With Driven getting closer, lots of us are now working on crossing off more items from our to-do lists. One of the items on Mario’s list was to get the rear emblem delete panel painted, and now that it has been, I can provide an update on it!

It’s always best to get as many pieces painted at once as possible, instead of making multiple trips. Along with the delete panel Mario decided to have his roof rails colour matched as well to further clean up the exterior of the car. I asked if he’d thought of getting his washer nozzles painted too but he opted to keep them black.

The delete panel was pretty good out of the mold but needed some bodywork to clean up a few small spots.

The two lower corners were the most obvious areas needing a bit of work but it wasn’t long before they were taken care of.

Now we jump ahead a bit to the parts as they sat fresh out of the booth, wearing their new coat of Race Red.

Since it would be so prominent, the entire face of the delete panel ended up being sanded and polished.

It was about a year and a half ago that I had my roof rails colour-matched and I’m very happy that I did. On brightly-coloured Mk3s this small change makes a large impact.

Last week I took the parts over to Mario and everything has been installed. Part 4 of this little series will show the ST with its new, slightly updated look so stay tuned for that! I was there when Mario threw the roof rails back on but I haven’t yet seen it in person with the emblem delete fitted. I’m looking forward to it!

-Bill