fiestaturbo.com

[~Tony~]

Recently done this so though i would post a guide up on how to do it for a fiesta.

Tools Needed:
Screwdriver (posidrive)
Pliers
Welder
Sanding blocks
Various grades of wet and dry and aluminium oxide paper
primer and paint

Firstly and most obviously the door lock barrel needs removing
To do this the internal door card need removing, this is case of unscrewing the door pull surround 1 screw, then removing .

Next is the door pocket and speaker grille. this is done by removing 3 screws on the top edge one at the rear one and one either side of the speker grille, once screws are removed the pocket will tip forward and lift up out of the retaining slots at the bottom. Later spec fiesta have the window swithces in these pockets so the multiplug of these will need disconnecting. Earlier fiesta have these in the centre console

Next the door handle. there are 2 types of handle fitted to the fiesta. the 2 point type which has 2 screws which are unscrewed from underneath the handle. and 3 point types which are connected by 3 screws these have a clip on cover which can be prised off using a flat blade, there are 2 screws behind this one at the top and one at the bottom the third screw is unscrewed from underneath the handles.

With this removed the door cards can be unclipped starting from the bottom, once all clips are undone the door card can be lifted off the retainers at the top.

now you will be able to see the inside of the door there is an clear plastic sheet inside the door now which if it hasn't already split will need cutting to access the lock barrel.

Now you can see 2 operating rods one going to the door handle and lock assembly and one going from the lock barrel to the lock assembly. both these need disconnetcing as the smoothing procedure will be easier with the handles removed.

Once disconnected the handles can be removed by unscrewing the 2 screws and removing the handle from the outside. the lock barrel can be romoved by pulling out the retaining plate the barrel can then be removed from the outside.

now the area around the lock will need sanding down to bare metal so the metal can be welded and so the filler can bond to the bodywork

The next step is to cover the hole where the lock used to be. this is done by cutting a plate of metal to fit over the hole. Now hold this in place from inside the door and tack into place using a welder. Now its held on go over the welds to make sure they are secure. you dont need to go all the way round the hole about 6 spots will do just make sure its secure.

Now put a really thin skim of fibreglass P40 this makes sure that no water can get into the bodywork and will stop rust.

Next comes the filler P38. Apply this in thin skims so it sets really hard. Sand down until smooth with the surounding body work. this sounds easy but it can take a long time and many coats of filler. You may need many new skims of filler to get it to the right level. the easiest way i found to feel if it was the correct profile was to close my eyes and run over the area with the plam of my hand when you cant feel any high or low spots you know the profile is right.

Blow the area over with a light coat of primer this will allow you to see any tiny imperfections in the surface of the filler such as tiny pinprick holes etc.

To get rid of these you need to apply bodystopper which is a really thin paste that will sit in the tiny holes. another method is to mix a small amount of P38 filler with celulose thinners to create a thin paste which will work in exactly the same way as bodystopper. this will need sanding down very lightly then priming again.

Repeat the process of priming until you have about3-4 coats of primer. sand this very lightly with 1200 grit wet and dry.

Spray with top coat until 3-4 layers have been built up. leave this for about a week so the paint has fully hardened.

After paint is 100% dry and hard t-cut the new paint work and blend into the existing colour of the panel. apply wax to the door.

JOB DONE

Hope this helps

[housey]

how do i get in my car



joking mate. nice guide

[~Tony~]

cheers housey

just cos i can answer your question: it often comes in helpful if you have remote central locking.

shame it hasnt been moved to the guides and faq forum yet.

[Superal]

let an admin know about the thread and it'll get moved

[housey]

and they do ask for diagrams mate

[MADMATT]

nice guide mate

[phatboy]

is it easy to make the paint match in properly without repsraying the entire panel?

[F22 JAM]

No! - Well it depends how faded the current finish is i spose.
I tried doing that with my first fiesta - metalic blue color. This hadn't been resprayed so it was quite faded from the original color. I sprayed the area and it was a much darker blue - even after t-cuttin it many times it was still too dark and looked really bad.

[The Baby Face Assassin]

this should be in the guides forum!!

[Phil Si]

done

[~Tony~]

cheers phil

[Rhinopower]

in all seriousness what if one morning you wake up and battery is dead, my boot is delocked aswel so i wudnt be able to get in that way either. Is it possible to put a second latch in somewhere on the car for popping the bonet to jump the car, get power 2 unlock and get in?

[phatboy]

why not plug a pair of small cables off the battery, fuse the live, and leave it attached under the front bumper somewhere out of sight, and tape the ends so they dnt get wet, and the day your battery is dead, hook a spare onto those cables, so you can get in