Painting below the bumpers

[jhjacobs]

My coupe is days away from final paint work. My body guy has applied black texture coat to the panels below the front and rear bumpers. He suggests leaving this texture coating black because he thinks this is how they came from the factory (he thinks this because he sanded through a layer of black to get to the bare metal. I think the black would look fine but I would appreciate input and suggestions from those here who know the original configuration.

 

[velocewest]

Nope. The chip guard should be painted over with body color.

 

[x_atlas0]

Yep, below the bumper it is textured, but still the body color.

 

[jmackro]

No black below bumper

I concurr with the others - the factory used a chip-resistant, textured coating below the bumpers, but finished this in body color.

While I am not above kustomizing my coupe here and there, I have seen a few E9's with this area left black, and to my eye, it looks all wrong. Somehow, it gives the sense of a car that drove through a mud puddle, or leaks so much oil that the lower areas have turned black.

Just remember the simple mnenomic: "The body should be painted body color"

 

[jhjacobs]

Thanks all. My body guy almost had me convinced to make a blunder. I shared several nice photos with him and we'll both remember: "The body should be painted body color"

 

[Tom M]

What about the front bumperless, plastic rear bumper CSLs?

 

[Bryce]

CSL under bumper color

I've got a copy of a 70s leaflet showing black under bumper color on "bumperless" front and plastic rear CSLs. The pics are of a Golf and Inca CSLs.
hope this helps.
Bryce