i have an 05 TL i'm planning on getting an a-spec kit for, but I have a mild concern about the paint not matching because it has faded over the 6yrs i've owned it. has anyone had any issues like this?

 

My car's probably ~8 years old and my A-Spec kit I bought in 2010 matches pretty good...

It's obviously not perfect but an average eye can't tell so go for it!

 

Of course it won't be a PERFECT match but it will be close enough for no one to point it out.

 

It isn't that the paint fades, it's that Acura has a terrible time with the OE bumper colors matching the car. It certainly depends on the car and if OE paint on the bumpers or the bumpers have been repainted. Take a WDP, the A Spec kit looks terrible as the kit is similar to the body color with the off white bumpers in between, looks poor.

Do a search as many complaints.

 

They aren't all "terrible" .There can be a few factors involved. This isn't a repaint , all original and the Aspec added in the spring of 2010.

Example.

 

 

From all the stories I've heard, the paint matches are really not bad at all, if any at all. I remember seeing that mainly WDP has the most issues.

When I got my SSM kit it matched perfectly

 

go figure, the wdp paint match seems to be the worst...

 

^^ trust me, it is.....my aspec kit looks like the rest of my car except my bumpers and mirrors (plastic pieces) that have a little yellow tint to them. Looks worse when the car is dirt so more of a reason to wash it all the time! Overall though you can barely notice....

 

I think AM has the worst paint match for the A-Spec kits. Someone posted a picture a little while ago and the body, rear bumper, and A-Spec kit were all different shades of AM.

 

Even in the picture you can see the difference between the A Spec/body color and the different bumper color so in person it must be quite noticeable.

Maybe most wouldn't be so critical but that's the problem with add on kits IMHO. Just too bad Acura didn't just replace the entire bumper assemblies in the kit then there wouldn't be a difference in color or the ridge where the kit is added. Amazing that they can get the kit pretty close to the body color but the bumpers are just terrible.

 

shit man that's a lot of money to toss out there with the chance of being disappointed...and i tend toward the overly critical type so it will drive me nuts if its not dead on. it just looks so good i still might take my chances. it totally transforms the base TL into something...other than a base TL...ha.

 

The mismatch always looks worse in pictures than it does in person. It's hard to tell in some pictures though...





It all depends on the lighting. In direct sunlight it sometimes looks like ass but in other settings it looks flawless.

 

oh man that car looks like shit!...whose car is that anyways?? lol, jk Tyler...looks good man. i don't see any issues with urs.

 

Asshole!

Thanks man! A lot of variables play into having the kit match the car or not. For one, the body of the car is metal while the bumpers are plastic. Also, if you order the kit brand new now, it's X amount of years newer than the rest of the car and the paint may have been mixed differently. Once it's on the car, then lighting and cleaning come into the picture as well.

I'm not too worried about mine because:
-It's no show car and it will never be.
-It's my daily driver and drives though anything and everything on the road.
-And whether it matches or not, it will always look better than a TL without the kit

 

^^ so true....so very true....

 

Actually what your seeing is different shadows, angles and light reflections .. I do see it in person ...

 

Regardless whether I see it or not, nice TL.

 

Depends on what color you have, or if your bumpers have been re-painted at some point. It would help to have your car detailed to fully polish the clear to a high gloss.

 

Take some time and polish the paint a little bit to bring back the shine and true color and you'll be good!

 

My Moroccan Red matched pretty well. But, you can still tell cause of the age.

 

Damn Tyler I haven't seen your car in a while. It looks good

 

Au contraire mon ami. Here's the body that is at least 5 years old when this picture was taken, while the front A-Spec had recently been replaced late last year.





Here's the rear and sides that are about the same age as the body.

 

that looks dead on to me...very nice ride btw

 

Thanks dude!

 

Thanks Jason! The black roof was put on after the second picture but the car currently looks about the same. It's nothing compared to your duo of cars though

mn2trance, your car is gorgeous. Seeing the ATLP Base on your car is what really sold me on it.

 

Thanks dude. I thought you had gotten the ATLP before me since I was still rocking the GReddy exhaust for awhile until that second group buy for the ATLP came along.