quantz

I have never been able to get an answer regarding this question, so that is the reason because I am afraid to touch the mirrors.
Has anyone determined if "S" mirrors are coated? Because, if so, polishing once may obligate to do it forever more...

Any help will be very appreciated.

Thank you

RKA

Mine are two years old...and I've had the car through a NE winter over the last 12 months...I haven't polished them once. They are still like new, which tells me they must have something on them. Whether it's clearcoat or not is questionable. I've waxed the mirrors before, but for some odd reason, the mirrors don't "hold" the wax like the rest of the painted panels do. In 3 weeks or less, water stops forming tiny uniform beads...instead they become irregalar sized.

Anyway, I treat it like any other painted panel. I haven't had a need for polish, and I assume that's because there is something on them to prevent them from oxidizing.

alsey

I actually scratched one of my mirrors up and then I smashed it off in a little mishap. Since I had to order a whole new mirror assembly I decided to try and polish out the scratches. It turns out the outer shell that you see is actually a very hard coating that takes a while to go through even with coarse (200 grit) sandpaper Underneath the coating is the bare aluminum which can be polished with finer sandpaper. It is definately not like a clearcoat since it is so hard, so I think it is more like it is anodized. You can feel the coating in the area that I sanded down and there is also a difference in color between the bare Aluminum and the coating.

quantz

So, no solution to scratches?

alsey

Are they scratches or gouges? If they are light scratches that you can't feel then you might want to try a really fine metal polish since I really don't think it is clearcoat but more of an anodization that is quite tough.
If they are gouges then you could always try to sand down the gouges but remember you will get rid of the anodization in that area and it will be a noticable color difference. Of course if you really want you could get rid of the anodization on the ENTIRE mirror and you can polish it from then on to your hearts content whenever you get a scratch.
BUt if you do this your mirror will be quite soft and more susceptible to dings and may even slightly oxidize, but then you can polish that all away easily when you don't have to worry about the anodization. Don't worry about running out of metal, they are solid and at least 2-3mm thick .

SMacSteve

What's the cost to replace the standard painted one for the Brushed Aluminum look on a A6?

Singletrack

I saw one place selling them for $350 ea housing. I got mine used for $400/pair.

quantz

Thanks!