rear spoiler removal

[mort5029]

I was thinking of removing the rear black spoiler off my 88 Graduate this winter in order to paint it. Is it difficult and if someone can give me an idea how to remove it I would be much appreciated.

[Tifosi]

The ends will have two bolts that are accessable from inside the trunk while the center has 4 bolts.

All sections also have glue to help hold them on and give a bit of weather seal.

Basically you get the bolts undone and get after it with a thin scraper or the like.

[h00kem]

It's a real pain because of all the bolts, small screws, the tail light and the glue. I have noticed that parts on these cars like the spoiler have a tendancy not fit precisely back in place exactly as they came off. It takes a fair amount of time removing, reinstalling and adjusting.

Having just done it because I bought a car with it already off, if I had to do it all over again I would spend my time masking and taping and painting it installed on the car. It's not a precision fit so you should not having any problem getting masking paper under the edges and you should be able to achieve results that look as though you took it off the car.

[mort5029]

Thanks, I was thinking of just masking.

[TSuppa]

Hi Mort,
What kind of paint are you going to use. I was thinking of doing mine but I do not have spray gun etc... I bought a rattle can from a local body supply store with paint to match my car. I used it to paint inner wheel well with good results. Was wondering if this was do-able on the spoiler. With black paint of course.

[ghnl]

Tom, the S3's have either a soft rubber spolier (early S3's) or a firm rubber spoiler (later S3's) Either way, some "Flexible Rubber Bumper" paint will work well for re-painting the spoiler. Auto supply stores sell those types of paint.

On our '84 I repainted the black parts of the bumpers with such a paint. And I used TurtleWax "Wet 'n Black" (the clear liquid in a spray bottle - not the foamy product in a spray can) for the spoiler. It took a few applications - daily for a few days then weekly for a couple of weeks but it ended up looking quite well.

[TSuppa]

ghn1,

I am talking about the spoiler on the trunk lid. Mine is steel and sort of a satin not high gloss.

[ghnl]

Tom, I am not a Spider expert but I didn't think there were any S3's with a steel spoiler. (not sure about the European versions though) AFAIK the early S3's have the soft rubbery spolier and the later S3's have a hard rubber or plastic spoiler (with 3rd brake light). There is an aftermarket fibreglass replacement (Zender is one brand that used to be available - look about 7/8's of the way down in this link.)

I mentioned painting the bumpers because they have a rubber section on the S3 Spiders (and a silver plastic section) and that is where I used the black 'bumper paint'.

Here's a couple of threads about renewing/painting the S3's spoiler:
painting 84 spoiler
rear spoiler - paint or leave

[TSuppa]

ghnl,

You are probably right, I will take a closer look at mine when I get home. It may be plastic. It does have the 3rd brake light.