10 Easy Steps to colour coding your E-series door handles. - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Chad_XF · 03-01-2004, 06:13

Sorry for the repost guys (and girls, if any)
I just realised maybe I should have posted this in here since it is E-series and not the pub, just a little write up on the above.

10 Easy Steps to colour coding your E-series door handles.

comments welcome

smut · 03-01-2004, 16:31

sounds good mate. I have been wanting to do this for a long time now, lets see those before and after photos like the people in the other forums have said. Also how can you get an exact match to your colour?

psycho chicken · 03-01-2004, 16:56

Just take your fuel filler cover off and head on down to autobahn, super cheap or something. Browse the spray cans and find the best match.

Or if you have some shitty colour no one makes cans for like me, find someone with a compressor, go into a paint store with said fuel cover and get a tin mixed up.

Walkinshaw · 03-01-2004, 18:08

you will need to get paint mixed especialy if you have metalic paint as its faiding is more notisable than a flat colour.

The Goodz · 03-01-2004, 23:38

Top work there mate. Another one for the tech pages :)

Although the process wasn't so simple for me for some stupid reason. Removal and dismantling of the handles was no issue. The painting was a nightmare. The ol' crate is platinum silver, a metallic. Firstly I tried just using plastic primer, then the colour coat, then clear coat. Of course the bloody texture of the handle showed through, so that was failed attempt #1.

Second time I tried sanding the handles back first till they were smooth, which took forever and wasn't very effective. Failed attempt #2.

Third time I used spray putty, which worked well, and was easier to sand and smooth out. Although I didn't notice there were still a few scratches and little gouges in it, you couldn't see it in the putty. I was using paint from spray cans, I can't bloody think of the brand off the top of my head though, supposed to be good stuff anyway. Everytime I sprayed it on, no matter how I did it, the paint applied would never be smooth. So after several attempts at sanding it back again and reapplying the paint and being unsuccessful, I said stuff it and I absolutely drowned them in paint. Like full on gave really thick coats, and in the end it turned out almost perfect. After it dried, I applied the clear coat a little more gently, and the end result is pretty good provided you don't look right up close otherwise you'll see the imperfections :)

Alex

FoxMulder · 03-02-2004, 15:59

The Goodz:
I think your main problem was that you weren't using the correct sandpaper when you sanded back the handles.

With the spray putty, you should only have to use a very fine sandpaper (like 400 wet'n'dry, or 800 dry), and assuming you sprayed it properly, you should only have to sand it back a little.

Also does the spray putty have an etch primer in it? If not, have you used an etch primer before applying the paint?
If you haven't you may notice the paint begin to chip off slightly later down the track, as the etch primer enables the paint to "grip" onto the surface.

With the paint not being applied smoothly, have you tried applying one layer, then after it dries, using a very fine sandpaper to smooth it out, then applying another layer, waiting for it to dry, then smoothing it out with sandpaper, and continuing for a couple more layers, (not too much, because you don't want to make the paint too thick), and then applying your clear coat. (BTW the paint layer is supposed to be less than paper thin).

EFFalcon · 03-02-2004, 17:02

mixing paints... ARGH
i got a paint place to mix some paint for me (according a touchup bottle that i got when my car was sprayed a month ago) and it was so far off that i'm very pissed off with em, shall be taking it back to get the right colour!
make sure you check the colour Directly, don't trust them mixing the colour, check it once its been done. i thought they coudlnt' get it wrong

Chad_XF · 03-03-2004, 05:31

Thats the beauty about stark white....its just white, its common and other whites look like it, Ill have a few before and after pics by the weekend prob.
be working on the XF tomorrow.

smut · 03-03-2004, 15:09

sounds good....make sure the pics are close ups to show the detail

John_xr6 · 03-04-2004, 03:24

i used holts dupliclour when i painted my EF door handles stark white they have got a whole range of colours for most popular cars. you need to apply a fair few coats of paint in those pressure packs because the have alot of thinners in them so they are very watery like coats. i think i had to do about 7 or 8 before i got rid of the transpericy of the paint. came up alright in the end but unfortunatly i got an orange peel finish but you cant tell from a distance. the further away you stand from them the better they look :)