roaddetective

All the above very true.

I had the odd scraping of hands, but no cuts or broken brackets. The brackets are quite strong by the way.

Oh it is possible, unless you have a rusted screw that will not budge. You will never be able to drill it out without taking the bumper off. My hands are a large size, so it certainly was tight. I used a small socket set and at times once I shone the torch to see where a particular screw was positioned, had to get in there by feel. It took around 30 mins to get them both off and 45 mins to get them back on again, trying not to scratch the new paint. I put masking tape around the painted surface just in case. Good luck mate. Forgot to mention, I also jacked the car up to let it down again onto 2 pieces of 4x4 underneath the back wheels. I just wanted another 4 inch of height to play with.

Job done.

Took the tips off today, just before it started raining. Took me about 30mins, but as has been said, a bit of a pain to get your hands and small ratchet into the small spaces to get to the screws. Gave the chrome a good rubbing down to a dull finish with my electric sander and sanding blocks. Then put on 3 coats of the epoxy primer, as this stuff apparently sticks well to dull chrome. Then 3 coats of lovely shiny gloss black paint. Going to get them back onto the car tomorrow when they are fully dry and cured. Must make sure I put a cloth around the painted surface when I fit them back on, as it would be a shame if I scratch the new paint.

I completely agree with you. Until I tested how hot the tips got, I thought they would be a lot hotter. They were barely warm after the drive.

I know what you mean about the screws. I have been under there already and sprayed release fluid on them all. Although I had trouble getting my hands in there in the correct position with the small ratchet, all screws so far have been slightly undone and done up again ready. Thought I would check they came undone okay before I do the job in the next few days. Can't imagine how hard it would have been on an older car with the added rust on the screws.

I think I can now answer my own question. Just taken the car on a 7 mile drive to see how hot the exhaust tips get. Felt the tips when I got back and they were barely warm. So by the looks of it they don't really need painting in heat resistant paint at all. So my epoxy primer and gloss black paint should do the job nicely.

Hi Stoofa. I have a quick question if you don't mind. Did you use a high heat primer, or just an ordinary metal primer? I already have the gloss black exhaust paint, just not sure whether to look for high heat exhaust primer, or would ordinary metal primer do the job without flaking off. The primer I have at the moment is epoxy primer, which is good for rubbed down chrome applications. (Saw it used on you tube on chrome mirrors). Trying to work out whether it would be okay for hot exhaust tips.

Oh that's what they meant by a bit of chrome. As for the price, Skoda are seriously taking the you know what. Now I just hope I do a great job painting the tips gloss black.

Thanks for your reply Stoofa. I know what you mean about getting them off, as I have had a good look underneath. I have sprayed all the bolts with release fluid and with the offside one, loosened the 3 bolts and then tightened them up again. Just to see if they would come undone when I do the job. That was with the car on the ground. Bloomin tough to get my hands in there as you say. I think the nearside one looks a little harder to get to all the bolts, soon see when I do the job. Just got to get rid of the last bits of chrome. Chrome, in my opinion, belongs on classic cars only.

I was just thinking of painting over my chrome exhaust tips black. Just wondering if anyone else has done it and their experience in doing so. Of course you really need to rub the chrome back to a dull finish. I have seen via you tube that the best primer to initially use is an epoxy primer, as it sticks to the metal far better than standard primer. I did ring Skoda to find out the price of new black ones. Two problems there, one is they said they are black with a bit of chrome. As I am trying to get rid of all the chrome on the car, they are no good. Second problem, they cost £120 each. Bloomin heck that is some price for a couple of exhaust tips!!! The exhaust tips will be the last of any chrome on the car to get rid of if I end up doing it.

Thank you paddywack1878, I think so too. Now must think about those tips next.

Although my car is an Octavia, not a Superb, I also like the sleeper look. So off for good came the "Skoda Octavia" badges. The "VRS" partly chrome badge came off, replaced with a black VRS one. The Skoda emblem in the centre of the boot lid was replaced with a colour matched and black one. The front of the car had the same chrome emblem replaced with a colour matched and black one, along with the VRS badge in black. Just thinking about the exhaust tips next, as I would also like them black. All the badges came off easily. On my last Octavia VRS, I used an old bank card, edging it into the corner of the badge and working my way round. This time I used the old trick of flossing tape. Warming the badges first of course. Once the badges were off, to get the rest of the glue off the paintwork, I used a product called "Sticky Stuff Remover". Got the nice clean look now with less chrome. Chrome in my opinion belongs on classic cars.

I have been on this site for a few years and always found it to be very friendly and informative. The best car owners site so far. Welcome Pagan-Image

Have you brought this up with the dealer before you walk away? Maybe, just maybe it was just one wing that was replaced. Early last year my car was hit overnight when parked causing £5.5k worth of damage to the front O/S corner and N/S door. Never did find the culprit. After repairs from a quality repair shop via my insurance, the car looks as good as new again. It might just be one poor paint job on the one wing of the car you are looking at. If you do walk away, at least there are more second hand Diesel VRS to look at than available petrol ones which are always in short supply. Good luck with sourcing the car you are after. This is my second Octavia VRS I have owned, I just love them.

Sounds very suspect to me. Maybe the car has been poorly fixed after a crash. The underseal you speak of comes 2 thirds up the sills, but is thin, although in the photo it does appear thicker and is colour coded in as per photo. It's more of a rough hard surface protection than underseal. I took a photo of the front corner of the wing underneath the bonnet and as you can see, all nicely painted the cars colour.

No colour was specified, so I assume mine will be black.

Sometimes there is just too much tech to play with guys. I just enjoy driving the car.

Happens to me as well, bloody autocorrect. Just ordered one and told it may take 4 to 5 weeks. Thanks for your, as usual, very informative info on the subject.

No heated screen I am afraid. Forgive me but what are washer "keys"?

Great photos. So to get the scuttle off, you take out the metal clips at the front, take off the wipers and then does the scuttle just pull away from the windscreen?

I guess they just put the same kit in most of the VW range, whether individual models need all these particular tools or not. That little tool has always been a mystery to me so far.

The only place I could find them was on Facebook. They did reply to my message quite fast. Quoted £95 for the brace. Here is a bit more info if you need it. Tel number-- 07973746353 [email protected]. I notice they go underneath the scuttle panel out of sight. So if they don't slightly improve handling, you can't really see it for cosmetic effect either.

Hi SashaGrace. Just looking at old posts on front strut braces and I spotted yours. Did you get that brace from Strut Brace UK and how was the quality of the item. Did you also feel any slight difference in handling afterwards, or was it bought for cosmetic effect only.