# Painted headlight inserts & tinted corners - updated pg3



## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Decided that £140 to have my inserts sprayed and £70 for tinted corners at the TT shop is pure shafting of the nether region 

So a trip to Halfrauds and a few minutes on the bay with my wallet lightened by the misely sum of £20ish I set about the task in hand

I'll let the photos do the talking :twisted:























































Should be fitting them next weekend so will get some more photos up then 8)


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

Smashing.

1. did you use heatgun or oven method to separate the lens from the housing. how long did it take.

2. did you tint the orange insert?

cheers.


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## mark_hogan (Jan 8, 2009)

I like!! Would like to know the same as the guy above!!

Cheers, Mark


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## mk1f4n (Feb 2, 2010)

Looks like you have done a great job there they have come up really nice, I will be doing mine soon but i am worried about splitting the headlight, Did you put yours in the oven to heat up the silicone, Also what will you be re sealing them with.


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Heat gun to split the lights (cheers Mark - Tufty :wink: ) and the tin of e-tech smoke tinting spray from ebay for £7.50 with 3 coats to achieve the dark smoke look on the corners

Will put them back together just using a heat gun and only need to silicone if the sealant is missing anywhere


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## L13BUG (Dec 8, 2008)

looking good 8) i got mine sprayed silver for £50 and sprayed indicators myself much cheaper than osir version plus you dont have to mess about with other bulbs or shaping a piece of orange indicator lens just to make them flash orange :wink: 
i used the fiancees hair dryer to heat up the adhesive which wasnt too popular


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

Have you put a light behind the new smoked lenses?

Perhaps an LED flashlight so see the effect. If you do, please post a pic. I'd be interested in seeing if the new look tinted lense provides a dark orange  :x or just dark light  ? I'd hate to tint mine, reinstall, just to find it is now dark orange.

cheers.


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

To give a little more info I rubbbed the inserts down using the 600 wet and dry to give the primer something to get hold of. Then after washing and drying them I put a small electric fire in the garage to keep it warm as the paint takes much better. I used 2 coats of the plastic primer and 2 coats of satin black to finish. I allowed 15-20 mins between coats.

The corners just need washing and drying and then 3 coats applying with 5 minutes between each coat for drying.

Easy job that anyone could do just take your time


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## Charlie (Dec 15, 2006)

Nice work Neil  it's the hassle of getting the headlights off that has stopped me bothering so far 

Charlie


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

OK I just took these couple of photos sorry about the quality but I'm using the light from one mobile behind the lens and taking the photo with another mobile :lol:

Think you can safely say that with a bulb behind its going to be orange


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## shell (Feb 1, 2008)

Look bob on, love em :mrgreen:

and muchness cheapness.................. :mrgreen:


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## denimblue225turbo (Aug 28, 2009)

looks like an awesome job mate, im like charlie, just cant be a**ed to take the headlights out, but i really want to do it so i might just have to get in gear and do it.
Great job [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## UKRPG (Oct 14, 2009)

Nice one Neil - well done mate!


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## stevebeechTA (May 16, 2009)

Very nice mate 8) luckily mine are already black but i do fancy doing the inserts, but as the others have said its the hassel of getting them apart  just to do the inserts.

i wll get round to it though


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## dzTT (Mar 11, 2009)

awesome job mate [smiley=thumbsup.gif] im hopin to do this one in a few weeks time once i get some other stuff sorted out first.

how long did it take you?


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## ausTT (Feb 19, 2010)

nice job - so simply heating up with gun removes the lens and then to restick you can reheat it up again so that it seals... i presumed u needed new seals.. the finish is real quality


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

It took a couple of hours in total to rub down, prime and paint all the bits


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## sheps (Nov 25, 2009)

looks brilliant nice job! have to change one of mine anyway so may attempt this when get round to it


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## gazzerb (Oct 20, 2008)

looking good mate
could have got together and done a swap. I want silver


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## Thundercat (Oct 24, 2009)

Looks awesome mate. Want to smoke my indicator inserts so may give it a go.


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## sixdoublesix (Nov 3, 2009)

anyone got a link or photos of how to take the lens apart or a full step by step guide? couldnt find it on WAKS site


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

sixdoublesix said:


> anyone got a link or photos of how to take the lens apart or a full step by step guide? couldnt find it on WAKS site


Try this:

http://public.fotki.com/mcphill/audi_stuff/lighting_systems/osirdesign_smoked/

unless 99 pics is too much. :wink:

Mike's DIY is probably the most detailed "light" mod DIY on the interwebnetworld.

cheers


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## EnfieldTT (Jun 7, 2008)

You've done very well there mate, that's a top job! Just goes to show, you really don't need to be spending mega money to get a good finish on them 8) Was one of the first mods I did on mine; couldn't bloody stand the horrible silver against the black and then the even more dated orange strip. Made me wanna vomit


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## taTTy (Oct 27, 2007)

Looking great Neil ... you've been busy lately. Looking forward to meeting up sometime soon so can see all the changes


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Cheers Terry hopefully I'll have the headlights back in next Saturday and should be going to the Essex/Kent meet Sunday so see you there if your going.

I'll try and get Tufty along as well as his car is looking lots different now :wink: 8)

Thanks for all the comments guys I'll update on how the headlight removal/splitting goes - these are spare headlights that were bought by Tufty and he donated the inserts/corners to me after splitting them - cheers Mark 

I'll also post up some more before/during/after photos


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## denimblue225turbo (Aug 28, 2009)

good man, i really want to go this but i am a big girl and unless i see some good step by step pictures i get scared and bottle it! lol
I really need to learn how to take the front bumper off more than anything i feel


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## UKRPG (Oct 14, 2009)

Slight sideways one but has anyone split rears?


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## EnfieldTT (Jun 7, 2008)

UKRPG said:


> Slight sideways one but has anyone split rears?


Tried. Failed.

Doesn't seem possible as they're manufactured differently to the front, ie: they seem to have used f***ing concrete!! :lol:

Wanted to get into them so as to copy the new style rectangular rear lights, on the Mk2's. You just cant get into them though :x


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

denimblue225turbo said:


> good man, i really want to go this but i am a big girl and unless i see some good step by step pictures i get scared and bottle it! lol
> I really need to learn how to take the front bumper off more than anything i feel


see my post above. Mike Philips DIY (99pics) begins with "car up on jacks". no step left out. With his DIY, it's almost as easy pouring a pint.

cheers


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## denimblue225turbo (Aug 28, 2009)

oooo yeah, thats exactly what i needed!!! thanks for that


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

denimblue225turbo said:


> oooo yeah, thats exactly what i needed!!! thanks for that


 [smiley=cheers.gif]


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## taTTy (Oct 27, 2007)

TT51 said:


> Cheers Terry hopefully I'll have the headlights back in next Saturday and should be going to the Essex/Kent meet Sunday so see you there if your going.
> 
> I'll try and get Tufty along as well as his car is looking lots different now :wink: 8)


Noooooooo it was him that got me on rocky road with LED's 

Yeah hopefully be there - got some brake/MOT issue going on at mo though


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Lol Terry I think you are safe Mark won't be coming now


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Got the headlights off the car and split them today to put the painted inserts/corners in. It really is quite an easy job just a couple of fiddly screws to get to but no hassle.

Big thanks to Mark (Tufty) for helping me.

Here are some photos taken while Mark was hard at work :lol:








All back together now  



Best friends  8)


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## basky (May 26, 2009)

Look really nice matey, well worth the effort 8)


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## Neb (Oct 25, 2007)

looks great!


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Well worth the effort [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## basky (May 26, 2009)

Ps next time you open that bonnet, try cleaning your engine bay ? That volcanic ash gets everywhere :lol: :lol:


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

basky said:


> Ps next time you open that bonnet, try cleaning your engine bay ? That volcanic ash gets everywhere :lol: :lol:


Ha Ha thats what Mark kept telling me


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## dzTT (Mar 11, 2009)

nice one mate


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## TT Ade (Aug 20, 2007)

[smiley=thumbsup.gif] Looking really nice, mate.


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## taTTy (Oct 27, 2007)

Nice one Neil

Well worth Marks effort ... did you actually come out from behind the camera and get your hands dirty :lol: :lol:


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Ha ha yes Terry I did honestly. It was a very productive day.

We also removed the coilover adjusters from the rear of Mark's car to lower it a little more and took out the rubber matting from under my rear springs to drop it a little more as well


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## Nilesong (Jan 19, 2009)

Looks great Neil.
You got the mod bug bad aintcha? 

When's the V6 bumper going on?


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Yes Erol the car is now almost how I want it on the outside. The V6 bumper is going on in a few weeks time 

Then just got the wheels to sort out 8)


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## triplefan (Sep 3, 2008)

Strangely enough that's almost exactly how mine looked today :lol: :lol:


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## Super Josh (May 29, 2009)

How good does that look now 

Josh


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

After seeing this thread I am now 100% convinced I am going to self tint some orange lenses rather than pay 70 squids for the privelidge. I have a spare set of headlights in the loft and I am going to do inserts and corners to minimise the arse ache when I change em.

Can the OP let me know if the indicators still work orange through the tinted orange lenses? The last lot i did was with clear corners and I had to piss about melting the orange bits and gluing them on.


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## juelz45 (Jul 9, 2011)

I may get flamed for this, but all that work to spray paint the inside of the headlight housing??? I mean it looks great and all, but that seems like a lot of work to achieve such a small mod. Like I said though don't get me wrong, it looks great. Also, are you smoking a blunt in one of those pics??? lol


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

Matt B said:


> After seeing this thread I am now 100% convinced I am going to self tint some orange lenses rather than pay 70 squids for the privelidge. I have a spare set of headlights in the loft and I am going to do inserts and corners to minimise the arse ache when I change em.
> 
> Can the OP let me know if the indicators still work orange through the tinted orange lenses? The last lot i did was with clear corners and I had to piss about melting the orange bits and gluing them on.


Yeah they still flash orange, I gave three coats of the tint for a very dark look, you could probably get away with two coats and still look quite dark.

Passed the MOT like it


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## TT51 (Feb 28, 2009)

julienj98 said:


> I may get flamed for this, but all that work to spray paint the inside of the headlight housing??? I mean it looks great and all, but that seems like a lot of work to achieve such a small mod. Like I said though don't get me wrong, it looks great. Also, are you smoking a blunt in one of those pics??? lol


A days work on a nice sunny day at the weekend......why is that so much to ask. And for what it costs if you do it the way I did its a no brainer.


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## juelz45 (Jul 9, 2011)

Sorry Im a TT n00b im still learning. Just got mine a few months ago. Do you really have to take the whole front bumper piece off to get the headlights out? How hard is that to do?


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## kazinak (Mar 23, 2010)

julienj98 said:


> Sorry Im a TT n00b im still learning. Just got mine a few months ago. Do you really have to take the whole front bumper piece off to get the headlights out? How hard is that to do?


you can remove the glass from the light without removing them :wink: 
have done twise with no problem


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## leeh95 (Jun 29, 2010)

kazinak said:


> julienj98 said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry Im a TT n00b im still learning. Just got mine a few months ago. Do you really have to take the whole front bumper piece off to get the headlights out? How hard is that to do?
> ...


How do you go about doing that? as im looking to do this too and doing it that way would save alot of time,cheers.


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