Replicate Rubberized Tip on Whale Tail

[mgar88]

Hi all,

Proud owner of a 1986 911. Purchased about 7 months ago.

Unfortunately, car was recently a victim to a hit and run while parked at a restaurant (story for another day). Since its going to be in the bodyshop anyway, I was thinking about getting the whale tail repainted. Previous owner put an aftermarket fiberglass whale tail on the car. It's black and the car is meteor gray. I'd like the wing to be the same color as the car but worry that it might look weird with a monochromatic wing (this wing does not have the black rubber around the tip).

A friend suggested that I can have the bodyshop mimic the black rubber on the OEM wings by having the body shop paint the end of the wing matte black. I think its a neat idea but worry that the end result will look a bit hokey.

Have any of your guys seen a car with a painted aftermarket wing? Did it look off without the rubber portion? Any thoughts on the matte black to replicate the wing?

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Bump! Any Pelicanites able to help this gentlemen out? Sorry to hear about your misfortune about getting hit. Are you going to paint the rear lid meteor gray too or leave it black? I am on the same thought as you that the matte black might look a bit off. Maybe paint it and then do a plasti-dip material on the portion that is supposed to be rubber? I think that might mimic rubber better than matte black paint and if you end up not liking it you can easily remove it.

[Ferrino]

Black Plastidip would be ideal to give this a test to see if you like the look - if you dislike it, just peel it off. I've seen it done on race cars with a satin/matte black paint and I think it looks good if the masking is done carefully.

[J-Mac]

From your pics it looks like you don't have a front spoiler installed. The brain trust here usually notes that running a rear wing with no front is not recommended.
And to answer your question, yes it would probably look better with the lip part painted with a textured black. Or, as you're having painting done anyway just acquire and install a flat OEM lid. I think the tea tray lid looks too big on standard flare bodies.

[will hung]

When I bought my car, the previous owner had installed a similar whale tail as yours and did exactly what you described. The "rubber" bit and "grill" was painted matte black and the remainder of the tail was painted green to match the car.

It was convincing from a distance. If you went to touch it, obviously the cat was out of the bag. But if I were to install another 100% fiberglass tail, I'd paint it the same way. Unfortunately, that tail is long gone or else I'd share some pics. I could look thru my old photo's, but I know I didn't take any detailed pictures of the tail.

[87maniac]

+1 Paint it then plasti-dip the areas that are usually rubber

Lose the Tail - is too big for the body.

[john walker's workshop]

Carreras look better with a normal carrera tail, not that hefty unit. Way too big for a narrow body car.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

Carreras look better with a normal carrera tail, not that hefty unit. Way too big for a narrow body car.

Have to agree, that's a lot of tail. I had an all fiberglass bolt on RS America whale tail on my all white track day SC and it looked good painted body color. It is a lot more proportional to the car, and everybody loved that car. A guy is a brand new twin turbo rolled up next to me and rolled down his window to tell me how much he liked it. It was a lot like an IROC tail, only not as big.

IROC tails were all body color, BTW.

[DanielDudley]

RSAmerica.net: Registry Member Web Pages

More your size.

[mgar88]

Great feedback, thanks everybody!

(sorry about the double thread post, newbie here and not accustomed to the delay )


Point taken about the lack of chin spoiler. I've done my reading on the aerodynamics, but my budget keeps me a couple of months behind!

Goal for this year is to potentially ditch the impact bumpers for a CTR/IROC kit...so the IROC wing that was recommended may be a part of that purchase... Gotta start saving.

Thanks all!

[faverymi]

Loose the tail.

If you keep it try some of the pick up bed liners. With the right gun can look like rubber

[JQ911]

I have an all fiberglass replica tail (early carrera) and painted the tip with flat black to mimic the rubber. Believe its rustoleum matte black.

[llangston1]

Paint the tail all body color and forget the black edge. Here is a pic of my car with a body color Carrera tail.

[jimtweet]

I have done this on a few, use Wurth Undercoating or a rubberized undercoating, spray few thin coats

[VFR750]

+1 on rubber bedliner spray.

[Chuck.H]

if you opt for painting, go to an automotive paint supply store get the 3M fine line tape. It's plastic tape that is very thin and very strong. Get a few widths as the 1/8" is very easy to curve, but doesn't cover very much. I used this when I had to fix my whale tail after the texting girl drove into my car. Of course I didn't have to simulate the rubber, but I did have to paint the inner louvers black after spraying the whole tail white.

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 426k miles