30/06/2011 - Euro Plate Holder Delete + New Number Plates

Volkswagen cars sold here in Australia all came with plastic euro plate holders. Euro plate holders are great for cars in Europe which have the elongated number plate design. I just got a regular sized number plate issued by the RTA and because the size of the plate is smaller than the regulation European number plates, thus the euro plate holder looked quite hideous. It is an ugly piece of black plastic stuck to the front of my bumper, somwehat ruining the lines of the car.

You can clearly see the size difference between the black plastic plate holder and my number plate.

Something had to be done. I decided I would get rid of the number plate holder as it wasn't really serving any real purpose and I thought I would also get some brand new number plates with white lettering and a black background, to keep with the white/black theme on the Golf R. 

The number plate holder is held by 4 plastic push clips which can be popped out by poking it in the middle of the clip, thus releasing the clip to be pulled out. However, my clips weren't wanting to cooperate. So I got a drill with a 2mm drill bit attached and carefully drilled the middle of the plastic clip, thereby releasing the tension of the clip and making it easier to pull out. Result : 

The holes left by the euro plate holder. You can also see the outline of the holder on the bumper.
The new plates work much better with the white/black theme! Sweet!

I dropped in to visit Frank again at Dural Prestige Smash Repair to see if I can book in my car to get the holes filled. They would have to be plastic welded and the whole front bumper resprayed because if you only respray the portion where the holes were filled, the colour would not match with the rest of the bumper. To ensure flawless coverage, the whole bumper needed to be resprayed. Frank is great because he is a "no nonsense, no bullshit" kind of guy. If there's a job and he isn't confident in doing it, he'll tell you (but this is a very rare case). He won't let any cars roll out unless the job is perfect and he'd rather keep the car an extra few days just to make sure everything is spot on instead of letting the car leave with it having a mediocre finish.

I also wanted to get rid of the holes on the rear bumper as well. Fortunately, that did not require a full respray of the rear bumper as there is an indent where the number plate sits and all Frank had to do was to tape off where the indent finished, plastic weld the holes and respray it in the factory Candy White. White is the hardest colour to match on any car because there are so many different variables and additives which needs to have the perfect mix of ingredients in order for the colour to appear just right. A little bit over or under in an ingredient can result in the paint looking an entirely different shade of white. With my car at Franks, I knew I was in good hands. 

About 2 weeks later, I get a call from him telling me that my car is ready for pick up. Here is the final result.

Number plate holes filled and front bumper resprayed. Smooth!

Rear number plate holes filled. The trapezoidal indent was the only portion of the rear bar which was resprayed. 

Number plate affixed. Much cleaner!

I'm very happy with how this turned out. Not only is the euro plate holder gone, the front bumper has been completely resprayed which means that whatever stonechips and imperfections used to be on the bumper are no longer there. 

Also, as a small request by me to Frank, I had also asked him to paint the wheel nut covers in candy white and also do the battery cover and fuse box cover in gloss candy white with piano gloss piano black inserts. No problems.

Gloss black 19" OEM Talladega wheels with candy white wheel nut covers. Breaks up the black a little bit.

Candy white battery and fuse box covers with piano gloss black inserts.

If you are involved in an accident or are looking for a quality smash repairer (NRMA approved), please contact :

Dural Prestige Smash Repair
(02) 9651 6100