VW Transporter two-tone paint skipping door shuts

The Problem

The owner wanted a two-tone paint job on a VW Transporter with rough bodywork but could not afford to have the door shuts painted in the new colour. They needed confirmation that skipping the shuts would still look acceptable before committing to the work.

Solution

1. Have the painter apply the new colour to the outer panels only, taking it just inside the door opening to create a clean edge.
   • This avoids the cost of fully painting the shut panels while still giving a tidy finish at the door aperture.
2. Leave the door shuts in the original base colour, such as white.
   • This is the same approach VW uses on factory two-tone California models, where only the outer panels are painted and the shuts remain the base colour.
3. Check the result against real-world examples before signing off, as community photos confirm a lower-half colour change with white shuts looks perfectly presentable.
4. If you dislike the shuts later, treat them as a separate future job rather than a reason to delay the main paint work.