I got a glossy carbon fiber spoiler from Tslaucay (Amazon) and it’s pretty nice, especially for the price. If you’re thinking of getting a spoiler and like carbon fiber, I would highly recommend getting the real thing – the fake carbon fiber stuff is disappointing and you’ll just regret the small savings later.
I learned that an average install is easy, but a really good install is not… All the videos I saw didn’t really show them putting it on and none of them showed any issues, but said they did have some. The ones that showed close-ups, I was usually able to see some gaps or they said they had some.
After dry fitting, I didn’t see any gaps and didn’t think it would be an issue – Wrong!
I didn’t have massive gaps, but there were definitely gaps and I fixed them! (more on this later)
Centering the spoiler was actually very easy. It was easy to feel where this one fit by sliding it back and forth a bit. After marking with blue tape on the sides and measuring, I was only off by a 1/16”.
I used a piece of blue tape in the middle of the spoiler to the body, drew a sharpie line and then cut the tape. This was used to help line it back up after removing the backing from the 3m double-sided tape.
I maybe should have used more blue tape around the spoiler to help line it up better for install, but not sure if that would have helped or not. I only used a few alignment pieces, maybe a couple inches from the edges.
One install technique is to just remove all of the 3m tape backing and then stick it on lightly and try to move it around a bit if it’s not lined up perfect. My experience with this tape is that it sticks really hard so I opted to use the other method: I pulled off maybe a foot of the backing from one side, lined up the middle with the blue tape line and then stuck the very end of the spoiler, aligned with the blue tape I put down. I then removed more of the backing and started to lightly stick the spoiler to the car. You have to be careful not to stick it down too closely to the loose backing or you won’t be able to get the backing off without breaking it and making the job way more difficult. It went ok, but it wasn’t lined up and the fit wasn't as perfect as the dry fit and it caused some gaps. I honestly can’t see how anyone could install one of these without gaps. And looking at any performance models, they all look like the ends of the factory spoilers are never going to stick to the body. These gaps will eventually cause the tape to fail more and more.
I used a heat gun to warm it up and tried pressing down the sections with gaps for a couple of mins and then I taped the spoiler to the car tightly with pieces of left over vinyl wrap, maybe 2" x 8". Blue or yellow tape can be used for this final taping. The 3m VHB tape does not reach full adhesion for 72 hours, but reaches 90% after 24 hours. I decided to leave it taped like this for a few days, but because it was going to rain, I used some clear packing tape over the entire spoiler edges to keep the water and dirt out until I could fix the gaps.
After a few days I ended up using Permatex black silicon RTV to fill in the gaps and it turned out really good!
Black RTV is like a combination silicon caulk and tar. It smears Everywhere. And on my white car and bare hands, it was a challenge… Not ridiculous, but you’ll need a bunch of paper towels handy.
I taped off the car and put the tape pretty much right underneath the edge of the spoiler. This is not like caulking your tub. I did not want the usual U-shaped caulk line; I wanted a straight edge that did not look like I just caulked my spoiler
It is not that easy to lay the tape down perfectly because it’s a constant curve. I spent a good deal of time getting this right. I used my finger to put the RTV down and this also is not easy. I didn’t tape the spoiler side because I thought I could make a better edge transition line using my finger and wet paper towels. This was a good decision. You have to keep your finger wet, just like other caulking jobs. It takes a decent amount of time and patience if you want it to look good. Like normal caulking, the tape needs to be removed while it is still wet. It is also difficult to do touch-ups while the RTV is wet, but it’s possible and may be necessary in some spots. I ended up fixing a jagged edge by putting some more tape down and smoothing it out after the RTV dried a bit.
So that’s it – I added a number of pics here and if you need to see more, I do have a video here -
Oh yeah, I love the addition and it completes the look. I already had carbon fiber mirror caps, camera and door handle covers. It seems weird to not have one now, haha.
I learned that an average install is easy, but a really good install is not… All the videos I saw didn’t really show them putting it on and none of them showed any issues, but said they did have some. The ones that showed close-ups, I was usually able to see some gaps or they said they had some.
After dry fitting, I didn’t see any gaps and didn’t think it would be an issue – Wrong!
I didn’t have massive gaps, but there were definitely gaps and I fixed them! (more on this later)
Centering the spoiler was actually very easy. It was easy to feel where this one fit by sliding it back and forth a bit. After marking with blue tape on the sides and measuring, I was only off by a 1/16”.
I used a piece of blue tape in the middle of the spoiler to the body, drew a sharpie line and then cut the tape. This was used to help line it back up after removing the backing from the 3m double-sided tape.
I maybe should have used more blue tape around the spoiler to help line it up better for install, but not sure if that would have helped or not. I only used a few alignment pieces, maybe a couple inches from the edges.
One install technique is to just remove all of the 3m tape backing and then stick it on lightly and try to move it around a bit if it’s not lined up perfect. My experience with this tape is that it sticks really hard so I opted to use the other method: I pulled off maybe a foot of the backing from one side, lined up the middle with the blue tape line and then stuck the very end of the spoiler, aligned with the blue tape I put down. I then removed more of the backing and started to lightly stick the spoiler to the car. You have to be careful not to stick it down too closely to the loose backing or you won’t be able to get the backing off without breaking it and making the job way more difficult. It went ok, but it wasn’t lined up and the fit wasn't as perfect as the dry fit and it caused some gaps. I honestly can’t see how anyone could install one of these without gaps. And looking at any performance models, they all look like the ends of the factory spoilers are never going to stick to the body. These gaps will eventually cause the tape to fail more and more.
I used a heat gun to warm it up and tried pressing down the sections with gaps for a couple of mins and then I taped the spoiler to the car tightly with pieces of left over vinyl wrap, maybe 2" x 8". Blue or yellow tape can be used for this final taping. The 3m VHB tape does not reach full adhesion for 72 hours, but reaches 90% after 24 hours. I decided to leave it taped like this for a few days, but because it was going to rain, I used some clear packing tape over the entire spoiler edges to keep the water and dirt out until I could fix the gaps.
After a few days I ended up using Permatex black silicon RTV to fill in the gaps and it turned out really good!
Black RTV is like a combination silicon caulk and tar. It smears Everywhere. And on my white car and bare hands, it was a challenge… Not ridiculous, but you’ll need a bunch of paper towels handy.
I taped off the car and put the tape pretty much right underneath the edge of the spoiler. This is not like caulking your tub. I did not want the usual U-shaped caulk line; I wanted a straight edge that did not look like I just caulked my spoiler
It is not that easy to lay the tape down perfectly because it’s a constant curve. I spent a good deal of time getting this right. I used my finger to put the RTV down and this also is not easy. I didn’t tape the spoiler side because I thought I could make a better edge transition line using my finger and wet paper towels. This was a good decision. You have to keep your finger wet, just like other caulking jobs. It takes a decent amount of time and patience if you want it to look good. Like normal caulking, the tape needs to be removed while it is still wet. It is also difficult to do touch-ups while the RTV is wet, but it’s possible and may be necessary in some spots. I ended up fixing a jagged edge by putting some more tape down and smoothing it out after the RTV dried a bit.So that’s it – I added a number of pics here and if you need to see more, I do have a video here -
Oh yeah, I love the addition and it completes the look. I already had carbon fiber mirror caps, camera and door handle covers. It seems weird to not have one now, haha.
