Crash bar coating or sleeve options when installing RS4 Grill

[pdqgp]

What are you guys doing to coat your crash bar when mounting the RS4 grill?

Mine is sanded down and I layered some bed liner thinking that would be the end all fix, but I swear it's getting sandblasted down to metal again! I'm going to wait to see if it's just that I perhaps went on too thing but I'm pretty confident I had good coverage.

IIRC someone here took a round piece of tubing or hose and simply cut it to fit/wrap around the bar and then repositioned the temp sensor. Can't find it but I'm really interested in something like that.

I'm at my wits end with this damn thing.

Thanks!

[Antekaudi]

Would the OEM piece from RS5 fit ?

I have an "RS4" grill waiting to be installed but i just dont like the look of painted crash bar behind the grill. I also dont like the idea of putting fine mesh behind the grill as it will be a nightmare to clean especially during the "bug" season.

Are there any alternatives to this besides painting ?

[schirm]

I just covered mine in a thick layer of plastidip never any issues.

[jl87]

My solution was to cover the crashbar with paint then went with a sheet of black HPDE from Menards. All in it was about ~$20 and looks much better than paint/plastidip since it covers the contours in the crashbar that paint/plastidip do not. Screws in the corners behind the bumper so they are invisible and also used some metal to plastic epoxy on the back in the middle so it sits flush with the crashbar and doesn't bow out. Very happy with the results.

[pdqgp]

My solution was to cover the crashbar with paint then went with a sheet of black HPDE from Menards. All in it was about ~$20 and looks much better than paint/plastidip since it covers the contours in the crashbar that paint/plastidip do not. Screws in the corners behind the bumper so they are invisible and also used some metal to plastic epoxy on the back in the middle so it sits flush with the crashbar and doesn't bow out. Very happy with the results.

I'm liking this idea.

Any other pics of it being installed or anything? Just curious.

I'm hoping it was just that the bar might have either not fully dried or was sprayed thin in some areas. I just went out and touched up a few bits now and I suppose only time will tell. I do like what you've done.

[AudiTFSI3o3]

What are you guys doing to coat your crash bar when mounting the RS4 grill?

Mine is sanded down and I layered some bed liner thinking that would be the end all fix, but I swear it's getting sandblasted down to metal again! I'm going to wait to see if it's just that I perhaps went on too thing but I'm pretty confident I had good coverage.

IIRC someone here took a round piece of tubing or hose and simply cut it to fit/wrap around the bar and then repositioned the temp sensor. Can't find it but I'm really interested in something like that.

I'm at my wits end with this damn thing.

Thanks!

i used maybe 3 coats of flat black Bed Liner spray. works wonders. not sure why yours started to chip, i haven't had that problem at all.

[jl87]

I'm liking this idea.

Any other pics of it being installed or anything? Just curious.

I'm hoping it was just that the bar might have either not fully dried or was sprayed thin in some areas. I just went out and touched up a few bits now and I suppose only time will tell. I do like what you've done.

No install pics unfortunately. Couple of crappy garage pics that shows the HPDE a little better. The sheet was ~$16 and plenty left if it ever needs replaced.

[pdqgp]

i used maybe 3 coats of flat black Bed Liner spray. works wonders. not sure why yours started to chip, i haven't had that problem at all.

I'm going to wait until morning and check it out again. Mine has 3 coats that were dried between applications. The bar was sanded down and roughed up good too. I'm hoping what I saw was just thin spots or the fact that it wasn't but a couple hours before I had to drive it.

[HearMeSpool]

I painted mine with a flate black cage and chassis paint. I did three layers and after about a year, it's holding up well and looks great. Prior to this I wrapped it, but it didn't look right when dirty.

[Dazman63]

That RS grill looks really good, but I'd be afraid of a rock creeping in and taking out the rad.

I always put window screen in front of the rad and it's amazing how it preserves it.

[SteveYem]

My solution was to cover the crashbar with paint then went with a sheet of black HPDE from Menards. All in it was about ~$20 and looks much better than paint/plastidip since it covers the contours in the crashbar that paint/plastidip do not. Screws in the corners behind the bumper so they are invisible and also used some metal to plastic epoxy on the back in the middle so it sits flush with the crashbar and doesn't bow out. Very happy with the results.

That is by far the best non-OEM solution I've seen. Thank you for the details on materials and installation method.

[Louisb7]

Looks great . How thick was the HPDE you used and is there a void in between the crash bar and the grille itself ?

[jl87]

Probably 1/4". Yes, there is a void between the crash bar and grille because I took out the foam.

[o1brit]

No install pics unfortunately. Couple of crappy garage pics that shows the HPDE a little better. The sheet was ~$16 and plenty left if it ever needs replaced.

So I'm pretty sure I've seen you're setup posted in another thread, but where did you get your fog light grill setup from? I swear I saw an ECS setup available at one point but haven't been able to find it since. Probably me = weak-sauce web search abilities.

[jl87]

They are just the OEM black optics fog grilles.

[rtmeikle]

I painted mine with bed-liner, and it looked good for a while. It's been about 3-4 months now though, and yesterday I noticed big pieces of the paint flaking off, presumably from rocks/sand hitting it.

Ugh, I'll have to take the bumper off to either re-paint it, or come up with a better solution. Has anybody had paint hold up for an extended amount of time? I'd rather paint it, but may have to take a different approach.

Rob

[SteveYem]

I painted mine with bed-liner, and it looked good for a while. It's been about 3-4 months now though, and yesterday I noticed big pieces of the paint flaking off, presumably from rocks/sand hitting it.

Ugh, I'll have to take the bumper off to either re-paint it, or come up with a better solution. Has anybody had paint hold up for an extended amount of time? I'd rather paint it, but may have to take a different approach.

Rob

I think the method posted above is the best bet. The black colored HDPE sheet is black material all the way through, not painted or coated, and therefore should hold up better than the crash bar with a coating on it.

[Helmet165]

I painted mine with bed-liner, and it looked good for a while. It's been about 3-4 months now though, and yesterday I noticed big pieces of the paint flaking off, presumably from rocks/sand hitting it.

Ugh, I'll have to take the bumper off to either re-paint it, or come up with a better solution. Has anybody had paint hold up for an extended amount of time? I'd rather paint it, but may have to take a different approach.

Rob

Yep, I had mine "professionally" painted when I had the grill put on. A year later and it looked like the stars at night (chips EVERYWHERE). So when I did my pulley I brought the whole crash bar to the little paint place next door to my mechanic. He took a look and said "Oh, it's aluminium, it needs a primer before paint will stick to it well, they obviously painted it without that and that's why it's chipping so bad". I had them paint it satin black, cost me $80, no chips since then. It's only been maybe a month, but I think it's gonna be fine. No chips so far.

[chilort]

I used a rattle can of plasti-dip type material that I picked up from a big box home improvement store. It has a more satin appearance. I didn't use any primer. It has held up well. I touched it up a bit the last time I had the bumper off but I'm at 140,000 miles and have been pleased with the results (and was surprised the rattle can still worked since it had been years from the original application).

[ModItNow]

Mine's held up really well with rustoleum high performance emamel spray paint, probably did like 4 coats

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[Jk79]

I used rustoleum outdoor flat black paint 2 coats. But I also put black window screen behind the grille. I wanted to keep full airflow and stop leaves etc from getting through. No chips or fading. Holding up great.

[4RCFED]

Plastidip with a bunch of layers, held up great because it has a lot of flex. No chips, I also did the mesh behind my RS grille.

[sacandagaD]

.... I also did the mesh behind my RS grille.

This^. Seems to have made a big difference so far, and I also sanded the crash bar prior to spraying bed liner on.

[A.C.]

Mine's held up really well with rustoleum high performance emamel spray paint, probably did like 4 coats

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I might try your method. LineX didn’t last as long as expected.


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[Audiacious10]

I installed black sound deadening matt for mine. Looks good and absolutely no chipping at all. Be careful in installing it and work your way up or down as to follow the groove in the middle of it.

[dean.mohr]

Did black plasti-dip, I think 5 total coats over the course of a day. Been driving with it in salt-ridden Ohio for over a year with 0 issues. I suppose if you look close you might notice some chips, but nothing down to metal.

[stapan]

I installed black sound deadening matt for mine. Looks good and absolutely no chipping at all. Be careful in installing it and work your way up or down as to follow the groove in the middle of it.

Be careful! It can come loose and cause significant damage in the engine bay if a piece is caught by fans, belts, etc.

[rgpwr]

Rust-Oleum LeakSeal. Goes on super thick, is flexible, and stands up awesome. 10k miles now and not a single chip. Way better than plastidip (did that first).

[rtmeikle]

Mine (sprayed with bed liner from a rattle can) is chipping pretty badly. I'm thinking of taking the bumper off, re-painting it with bed liner or flat black, and then covering it with 3M clear bra- like this stuff:

Amazon link

Any advice? Has anyone does something similar? I don't want to have to remove my bumper again for a third time, so I want to get this right.

Thanks!

[Jflow23]

A few coats of black rustoleum and a few coats of plastidip over the top. Best of both worlds. I went rustoleum only the first time, rocks and debris went down to the metal. No issues after putting dip on top.

[estorilblue8.5]

Black plasti dip, maybe 5 coats and it looks great. No need for anything else.




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[kaii]

Gonna be painting mine with trunk liner when it gets warmer.

Anyone know if the crash bar can be easily removed?

[Ford Prefect]

Gonna be painting mine with trunk liner when it gets warmer.

Anyone know if the crash bar can be easily removed?

After the bumper is off it’s like 4 or 8 bolts. Super easy.


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[techracer]

Bought a sheet of HDPE and used a heat gun to form it around the crash bar then zip ties to hold it in place. It's not perfect but with the bumper on you can't tell it wasn't factory.

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[SCIronMike]

Where is the best place to buy a RS4 grill now?

[SEEY4]

Where is the best place to buy a RS4 grill now?

eBay..

I went with Plastidip. Easy to do, and the foam insert covers up most of it anyway. Do most of you guys remove that as well? I wasn't sure so I put it back on..

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[doooooooook]

I used rubberized undercoating. It doesn't have a smooth finish, but it's very thick and very durable. You cannot notice anything when looking through the grille so mission accomplished.

[techracer]

I removed the foam, looks better.

With the HDPE guaranteed I'll never have to repaint it and it took less time than 5 coats of plastic dip which is what my alternate option would have been.

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[SCIronMike]

eBay..


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Is there a particular vendor on Ebay?

[techracer]

stonecarbon seems to be the consensus on the best currently. I have it on my b8.5 and it's actually very good quality. My only complaint is the mesh between the rings looks a little strange but otherwise it's great quality.