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Update - if anyone uses this do not drive around without your front valence for too long as i have suggested because you will destroy your wheel arch liners...which are ?20 each to replace
This How to includes: valences, bumper and side (door) strips, handles and wing mirrors.
Firstly it is important to have a good idea what you are going to do and prep everything first. When i did this i was doing all different stages on different parts at the same time and it gets complicated. Also this will stop you having to mask and re-mask everyday (if you are doing outside like me)
To colour code all of these parts you will need:
7/8 300ml cans of plastic primer (it was white for my colour car but if you buy from halfords they have a guide for what colour to use)
around 3/4 packs of 600/800 grit wet and dry paper (once again halford sell these with 4 sheets per pack
8 sets of paint and lacquer, i got mine from VW for ?11ish per set. It should take 1-2 days to turn up so bear this in mind when planning you work. also take you manual with you because the colour code is on a sticker inside.
T-20 torx screwdriver
masking tape (i used more than 100 metres but this was because of redoing it each day no doubt)
Firstly i suggest removing the valences and bumpers strips because you can still use the car with these off (doesn't look good i know but just wait and see)
The valences have torx screws inside the wheel arches and after that are basically just clipped on, just be firm and careful and they'll be easy enough.
The bumpers and also fairly easy, the front one i left on but this meant a lot of masking and not being able to drive the car round for a day or two. The back one is just clipped on...you can reach up from where you have removed the rear valence and feel the clips, try and force these out. They may need extra working out with a flat-head screwdriver from the outside but be careful. It is easy to damage your existing paintwork. I imagine the front is the same once you've re-moved the number plate.
For the handles proceed as follows:
Remove the plastic lock cover (front door)/ blanking cap (back door).
Open the particular door then find the hole in the side of the door, in the front doors in it obvious but in the back doors it is covered with parts of the door seal (you will notice the curvy bit). Inside this hole will be a large gold coloured torx screw (t-20 size) un-screw this, it has been recommended several times that it takes 6-7 turns but for me it was more so after 7 turns i was very careful and kept the pressure on the screw so it would not fall down inside the door. I sat on the ground and wedged the door between my knees. With my right hand i kept gradually unscrewing and with my left hand i wiggled the lock barrel(front door)/dummy lock(back door) and also held the door handle open. Eventually the lock/dummy will come out and you can release the handle. I rescrewed the screw a little just to make sure it wasn't gonna fall. Now the lock/dummy is out of the way you can clip out the cable which actually opens the car which is attached to the handle. Don't worry it won't ping back out of reach (or shouldn't do anyway). After all this you should be able to get the handle out with some persuasion.
Now you have the handles and plastic caps. When replacing i forgot to count the turns so i kept screwing... eventually you'll hear a sharp twang, this sound dodgy but my door were all fine afterwards. Also the door release cable can be repositioned inside the handle to make the door easier to open.
For the wing mirrors unclip the top (already coloured part) and use a posi-drive screwdriver to unscrew the two screws in the bottom plastic part. This should come out with some wiggling.
The side strips (on the doors) i left on because the are stuck on the same as the letters and numbers on the hatch and after debadging i knew i didn't want to muck about taking them off. They should have a decent gap behind them for masking anyway.
You should now have all of you parts off the car. Do this in whatever order you like but i would remove and prep non-critical parts (bumpers/valences) first, then the handles and mirrors parts just before you are going to start spraying.
Prep work.
To save yourself some serious arm ache and waste of wet and dry paper sanding down first i would actually clean the parts off then give them three coats of primer first. Leave 15 mins in between coats then at least a few hours if not 24 hours before starting sanding. The principal is the the primer has filled the gaps in between the stipple effect and so when you sand down now you are only sanding soft paint rather than hard plastic but you still get the smoothness. Although this will take more primer, if you bought the amount listed above you should be alright.
When all parts have been sprayed and smoothed ( make sure they are really smooth because any residual stipple effect/roughness will ruin the metallic effect...i should know i had to re-do the whole front valence) i would then give them another 2-3 coaats and leave a few hours.
Now we can get down to some actual colours rather than just boring white on black plastic and elbow grease.
Get everything ready to go and choose a very, very wind-free day or a well ventilated garage/workshop. This applies for the primer also of course but is very important with the actual colours going on.
Like the primer you need to give your parts three coats. And also again leave 15 mins between coats. Once you have an even finish leave for 30-45 mins before applying the Lacquer (this adds the protection and metallic effect).
The lacquer is the same again, three coats with 15 mins between each. After the last coat has gone on leave for a few hours to a day before attempting replacing on the car.
Obviously be careful when replacing on the car because this is you very own hard work.
Basically all the parts can be replaced using the reverse of the above removal instructions.
Once it is all back on your car stand back and enjoy just like i did when i thought 'I've got a better looking car for less than half the spray-shop quoted and i've gained so much experience and confidence in working on my car'
Hope this help some people!!
This How to includes: valences, bumper and side (door) strips, handles and wing mirrors.
Firstly it is important to have a good idea what you are going to do and prep everything first. When i did this i was doing all different stages on different parts at the same time and it gets complicated. Also this will stop you having to mask and re-mask everyday (if you are doing outside like me)
To colour code all of these parts you will need:
7/8 300ml cans of plastic primer (it was white for my colour car but if you buy from halfords they have a guide for what colour to use)
around 3/4 packs of 600/800 grit wet and dry paper (once again halford sell these with 4 sheets per pack
8 sets of paint and lacquer, i got mine from VW for ?11ish per set. It should take 1-2 days to turn up so bear this in mind when planning you work. also take you manual with you because the colour code is on a sticker inside.
T-20 torx screwdriver
masking tape (i used more than 100 metres but this was because of redoing it each day no doubt)
Firstly i suggest removing the valences and bumpers strips because you can still use the car with these off (doesn't look good i know but just wait and see)
The valences have torx screws inside the wheel arches and after that are basically just clipped on, just be firm and careful and they'll be easy enough.
The bumpers and also fairly easy, the front one i left on but this meant a lot of masking and not being able to drive the car round for a day or two. The back one is just clipped on...you can reach up from where you have removed the rear valence and feel the clips, try and force these out. They may need extra working out with a flat-head screwdriver from the outside but be careful. It is easy to damage your existing paintwork. I imagine the front is the same once you've re-moved the number plate.
For the handles proceed as follows:
Remove the plastic lock cover (front door)/ blanking cap (back door).
Open the particular door then find the hole in the side of the door, in the front doors in it obvious but in the back doors it is covered with parts of the door seal (you will notice the curvy bit). Inside this hole will be a large gold coloured torx screw (t-20 size) un-screw this, it has been recommended several times that it takes 6-7 turns but for me it was more so after 7 turns i was very careful and kept the pressure on the screw so it would not fall down inside the door. I sat on the ground and wedged the door between my knees. With my right hand i kept gradually unscrewing and with my left hand i wiggled the lock barrel(front door)/dummy lock(back door) and also held the door handle open. Eventually the lock/dummy will come out and you can release the handle. I rescrewed the screw a little just to make sure it wasn't gonna fall. Now the lock/dummy is out of the way you can clip out the cable which actually opens the car which is attached to the handle. Don't worry it won't ping back out of reach (or shouldn't do anyway). After all this you should be able to get the handle out with some persuasion.
Now you have the handles and plastic caps. When replacing i forgot to count the turns so i kept screwing... eventually you'll hear a sharp twang, this sound dodgy but my door were all fine afterwards. Also the door release cable can be repositioned inside the handle to make the door easier to open.
For the wing mirrors unclip the top (already coloured part) and use a posi-drive screwdriver to unscrew the two screws in the bottom plastic part. This should come out with some wiggling.
The side strips (on the doors) i left on because the are stuck on the same as the letters and numbers on the hatch and after debadging i knew i didn't want to muck about taking them off. They should have a decent gap behind them for masking anyway.
You should now have all of you parts off the car. Do this in whatever order you like but i would remove and prep non-critical parts (bumpers/valences) first, then the handles and mirrors parts just before you are going to start spraying.
Prep work.
To save yourself some serious arm ache and waste of wet and dry paper sanding down first i would actually clean the parts off then give them three coats of primer first. Leave 15 mins in between coats then at least a few hours if not 24 hours before starting sanding. The principal is the the primer has filled the gaps in between the stipple effect and so when you sand down now you are only sanding soft paint rather than hard plastic but you still get the smoothness. Although this will take more primer, if you bought the amount listed above you should be alright.
When all parts have been sprayed and smoothed ( make sure they are really smooth because any residual stipple effect/roughness will ruin the metallic effect...i should know i had to re-do the whole front valence) i would then give them another 2-3 coaats and leave a few hours.
Now we can get down to some actual colours rather than just boring white on black plastic and elbow grease.
Get everything ready to go and choose a very, very wind-free day or a well ventilated garage/workshop. This applies for the primer also of course but is very important with the actual colours going on.
Like the primer you need to give your parts three coats. And also again leave 15 mins between coats. Once you have an even finish leave for 30-45 mins before applying the Lacquer (this adds the protection and metallic effect).
The lacquer is the same again, three coats with 15 mins between each. After the last coat has gone on leave for a few hours to a day before attempting replacing on the car.
Obviously be careful when replacing on the car because this is you very own hard work.
Basically all the parts can be replaced using the reverse of the above removal instructions.
Once it is all back on your car stand back and enjoy just like i did when i thought 'I've got a better looking car for less than half the spray-shop quoted and i've gained so much experience and confidence in working on my car'
Hope this help some people!!
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