of a rubber bounce to it. Survived this Chicago winter perfectly.
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I was going to try and rhino line it next as well, my rattle can job did not hold up

[Li ls4]

If there is enough room between the grill and the crash bar what about a sheet of black 1/8" thick abs plastic. Heat it up and bend it around the crash bar. That should hold up better than paint

[MrFunk]

Was in the same spot as you, ended up having my shop put a rhino liner type costing that had a little bit of a rubber bounce to it. Survived this Chicago winter perfectly.


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Yeah good call... That sh*t is bulletproof!

[Chandler]

I used a flat black Rust-Oleum product as well. I just did about three coats or so and the same with the wire mesh I put in there as well. The mesh is silver again in some spots, there are a FEW spots on the grill from salt being on the roads here in birmingham, AL for a week. I don't want the texture of a bed liner type product...

[richib86]

RS5 crash bar cover FTW. covers up that crease in the middle and looks OEM

[mpv314]

RS5 crash bar cover FTW. covers up that crease in the middle and looks OEM

Link?

[richib86]

dont have a picture of that crash bar installed as i havent put it on yet but if you go to my rs4 grill thread(the 20 something page thread) you will see a filler plate installed, it would look just like that...

[jlaudio]

2 years on plasti dip, put on thick and over the course of a full day. still holding strong.

[Waaazooo]

Makes you wonder how the paint holds up on the bumper.


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[Usa]

Put on plastidip.. have some small cracks, should have used a thicker coat and needed to install my radiator mesh protector still (will repaint and add the mesh screen when I add my AMS intercooler)

[AudiTFSI3o3]

skip plastidip and rustoleum all together. over time it may chip from road debris and such. i took another member's advice and used the truck bed liner spray. durable as F!

i used the one that dries with a smooth matte finish.

[ENV²]

Plastidip hands down

[emnahum]

2 years on plasti dip, put on thick and over the course of a full day. still holding strong.

Wait, your sig says stock, but you have an RS grille ? ;-)

Love the avatar, BTW.

[chaos2984]

I just used plastidip and it's held up fine. If you go that route just layer it on thick.

This. I used about 4-5 coats. any local auto part store should have it. I think i got mine from auto zone

[MrFunk]

RS5 crash bar cover FTW. covers up that crease in the middle and looks OEM

Didn't know there was one... you have a link?

skip plastidip and rustoleum all together. over time it may chip from road debris and such. i took another member's advice and used the truck bed liner spray. durable as F!

i used the one that dries with a smooth matte finish.

Which one did you use? I'm leaning towards this - if it is not textured I'm in...

[AudiTFSI3o3]

sorry for the late reply but this is what I used on the crash bar



on a scale of 1-10 for smooth finish, i'd say its about 9.