2004 A8 D3 Replacement of Headlight Lens ONLY - not the whole assembly???
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2004 A8 D3 Replacement of Headlight Lens ONLY - not the whole assembly???
Hi Guys,
I am fairly new to this forum but I saw that this community is very knowledgeable and has a very hight concentration on audi fanatics just like me.
My 2004 Audi A8L headlights look a little bit foggy from far, from close you notice micro-cracks probably from stones hitting it. I am not able to find any replacement lens for the headlights. Audi of course will only sell the whole assembly for $1,100 a piece which is retarded.
PS: I tried all kinds of products to clear the headlights but unfortunately it did not really help...
Any idea where to get the lens?
Thank you!
Matt
I am fairly new to this forum but I saw that this community is very knowledgeable and has a very hight concentration on audi fanatics just like me.
My 2004 Audi A8L headlights look a little bit foggy from far, from close you notice micro-cracks probably from stones hitting it. I am not able to find any replacement lens for the headlights. Audi of course will only sell the whole assembly for $1,100 a piece which is retarded.
PS: I tried all kinds of products to clear the headlights but unfortunately it did not really help...
Any idea where to get the lens?
Thank you!
Matt
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From: Atlanta
ebay motors has lenses only for $23 each, and also whole headlight housings in the $200 range each.
I'm sure to install either of these options would take many hours of disassembly/assembly. Lense replacement gets into heat guns to loosen the glue also. Sounds like a PITA to me.
Search for 'clear corner mod' or similar on the D2 boards particularly on the Quattroworld forum. Several there have removed their lenses to be able to cut out the orange corner reflectors. To me, it looked very labor intensive with a lot of risk of screwing something up required a more expensive purchase anyway.
I'm sure to install either of these options would take many hours of disassembly/assembly. Lense replacement gets into heat guns to loosen the glue also. Sounds like a PITA to me.
Search for 'clear corner mod' or similar on the D2 boards particularly on the Quattroworld forum. Several there have removed their lenses to be able to cut out the orange corner reflectors. To me, it looked very labor intensive with a lot of risk of screwing something up required a more expensive purchase anyway.
Last edited by AudiOx; Aug 1, 2011 at 12:27 PM.
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From: Atlanta
I used the exact same stuff on my allroad and it worked beautifully, especially for only $25 at Autozone. It took me about 2-1/2 hours to do both sides plus washing the car afterwards to get the slough off.
Not documented in the pictures is the additional step I took for UV protection. About 1 week after I did the polishing, I mixed 50/50 of mineral spirits with Valspar clear varnish (all from Home Depot). I rubbed on a thin coat using a blue shop towel. The car was parked outside from September to April when I sold it, and there were no signs of degradation. I can get you the exact products used if necessary.
I should note I paid $50 to have a similar treatment done to these same headlights soon after I bought the car in 2007. It never looked as good as this and certainly didn't hold up.
Here's my gallery from the polishing:
http://gallery.quattroworld.com/pict...lish+09042010/
Passenger Side untouched except for masking compared to completed driver's side:
Not documented in the pictures is the additional step I took for UV protection. About 1 week after I did the polishing, I mixed 50/50 of mineral spirits with Valspar clear varnish (all from Home Depot). I rubbed on a thin coat using a blue shop towel. The car was parked outside from September to April when I sold it, and there were no signs of degradation. I can get you the exact products used if necessary.
I should note I paid $50 to have a similar treatment done to these same headlights soon after I bought the car in 2007. It never looked as good as this and certainly didn't hold up.
Here's my gallery from the polishing:
http://gallery.quattroworld.com/pict...lish+09042010/
Passenger Side untouched except for masking compared to completed driver's side:
Last edited by AudiOx; Aug 1, 2011 at 11:55 AM.
AudiWorld Super User
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From: SF Bay Area, CA
Ditto that treatments work for me...
on other cars. If it's really bad, may just take more elbow grease, or in my case the Porter Cable turned loose on it as I transition from the sandpaper phase to the rubbing then polishing compound passes is I am just using a DIY approach with standard car compounds. BTDT on my 2000 A6; have to repeat it periodically since it has lost whatever the uV coating is (was) on the plastic.
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From: Atlanta
A lot of the kits I looked at just had the sandpaper increments and you do all the sanding by hand.....much more exhausting and harder to achieve a consistant surface.
Thread Starter
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Thanks guys! Im going to try the 3m...
All i tried before was something from autozone with a completely weak scrubbing tool for the drill...
The photos are VERY helpful, as I would have probably freaked out if it would get so cloudy after the 500 grit polish. I am going to do this probably sometimes this week maybe ill post some pictures.
Thanks again!
The photos are VERY helpful, as I would have probably freaked out if it would get so cloudy after the 500 grit polish. I am going to do this probably sometimes this week maybe ill post some pictures.
Thanks again!
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From: Bellingham, WA
2 more success stories here, using the 3M kit.
1996 Chrysler LHS with yellowed lenses and 2003 Civic with heavily pitted and foggy lenses. Both came out great.
Take your time and do it right. This is one of the least inexpensive improvements you can make to your ride. And the rewards are very gratifying.
1996 Chrysler LHS with yellowed lenses and 2003 Civic with heavily pitted and foggy lenses. Both came out great.
Take your time and do it right. This is one of the least inexpensive improvements you can make to your ride. And the rewards are very gratifying.
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From: Atlanta
I was interested to reread my notes: 110 minutes for the polish + 85 minutes for the wash. So less than 2 hours for the 3M work. I spent maybe 25 minutes doing the UV treatment the following week, most of that getting the materials ready and mixing. The mixture is somewhat cloudy so again, it makes you a little nervous putting it on, but the coat is so thin, it clears up as you are wiping it in. Exterior Gloss Spar Varnish mixed 1:1 with Mineral Spirits was the mixture searching through previous threads.
Last edited by AudiOx; Aug 2, 2011 at 06:31 AM.
