zax123

Hey guys,

So it's FINALLY done (well almost). I have to say that the whole experience has been nothing less than a nightmare unfortunately. I was seriously looking forward to the whole thing, but one thing after another I had more and more bad experiences.

The end result is quite stunning. But there were/are a few problems...

First of all, the paint match is quite bad. It only really shows up on the rear bumper. The front is fine (it's awesome in fact). Luckily, it's a bit darker, so it kinda looks cool. If it was lighter, I'd be more upset.

Secondly, Ron Jon shipped two left-side skirts to my dealer and my dealer didn't notice (that was over a month ago). My dealer had it sent to be painted (TWICE!!) and didn't notice. They only realized it 5 minutes before it had to be installed on my car. I have to wait about two weeks or so before my kit install is complete. In the meantime I'm "lopsided". This means ANOTHER 150km drive to my dealer...

Third, the paint job still isn't awesome, it's acceptable. There are still places with tiny bubbles and the finish isn't quite perfect.

Fourth, while I was there, my front bumper was on a table and it somehow fell over onto the ground and got scratched. I will try to buff it out later.

And of course, this is the second time I go to my dealer (150km from home) because the first paintjob was so horrible.

So, my first body kit experience wasn't great, and I'm sad to say that I probably will never do it again. Having said that, here are the pics, you guys can judge for yourselves what you think:







There you have it... please let me know what you guys think, I need encouragement, it was a LOT of money!!

JPTL-S

Looks good bro, but you are right, even in indirect light you can tell the color difference in the rear bumper. Hopefully will be so taken by the kit that they won't notice it

blktl1

It looks good man. How much out of curiosity did you pay for the pain job. I got mine pre-painted from ron and I wanted to see if it would have been a better choice.

chill_dog

Looks good Back bumper doesn't match, but you know that (I have WDP, so NEITHER of my bumpers match!). The kit looks really good in AM...you should be thrilled.

Also, while I wouldn't blame you for letting this experience sour you, this is your first body kit...if you like one in the future, give a kit another chance...might just want to find another installer.

zax123

I actually don't know what portion of the whole price was the paint job. I paid the install shop only and they arranged shipment from RJ, painting, installation... Because I had such an up and down experience with the whole thing, the shop gave me a discount, but unfortunately, they asked me not to post it publicly, as they probably made very little money on me...

AcuraVic

Looks Good. It seems that you'd have to repaint the whole car with the same batch of paint to get a perfect match. It is my opinion that Acura (in Ohio) painted the bumpers ahead of the assembly of a particular car. For example, they painted 50 Anthracite bumpers on Monday, painted the rest of the cars on Wednesday, then assembled on Thursday. Since they painted the bumpers at a different time than the car they probably used a different batch (mix) of paint. I dont think its the difference of material, bumper (plastic) vs car (steel/aluminum). Anthracite probably will not match between different cans of paint.

Anyway, your car looks great. Anthracite is the best looking color for the 04/TL.

iLL TL

Tight work man... drop some 19's, 18's to be safe and that TL is going to be the hottest in your state love the air inserts of the kit

astro

why would you go to a dealership to get paint and body work done?

I would think you'd get much more satisfactory results if you took it to a body shop where they specialize in painting.

AcuraVic

Astroboy, my Acura dealership uses a contracted body shop for all their work. I don't know of a Acura dealer (in Atlanta)that has their own body/paint shop. When I get the RJ kit, I'll also go through my Acura dealer so they can "QC" the work.

astro

AcuraVic, why not go to a reputable body shop and leave the dealership out of the process?
dealerships are not body work experts, which is why i would NEVER go to the dealership to have a kit installed.

astro

Also, your costs will be much lower if you avoid the dealership. If as you state they just outsource the body work anyway, why would you want to pay them the percentage they are charging you, when they are simply passing the work off to another company?

cut out the middle man, deal directly with a bodyshop.

soopa

In my experience, the body shops that dealerships use are high-volume hack shops. If I were concerned about paint quality I would never ever ever go to a shop that a dealer uses.

Instead find a small dedicated specialty shop in your area.

soopa

Although, if i were looking for experts with BONDO I might consider a dealers body shop ... they probably have the most experience

AcuraVic

Because so far, my dealship has done an excellent job solving all my problems and answering questions regarding my TL. If they are using a particular body shop for their new inventory, the same shop should give me a 'like new' paint job. They (all dealerships) routinely get scratches and paint chipped cars in their inventory and have established relationships with paint shops they use for their paint work. Increasing the chance that the shop is comfortable painting my car and parts for my car. Their is a good chance that any 'great paint shop', not recommended by my dealer, has not painted a 04/TL. Having said that, it all comes down to the person doing the painting and whether they want to do a good job, regardless of a dealer recomendation.

J RIDE 81

Looks great!

zax123

Thanks guys,

I didn't go to a dealership... I understand why I was misunderstood. When I say dealer, I mean RonJon dealer. I went to a performance/body shop who is a RonJon dealer. They sent it to a (supposedly) reputable paint shop for the painting.

All in all, I'm happy. The kit looks amazing... now I just have to keep my baby clean. Time for a few coats of Zaino!!

AcuraVic

Thanks Zax123, I did think you went to a Acura dealer.

frenchnew

It Looks according to the pictures.

I am jealous, where do you park your car?

Imagine walking out one morning with your body kit replace with OEM Abyss Blue Pearl

zax123

haoeihaoeihaoeih. That's hilarious frenchnew!!

Well, I pretty much stay on the South Shore as I live in Brossard and work in St. Bruno. So I'm safe from you island people!!

It really is very pretty!!

frenchnew

It Looks according to the pictures.

I am jealous, where do you park your car?

Imagine walking out one morning with your body kit replaced with OEM Abyss Blue Pearl

Best Regards

frenchnew

JOES05tl

ZAX123- Your acura is SO SICK! Looks Hot. mad aggressive!

zax123

Thanks

frenchnew

And you think you are safe from me on the South Shore

Let me get my toolkit together

By the way, I am off the Island, 30 miles north of it and we are a bad bunch up here

Drop me an email sometimes when you want to meet, I swear I will not take your kit, promise

Best Regards

Frenchnew

03TL-S

I know its gonna cost more, but with your color, you need to blend the panels so it will be less obvious. Its still cheaper than painting the whole car though. Overall it looks good, but i have to say, it is noticeable.

tfe691

You are almost right on the money. Except that the bumper and plastic parts aren't even paint form acura. They are sub-letted out to another company.

Also your car looks great and against everyones wishes it is very doubtful the rear bumper will ever match do to metallic and pearl paint flopping(the way the paint pigments lay on the paint and different materials).

My pearl rear doesn't and will never match the rest of the car is 95% dead on.

Lokius

the longer I modify my car, the more i wish i hadnt. EVERYTHING is just a hassle, get a set of wheels, and keep OEM across the board. I'm so over extra work, just enjoy what you have.

all that being said i like the kit, you need some wheels and you will be set. I wouldn't be happy with that paint match at all though, take that shit back. Best of luck

Sugartastic

the kit looks great. i was actually eyeing for one for my WDP...but having read all these things from you guys sorta made me think twice...hmmm...but i still LOVE the RJ kit...maybe i'll just do wheels first. anybody have Racing Hart on their WDPs?

NFSTL

that's hot!!!

van_man888

What shop did you get the kit form zax?

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

looks great exactly what i would want except i am not really fond on the rear bumper of the whole body kit...... IMO anyway great looking car

zax123

Yeah the rear is my least favorite part of the kit. The skirts and front are AWESOME. I might even consider putting the stock rear bumper back on because of the bad color match... Who knows, I'll live with it like this for a while...

rondog

iTrader: (1)

It looks good, but you need to take a step back and get the whole car in the pics, maybe in an empty parking lot or something. Secondly, Wheels are a Must have when a kit is involved. thirdly (is that even a real word?), Modding your car in any situation is a pain in th ass, but on those nice summer days when everybody is out rolling around and showing off, its all worth it, especially when you work out all the small problems. I had my car for 4 years now, and it is only now tht my car is problem free, and i love it more than ever. You also gain priceless experience and trust me when i say you def won't make the same mistake on your next car when modding. In order to get the best color match, they should really blend the panel that meets the kit slightly. Def looks sharp tho.

zax123

Thanks Ron,

Yeah I know they could blend on the body panels, but then the car has been painted when it really doesn't need to be, and that kinda lowers the value of the car. Also, it's kind of too late unless I want to get the bumpers repainted... I think I'll have to live with it. I know I needs wheels, but I can't afford them right now. That'll be a next summer project as this winter, I have another set of OEM mags with 17" winter tires.

I can hardly wait to get the right-side sill installed. What a pain!!

It's almost all done...

levyfresh

Kit looks awesome but ive gotta agree with Lokius...even tho hes the god of deceit hes not lying this time!

rondog

iTrader: (1)

heh, sorry bout that, the other guy in MA got yours, so I sent a spare one yesterday and they are sending the painted side back to me. So the shop should be getting the side tomorrow or monday. The shop was supposed to check everything before painting, but they have supported us for a while now.

datplayaz

Sorry to hear about the bad experience, but the end result is looking good. Don't worry about the back bumper too much... A lot of us WDP guys are experiencing the same thing.

cM3go

I'll keep this here for a day before moving to the Photo Gallery

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

hey rondog,

is there alot of difference of the front and the rear if you were to only but the front end on? difference as in like lowness to the ground?

zax123

Yeah I'm getting the right-side skirt installed on September 17th. Going on a road trip to the US next week, so I have to wait until then. Sucks that I'll be taking my first BIG road trip with a partially installed body kit but what can you do?

cM3go

moved to Photo Gallery