VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 016

David Conway    Personal, VW Golf R32 (MkV)     official r32 entry, vw golf r32

Back in February I covered the chrome slats on my grill with black tape to give the car a sportier look. Three months later, I decided it was definitely an improvement and worth making permanent so yesterday I set about painting it. I could have used a body shop but as it’s relatively straight forward I decided to have a go myself. I also think you get greater satisfaction from a DIY job, providing the outcome is the same.

Saturday morning I bought a can of matt black car spray and some surface wipes from Halfords. First job was to mask off the entire car to avoid any paint particles being blown back onto the body. This is fairly quick if you have some old bed sheets lying around to drape over. For the front area I used transparent bin bags as they allow more control. I secured everything with masking tape, making sure bodywork fastenings were sparse by using small tabs to minimise glue residue.

With the car covered, next step was to mask off the grill. The best way to do this is to cover every section and then cut out the chrome slats with a craft knife (rather than trying to tape around them). It’s important to mask over the black plastic sections as well as the chrome. I also created a wall of tape in between the slats to avoid paint going through. Masking finished, it was time to clean the surface, removing any grease or dirt in preparation for the paint!

I used several coats, making sure I sprayed down, straight on and upwards (as the chrome tucks underneath) and into each corner. I’m unsure how good the paint from Halfords is and I didn’t use primer so I’ll have to wait to see how durable things are but I’m pretty confident. Once dry, I peeled off all the tape to reveal my splendid new look grill!

I’m really pleased with the results. The colour match is perfect and the quality is excellent. With tape, you can tell when up close but this looks completely OEM. If you have some spare time and want to save some money, give it a go. My advice would be to take your time and make sure everything is perfect before spraying. I’ve added some pictures of the process below.

In other news; I’m now only 700 miles away from hitting the 10k marker. Time flies when you’re having fun! The engine is unquestionably more responsive now than it was at sub 5k. The exhaust also has more character. At lower revs it’s more audible with a throatier sound, interrupted by the occasional gurgle when squeezing the throttle and a popping sound when changing gear at high revs. I’m amazed this system comes as standard on a Golf, well done VW!

My wheel search may be coming to a conclusion! Wow it feels good to type those words! I’ve found a wheel that’ll look great on my car and it can be made with an ET50 offset (same as stock). They aren’t in production at the moment but after speaking to the manufacturer, if they receive 10 deposits (group buy) then they’ll make them! I’m currently waiting to hear back with more details on options and prices.

Stay Tuned!

Get/stay in touch with me on personal or professional matters: