RipItUp

I am looking into doing a little facelift to my A8. Looks good on the car in the pic but I am not sure about the quality. I have seen some mods that are poorly constructed and made from inferior materials.

Has anyone seen this in person or installed produces from Hofele? How hard is it to replace the facia?

Brozee

Looks awesome but also mighty expensive. Also quite a hard job. You already have the new facelifted car I don't know why you'd throw down the money to do this. I've only heard of people replacing the grills to be an S8 or W12 grill. Or doing a facelift from a 04-05, facelifting an 06+ to the picture you have there is a waste.

jago1

agree here sounds like a lot for 06+ MY.
if you must have those poseur LED strips, they
prolly can be bought and installed ala carte.

RipItUp

I love the look, but the more I think about sinking in the cash the harder it is to swallow. Brozee, you mentioned an upgrade to the S8 look. The grille is no problem, can you upgrade the fog lights and the lower grilles?

I also have a cracked bumper marker light, the small orange light under the head light. Can you order a smoked or clear side marker light?

ModestW12

What color is your car? It looks black from the photo...

If so, buy a glossy black vinyl sheet at a sign shop. ($20 max if that)

Cut out a pattern matting your orange bumper lights with 1/4-1/2 inch excess. Tape it over the light and tuck the excess. It gives the front a much cleaner look. BTW, it's how the A8's look in Europe since the orange light's aren't required.

williebone

He's absolutely Spot On with this Mod! I went to Walmart and purchased a Roll of Insta Cling Smoked Vynl Film for my Aquarium Light Fixtures and it Dawned on me why not Smoke the Fender Side Markers since there's no Heat Needed (I did use a hair dryer to smooth it out) and it Clings Instantly and Wow what a difference it made to my Black Side Molding now. As for the rest of the Lights around the Car I actually ordered the Automotive Vynl Tinting Film Material in a Light Smoke just to shade down the rest of the lights. The Kit came with enough to do the whole car. I'm yet to complete this project though, but will before the Cold Sets In. Laters,

williebone

RipItUp

Since I had a crack in the lenses I decided that if the paint job fails I will have to buy new marker lamps anyway. And of course the vinyl would cover it up too...

I filled the cracks with fiberglass repair, sanded it down and with the left over paint in the garage from a prior project I was able to prime, paint and clear coat the lenses. Good as new.

What difference it makes in the look of the car.

Tomorrow night’s project is to remove the fog lamps. The plastic lens covers look like they were sand blasted... Any suggestions on sanding and polishing them?

verukacat

There are some DIY kits out there. Mothers has one that uses a foam pad that connects to a drill along with a special polish for plastic. If the lenses are really pitted, you may want to get a professional detailer that is good at wet sanding to sand and then polish using a plastic polish and buffer. I've seen some pretty amazing transformations of lenses that were cloudy and pitted then restored to almost new by someone who is good at wet sanding and polishing. Just make sure you get a good detailer to do this.