Ford liked to cut the cost of things on the fiesta by leaving part in a standard,
rough black plastic finish, which is all well and good for back in the heyday of
the fiesta, but now it looks pretty horrid compared to the colour coded parts on a new car.
In this guide we will show you how to get rid of the horrid black textured plastic and make it smooth and painted.
Tools Needed:
Socket set
Screwdrivers
Sand paper/ Wet & dry 600 to 1200 grit
Filler Primer x1 can
Primer x2 cans
Topcoat x2 cans
Lacquer x1 can
Rubbing compound x1 can
High Gloss polish
|
Ohhhh
|
Body Coloured-
MMM Body! ;)
|
|
Start off by removing what ever parts you want to colour code, in this case it's the mirrors and door handles,
you need to follow this guide to remove the mirrors and separate the casings from the units.
While the door cards are off you will need to remove the door handles,
2 screws visible from inside the door and release the control lever
|
|
Ill start with the door handles, notice their grainy finish, get some 600 grit
wet & dry paper and start to rub them down. One you have a smooth finish with that paper,
change up to the next grit, 800, then 1000, and finally 1200,
which should then result in a nice smooth base to paint on to.
|
|
Now do exactly the same for the mirrors. Only do the casings, not the base plates.
|
|
The mirror casings that I used were pre-painted from ford so I had to change the colour,
|
|
Simply go over these with the 1000 and 1200 grit wet and dry paper to remove
the grim and to key back the surface so the paint sticks
|
|
This is where the unpainted black casings and the pre-painted casings need to be
filler primed to cover any blemishes in the case, put a few coats on and allow
it to dry then rub this back slightly with 1200 grit to keep it all smooth.
|
|
Clean the casing and if it isn't totally smooth, re apply the filler primer and smooth again.
Now re primed it with a suitable colour for your car, in my case it was grey.
Apply nice even this coats in opposite directions each time to give an even coat.
|
|
After a few coats, again rub it back smooth with 1200 grit, clean it and reapply more primer.
|
|
Once the final coat of primer has been applied, leave it for 48 hours to
harden then give it a quick blast of 1200 grit and clean it for the top coat.
If you are using a metallic topcoat you need to keep the can active as the metallic
element settles and leaves a patchy finish.
Spray in the same manner as above, and rub back every couple of coats.
|
|
Apply the final coat of top colour and do not rub it back,
it should be nice and shiny as below. Leave that to harden for at least 48 hours.
Then spray with a couple of coats of clear lacquer to give it a tough finish. (Note: not all colours need this.)
VERY IMPORTANT
leave the lacquer finish in a dust free environment for about a week to fully harden,
if you do not do this, the lacquer will become patchy and mark very easy.
|
|
|
Now give it a once over with fine rubbing compound if it is slightly dull,
then apply lashings of high gloss polish to protect the paint even more.
Then rebuild it and as you can see it looks the business.
|
|
The above process can be used for any of the rough black plastics on the car apart
from the standard Roof spoiler as this is made of rubber and will crack.
|
|
And that's it, give it a blast, hope this guide is of some help as always
Guide Written and © On 22 Aug 2006 by Andrew Whiteman (AW3K)
|
