15-05-2012, 04:17 PM
Hopefully this will shed a bit of light on the bodywork side of things for removing the boot lock. The same principle can be applied to the door locks, ariel, washer jets, anything you want smoothed really.
DumDum has done a good guide on delocking the boot, including the wiring and mechanical aspects, but what I want to concentrate on here is the bodywork side of things. I would recommend following Dumâ??s guide to get all of the wiring and mechanical work done before doing the bodywork, as the only way to open the boot once it is smoothed is by climbing through the boot if you have not done so.
Everything I have used is off the shelf gear, available from most/all factors or DIY stores. This guide is based on using rattle cans. If you have a compressor and paint gun, the chances are you donâ??t need to be reading this lol.
This my seem a little over the top, but Iâ??m writing it from the point of view that this is for a complete novice, so as not to miss anything.
A couple of things just to set the tone.
-Preperation is the key. As with any bodywork, the more time you put into preparation, the better the end result. Spend time masking everything off properly, and getting surfaces properly cleaned, free of dust and reactants. Its better to spend an extra 3 minutes sanding and rubbing down, than another half a day to redo the project because it looks gash.
-I used Halfords rattle cans on this project. There are mixed opinions on these, but I have never had a problem with them. As far as rattle cans are concerned I cannot fault them. For me, they have always been consistent in colour and consistency.
-Patience is the key with painting. Donâ??t get bored (believe me I get easily bored) and start prodding the paint to see if its dry, or not leave it long enough to dry, go to sand it and take chunks out of wet paint. Take your time, be consistent with what you do and the end result will be good.
-DO NOT!!!!!!!! Tape lines on the bodywork anywhere to paint up to. Itâ??s a crime! By all means mask off everything that you do not want overspray on, but blend the paint into existing paintwork to avoid unsightly join lines.
-Keep your paint at room temperature. If you leave it in the garage overnight in winter, and its freezing cold, the propellant in the can will not work correctly and give you lovely spatter marks in your paint. Too hot and the paint will partially dry before it has a chance to reach the surface, giving a rough look to the paint.
-Be anal with cleaning your surfaces. Clean them every time you have sanded something, and make sure to wait for all alcohols to evaporate fully before painting. Paint will react with the alcohol and crack up if they meet the surface together.
So for this guide I am going to use my boot lock removal.
I started by removing the lock. Easy enough, take the boot trim off the boot hatch, undo the three crosshead screws and push the button assembly out.
I then adhered a metal plate to the inside of the bootlit. The best way to do this, is to give both surfaces a good key with some 40/60 grit paper and clean with white spirit. Wait for the spirit to evaporate then stick the two together. Should look like this:
![[Image: b8ccd2d7.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/b8ccd2d7.jpg)
For reference I used this to stick them:
![[Image: !BrT(S!!!2k~%24(KGrHqQOKkYEu,BR54KwBLzHlKqsvg~~_35.JPG]](http://i.ebayimg.com/20/!BrT(S!!!2k~%24(KGrHqQOKkYEu,BR54KwBLzHlKqsvg~~_35.JPG)
I do not use my boot as I have no back seats or boot, so it is not going to be opened often. If you think you use your boot a lot, and tend to slam it quite hard, I would recommend having the plate welded in. If this is so, do it before you being painting. Donâ??t glue it for now then get it welded later. The heat will ruin the finish on your fresh paintwork.
So that done, the next thing to tackle is filling the two holes. I used Isopon p38 filler. Iâ??ve used it for a number of things over the years, and have found it to be very trustworthy, with consistently good results.
Again, give the surface to be filled a good key with some heavy grit sandpaper. I used 40 grit, but 60 will be fine, or even 80. Picture below.
![[Image: 2719f59a.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/2719f59a.jpg)
Mix up a 3cm cubed-ish amount of this, with a pea-sized amount of activator and mix it for 30 seconds.
Apply it to the area, un-sparingly so you have a good build up. Im not talking inches of the stuff, but a good 5mm proud of the boot surface. Like so:
![[Image: 0bcef74f.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/0bcef74f.jpg)
Leave this to dry. If you have one available use a hairdryer of heat gun to speed the process up. Do not apply too much heat though! It will cause the filler to dry to quick and crack up and/or shrink.
Once it has dried you can begin sanding back. I started with 120 grit paper. Use this until you are close to where it needs to be, then switch to a finer paper such as 240 or 400. A sanding block, or bit of wood with sandpaper stapled to it is also a good way of doing this, as it ensures you follow the contours of the boot nicely, leading you to a more likely chance of getting it nice and straight.
Once it looks in theme with the rest of the bootlid, cover it with some filler primer. This is just a high build primer that takes up the holes (should there be any) a little bit. Donâ??t expect it to cover up something the size or a postage stamp, it doesnâ??t work miracles!
Spray the filler primer on in thin layers, drying with your heat source inbetween. This will be quicker drying that one really thick coat. Do about 5-7 layers and then have a cuppa.
When youâ??ve left it to dry, and consumed your tea, you will be faced with something like this:
![[Image: f7a95b56.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/f7a95b56.jpg)
Splendid! Now get some 800 grit paper and a bowl of water, and wet and dry the thing. You want it to end up looking like thisâ?¦
![[Image: dac3745d.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/dac3745d.jpg)
What you have done here, is taken all the high spots out, and the filler primer should be left only in the low spots. This is why the sanding block it handy. It ensures a flat sheet of paper, whereas your fingers are more likely to go into the â??holesâ??
So, youâ??ve smoothed off the boot lock! Well done. Now its time to paint the thing. Your car colour will determine what colour primer you need to use, for me it was grey.
So give the area a modest coat of primer, leave it to dry, and then check for any imperfections with a torch/other bright light source.
![[Image: c70e9aef.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/c70e9aef.jpg)
I had 2 halogen lamps pointed at the area between painting. They chuck out a fair bit of heat, as well as obviously providing plenty of light.
Donâ??t spray any paint with them on the area. It will dry the paint in transition from the can to the surface, leading to what is known as orange peel.
So when the primer is dry, wet and dry the area with 1200 grit paper. Go about 4 inches past where the primer has gone, to give the top coat a key to stick to.
![[Image: b68bbe2e.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/b68bbe2e.jpg)
The area on the right is a small dent I found when looking for imperfections in my filling, so ignore that.
Clean the surface and wait for the spirits to evaporate.
Apply your topcoat colour sparingly. Do it in many coats. You will see below that the primer is still visible even after 2 coats.
![[Image: 16d9c89e.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/16d9c89e.jpg)
Also, with metallic paints, you can only go on one axis when spraying. So more often than not, left to right. If you go up to down left to right, side to side, the metallic fleck will be aligned in different manners and give inconsistent results.
Build your top coat up over a number of thin layers, about 6, but use your judgement. If it still looks patchy do more and stick the kettle back on.
When your paint is dry, give it another wet and dry with 1200 grit paper, and clean it of containments.
This is with all top coats complete, and having been wet sanded with 1200
![[Image: 46c4baf5.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/46c4baf5.jpg)
You can see it now looks a bit dull, so give it one light puff over with your top coat, and leave to dry. Wet and dry this when it is dry, but sand about another 4 inches past where you have painted your top coat. This gives the lacquer a key to adhere to.
Here is for the lacquer. Arguably the most crucial part of the job. You need to make sure the paintwork is nice and dry before applying the lacquer. If it is not, the thinners in the lacquer will â??wettenâ?? the paint, and it will all congeal, mix together, run, and generally look shit.
So perhaps have another cuppa with some warmth on the paint.
When you are satisfied all is dry, start applying the lacquer. This is slightly harder than normal paint, as you want a fairly heavy coating, but not so heavy you get runs in the paint.
Its probably best to have a practice if you have not done this before, on a bit of wood or old body panels you have in the garden. If you puff over once, you will see its looks like a spotty, matt looking finish. If you go over the same area quite a bit, you will see it looks glossy. If you go too much, you will see it run. We want the glossy look.
So once your confident, its time to do the boot. Start from the top, and work your way down. Obviously gravity will be taking effect, so working from the bottom up is a sure-fired way of getting some runs in the lacquer.
You should be left with something like this:
![[Image: 645874b4.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/645874b4.jpg)
Iâ??m an anal bugger, and like to machine polish my car a lot, so I did two coats of lacquer. This is acceptable, just make sure the first coat has dried well.
Leave the lacquer to dry before exposing the area to the elements.
After a day (can be longer if you have to leave it longer) take some 1200-1500 grit paper, and wet and dry the new paintwork, before t-cutting. This gets rid of inevitable orange peel.
And voila!
![[Image: d718f26d.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/d718f26d.jpg)
I hope there is nothing I've missed, but if there is, or some areas are confusing/lack explanation, just shout and ill add it in
Cheers!
DumDum has done a good guide on delocking the boot, including the wiring and mechanical aspects, but what I want to concentrate on here is the bodywork side of things. I would recommend following Dumâ??s guide to get all of the wiring and mechanical work done before doing the bodywork, as the only way to open the boot once it is smoothed is by climbing through the boot if you have not done so.
Everything I have used is off the shelf gear, available from most/all factors or DIY stores. This guide is based on using rattle cans. If you have a compressor and paint gun, the chances are you donâ??t need to be reading this lol.
This my seem a little over the top, but Iâ??m writing it from the point of view that this is for a complete novice, so as not to miss anything.
A couple of things just to set the tone.
-Preperation is the key. As with any bodywork, the more time you put into preparation, the better the end result. Spend time masking everything off properly, and getting surfaces properly cleaned, free of dust and reactants. Its better to spend an extra 3 minutes sanding and rubbing down, than another half a day to redo the project because it looks gash.
-I used Halfords rattle cans on this project. There are mixed opinions on these, but I have never had a problem with them. As far as rattle cans are concerned I cannot fault them. For me, they have always been consistent in colour and consistency.
-Patience is the key with painting. Donâ??t get bored (believe me I get easily bored) and start prodding the paint to see if its dry, or not leave it long enough to dry, go to sand it and take chunks out of wet paint. Take your time, be consistent with what you do and the end result will be good.
-DO NOT!!!!!!!! Tape lines on the bodywork anywhere to paint up to. Itâ??s a crime! By all means mask off everything that you do not want overspray on, but blend the paint into existing paintwork to avoid unsightly join lines.
-Keep your paint at room temperature. If you leave it in the garage overnight in winter, and its freezing cold, the propellant in the can will not work correctly and give you lovely spatter marks in your paint. Too hot and the paint will partially dry before it has a chance to reach the surface, giving a rough look to the paint.
-Be anal with cleaning your surfaces. Clean them every time you have sanded something, and make sure to wait for all alcohols to evaporate fully before painting. Paint will react with the alcohol and crack up if they meet the surface together.
So for this guide I am going to use my boot lock removal.
I started by removing the lock. Easy enough, take the boot trim off the boot hatch, undo the three crosshead screws and push the button assembly out.
I then adhered a metal plate to the inside of the bootlit. The best way to do this, is to give both surfaces a good key with some 40/60 grit paper and clean with white spirit. Wait for the spirit to evaporate then stick the two together. Should look like this:
For reference I used this to stick them:
I do not use my boot as I have no back seats or boot, so it is not going to be opened often. If you think you use your boot a lot, and tend to slam it quite hard, I would recommend having the plate welded in. If this is so, do it before you being painting. Donâ??t glue it for now then get it welded later. The heat will ruin the finish on your fresh paintwork.
So that done, the next thing to tackle is filling the two holes. I used Isopon p38 filler. Iâ??ve used it for a number of things over the years, and have found it to be very trustworthy, with consistently good results.
Again, give the surface to be filled a good key with some heavy grit sandpaper. I used 40 grit, but 60 will be fine, or even 80. Picture below.
Mix up a 3cm cubed-ish amount of this, with a pea-sized amount of activator and mix it for 30 seconds.
Apply it to the area, un-sparingly so you have a good build up. Im not talking inches of the stuff, but a good 5mm proud of the boot surface. Like so:
Leave this to dry. If you have one available use a hairdryer of heat gun to speed the process up. Do not apply too much heat though! It will cause the filler to dry to quick and crack up and/or shrink.
Once it has dried you can begin sanding back. I started with 120 grit paper. Use this until you are close to where it needs to be, then switch to a finer paper such as 240 or 400. A sanding block, or bit of wood with sandpaper stapled to it is also a good way of doing this, as it ensures you follow the contours of the boot nicely, leading you to a more likely chance of getting it nice and straight.
Once it looks in theme with the rest of the bootlid, cover it with some filler primer. This is just a high build primer that takes up the holes (should there be any) a little bit. Donâ??t expect it to cover up something the size or a postage stamp, it doesnâ??t work miracles!
Spray the filler primer on in thin layers, drying with your heat source inbetween. This will be quicker drying that one really thick coat. Do about 5-7 layers and then have a cuppa.
When youâ??ve left it to dry, and consumed your tea, you will be faced with something like this:
Splendid! Now get some 800 grit paper and a bowl of water, and wet and dry the thing. You want it to end up looking like thisâ?¦
What you have done here, is taken all the high spots out, and the filler primer should be left only in the low spots. This is why the sanding block it handy. It ensures a flat sheet of paper, whereas your fingers are more likely to go into the â??holesâ??
So, youâ??ve smoothed off the boot lock! Well done. Now its time to paint the thing. Your car colour will determine what colour primer you need to use, for me it was grey.
So give the area a modest coat of primer, leave it to dry, and then check for any imperfections with a torch/other bright light source.
I had 2 halogen lamps pointed at the area between painting. They chuck out a fair bit of heat, as well as obviously providing plenty of light.
Donâ??t spray any paint with them on the area. It will dry the paint in transition from the can to the surface, leading to what is known as orange peel.
So when the primer is dry, wet and dry the area with 1200 grit paper. Go about 4 inches past where the primer has gone, to give the top coat a key to stick to.
The area on the right is a small dent I found when looking for imperfections in my filling, so ignore that.
Clean the surface and wait for the spirits to evaporate.
Apply your topcoat colour sparingly. Do it in many coats. You will see below that the primer is still visible even after 2 coats.
Also, with metallic paints, you can only go on one axis when spraying. So more often than not, left to right. If you go up to down left to right, side to side, the metallic fleck will be aligned in different manners and give inconsistent results.
Build your top coat up over a number of thin layers, about 6, but use your judgement. If it still looks patchy do more and stick the kettle back on.
When your paint is dry, give it another wet and dry with 1200 grit paper, and clean it of containments.
This is with all top coats complete, and having been wet sanded with 1200
You can see it now looks a bit dull, so give it one light puff over with your top coat, and leave to dry. Wet and dry this when it is dry, but sand about another 4 inches past where you have painted your top coat. This gives the lacquer a key to adhere to.
Here is for the lacquer. Arguably the most crucial part of the job. You need to make sure the paintwork is nice and dry before applying the lacquer. If it is not, the thinners in the lacquer will â??wettenâ?? the paint, and it will all congeal, mix together, run, and generally look shit.
So perhaps have another cuppa with some warmth on the paint.
When you are satisfied all is dry, start applying the lacquer. This is slightly harder than normal paint, as you want a fairly heavy coating, but not so heavy you get runs in the paint.
Its probably best to have a practice if you have not done this before, on a bit of wood or old body panels you have in the garden. If you puff over once, you will see its looks like a spotty, matt looking finish. If you go over the same area quite a bit, you will see it looks glossy. If you go too much, you will see it run. We want the glossy look.
So once your confident, its time to do the boot. Start from the top, and work your way down. Obviously gravity will be taking effect, so working from the bottom up is a sure-fired way of getting some runs in the lacquer.
You should be left with something like this:
Iâ??m an anal bugger, and like to machine polish my car a lot, so I did two coats of lacquer. This is acceptable, just make sure the first coat has dried well.
Leave the lacquer to dry before exposing the area to the elements.
After a day (can be longer if you have to leave it longer) take some 1200-1500 grit paper, and wet and dry the new paintwork, before t-cutting. This gets rid of inevitable orange peel.
And voila!
I hope there is nothing I've missed, but if there is, or some areas are confusing/lack explanation, just shout and ill add it in
Cheers!
![[Image: car-1.jpg]](http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/grant-306/car-1.jpg)
Member of the 99% warning or you're nothing club
2000 Moonstone 1.8 Meridian - Sold
2000 China 3dr XS - Dead
1998 Diablo 3dr XSI
![[Image: 306oc.jpg]](http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1070/306oc.jpg)
![[Image: newsig_zpsee86fa10.jpg]](http://s1215.photobucket.com/user/kingy1975/media/newsig_zpsee86fa10.jpg.html)
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![[Image: J5hxCcC.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/J5hxCcC.jpg)