Die chrome DIE !

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s30000t

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hey guys got the s3 last week and dint like the chrome grill surround and badge after some advice of here i decided to have a go of getting rid of it. thought id thro together a quick how to for peeps who wanna have a go them selfs. first of if you break a few clips its not the end of the world!

right so first you need to get the grill out of the bumper there are lugs around the grill to hold it in place 5 top 5 bottom you could remove the bumper but i think that would be a pain so heres how i did it get 2 pieces of string and feed them in and out of the grill top to bottom were ive placed the pennies for a guide in the pic then holding the string pull sharply towards you and it should come out with a bit of force now thats the hardest part
IMG_0477.jpg
done
IMG_0527.jpg

now you have to take the suround of the grill i found the best way was with a knife at the side
IMG_0512.jpg

to remove the audi badge its a bit tricky while pulling the badge away from the front work your way around the clips at the back with a flathead or knife to release the clips
IMG_0491.jpg
IMG_0503.jpg

now for the s3 badge there is a small metal clip at the back use a knife to remove clip
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now ensure everything is mega clean so give the girlfriend a shout lol
IMG_0513.jpg

take your pick you can apply vinyl as i did or paint if your gonna paint them make sure you give them a good rub down with i fine sandpaper. i found it best to peel the vinyl and lay it on the floor sticky side up obviously then place the part on top
IMG_0514.jpg

now wrap the vinyl around pulling it tight (a hairdryer helps here)
IMG_0515.jpg

then trim the excess with a sharp knife be careful if unsure ask an adult lol
i also done the s3 badge and cut out the letters
IMG_0530.jpg

before
IMG_0458.jpg

after
IMG_0519.jpg

just gotta finnish the bagde and pop it back in when its done ill post some more pics
hope this helps guys
 
Looks good was gona do mine today but went for a drive last night and the thermostat decided to die so have been fixing this
 
gutted u wanna get round to it tho it looks tones better gonna do the calipers next i think but unsure of the color might do them vrs green
 
Nice and stealthy, like it, I was wondering, if you use vinyl maybe you could do it carbon effect, might look cool I think.
 
audi upgrades
yeah was thinkin of goin wild in orange or yellow and doin mirrors grill suround badges front rear bumper inserts sills mirrors ect but bottled out lol like the stalth bomber look :cool:
 
As soon as I have another day off the surround is going black, I have already done the callipers I went for gloss black. I used a tin of hammerite not the best job in the world but without taking the calliper off it's a pain.
 
just go crazy with i wire brush then mask it all off. calipers arnt that hard to get off as long as you have the right tools. gonna do mine soon and post a how to :thumbsup:
 
Good work.
I've done my grill surround Dolphin Grey in the past (twice) and it's now satin black.

The bonus of using vinyl is that it won't stonechip, so you won't have to re-do it every few months like I had to!
 
When I removed my standard grill on my A3 I'm so glad I took the bumper off but fair play for doing it with bumper left on.

P.S. In the top picture there are two round units hidden directly behind the bumer. What are these?
 
just looking carefully at the front of that car, but is that an Audi your driving ?

You can all guess I would make those comments.

The grill surround - fair enough, but not the holy grail of the 4 rings !

Going the full hog and killing the chrome appears to also have killed the host.

Credit to your detailed informative post, but oh no there's going to be even more 'idenity-less' S3's on the road....
 
Last edited:
thegoal007 said:
just looking carefully at the front of that car, but is that an Audi your driving ?

You can all guess I would make those comments.

The grill surround - fair enough, but not the holy grail of the 4 rings !

Going the full hog and killing the chrome appears to also have killed the host.

Credit to your detailed informative post, but oh no there's going to be even more 'idenity-less' S3's on the road....
Click to expand...

To be fair im not a fan of the rings done....
 
thats why i done it in vinyl so when chrome comes back in fashion i can change it back ill prob have another car by then tho lol

each to there own i say if we all liked the same things the world would be a sad place chrome is not every1s cup of tea

but as for destroying the identity of the car i disagree all ive done is toned it down a bit and the badge is still visible

but fair points
 
honestly you see the beauty in what you have done with your car and that's fair enough. And I think there is more of a popular movement with Audi's in what you have done than what I have so there is no getting around the popular current trend with Audi's. Personally when I see the new stealth Audi's and then see a standard one with chrome -to me it looks better and has far more presence. I've seen some stealth audi that I actually liked, but they combined darker anthracite alloys with chrome mirrors and chrome on the front end.

And to answer Suparkarl, In the same way owners go dark I'm just adding a few chrome touches -keeping with the existing chrome on the standard car and blending it slightly around the car. I do get a noticable amount of people looking twice, maybe some are saying what the f*** for good or bad reasons - who knows and who cares. I like what I see.

I understand the darkened look is the 'stealth' look - which does exactly what it says on the tin and that is how 'their' owners prefer it.
 
Looks good and very stealthy, but I may have left a tad more colour there,either the rings, maybe in a carbon effect wrap, and defo would have kept the badge, with at least the red.

Apart from that good effort and write up.

I have sprayed my grille surround, did it satin black first, then after all the stonechips, have now done it gunmetal.....the same colour as my wheels.
 
Westle said:
Has anyone got their grill surround powder coated? It should hold up to stone chips a lot more.
Click to expand...

No because its plastic and would melt, wouldnt it???
 
vinyls your best bet but its tricky getting it perfect. pretty resistant to stone chips i recon but ill let you know in a few months
 
ensure u put a few pics on when you do it would be nice to see how other colors turn out
 
audi upgrades
s30000t said:
ensure u put a few pics on when you do it would be nice to see how other colors turn out
Click to expand...

Well I did mine black originally with Plasticoat paint and that chipped. I then got it sprayed ming blue the same as the body work when I had the bonnet and bumper resprayed and that has lasted a bit better but still chipped. Think i'll just wrap black over it.
 
I remember someone on here a while ago, doing the bottom half of the grille surround in Red, to copy the Golf stylee grilles, never saw the end result, but a while ago, I was in Harrow and saw an S3, think it was black, with black rings and bottom half of the grille and the sides done in red....it looked really good :)
 
Nilz said:
I remember someone on here a while ago, doing the bottom half of the grille surround in Red, to copy the Golf stylee grilles, never saw the end result, but a while ago, I was in Harrow and saw an S3, think it was black, with black rings and bottom half of the grille and the sides done in red....it looked really good :)
Click to expand...

Hmmmm, maybe I'll have a go with some red wrap and some black. That way if it looks pony I can peel it off again.
 
So jelous I dint think of that might get some of eBay prob mock it up with isolation tape 1st see how it looks ;)
 
LOL...no need for the thanks guys ;)
 
Ive vinyl wrapped my grill surround about a year ago in carbon fibre effect. Its been perfectly fine throughout the summer and winter with the snow etc.

I have no stone chips either and just rubs down easy if the front gets dirty. Really easy to do too. It looks good and different from the norm plus havent seen anyone else do it...... yet lol. I think i have some pics if anyone wants me upload them.
 
S3 Nattie said:
Ive vinyl wrapped my grill surround about a year ago in carbon fibre effect. Its been perfectly fine throughout the summer and winter with the snow etc.

I have no stone chips either and just rubs down easy if the front gets dirty. Really easy to do too. It looks good and different from the norm plus havent seen anyone else do it...... yet lol. I think i have some pics if anyone wants me upload them.
Click to expand...

Them them uploaded Nath ;)

If it's remained chip free then I'm definitely doing it.
 
When i get home il upload some pics. The pics are from when i did it but the grill looks exactly the same.

Mine hasnt chipped or the vinyl hasnt faded or come off, its probably cheaper too than buying spray cans, wet n dry and that. Plus if i didnt like it I could just remove it and go back to the chrome grill.
 
I cant remember exactly but i got 300mm by 1000mm. The stuff i used was 3m somethings lol. Il get you a link when i get home buddy as i cannot really remember at the moment lol.
 
Its really easy to do, only need some scissors/stanley blade and a hair dryer to stretch the material, its like a sticker.
 
I think I'd keep the red and the letters on that badge but then do the other two bits black
 
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