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Old 19th March 2022, 06:52 AM
MikkiJayne MikkiJayne is offline
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Given that its a real Final Edition, and there are fewer than 20 of those left, I think you'll significantly devalue it by changing the colour since that is part of what makes it an FE. There were two blacks used on the FE - Ebony Black Pearl which is what yours is I think, and then a solid black (Brilliant Black?) which is what Stephen's is. If you want something funky then it would make more sense (to me at least) to start with an ordinary S8, not an FE. Or use a spray-wrap in whatever colour you like?

Audi did offer Exclusive colours on the D2. There aren't many Exclusive D2s in the UK but they do exist.

In terms of dismantling it:

The brightwork around the roof is simple enough, as is the rear quarter. The doors would need fully dismantling to get the trim at the base of the glass off - that is very challenging to get off without bending it.

Windscreen trim and rear screen trim can be prised off without damaging them which is nerve-wracking but not too bad. The screens won't come out intact. Fronts are available aftermarket. I don't know about the rear though - I'd be inclined to leave that in, although if the trim clips are rusty it has to come out to replace those.

The interior pillar trims all need to come out to get the B-pillar trim and rear quarter glass out, which also need all the lower sill trims out, which means the rear seat has to come out.

The sunroof panel would need to come out so the seal can be removed, then mask off the hole (extremely well!) and paint the panel separately. By this point its probably prudent to remove the front seats as well to avoid any risk of overspray.

The plastic trim at the base of the boot opening is very fragile and NLA so extreme care is needed removing the rivets from that so as not to shatter it.

The 'S8' plastic sill trims don't come off intact and are NLA. They are glued on with VHB tape which by now is stronger than the plastic. There's an extremely high risk of irreparable damage here if you want to paint the door shuts. The various stickers are also mostly NLA.

A limited number of trims and clips are still available from Tradition, but there is no guarantee of finding something if it gets broken or damaged. The aluminium trims are pretty much limited to good used parts at this point.
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