F430 Key Restoration

Tackleberry · Aug 7, 2020

Last year I decide to have a go at restoring my Keys.

At ten years old both my Keys were starting to look a little past their best.

Using the worse one of the two I stripped it down and did the following......

The Body of the Key was feeling a little tacky, so I stripped off the sticky stuff in the usual fashion.
Wanting a nicer finish than the base plastic I prepped the surface then masked the necessary areas.
I applied 3 coats of Plastidip "rubberised" matt finish paint spray.

For the covers I removed the pressure pad, and rather than risk damaging the badge trying to get it out I masked it off.
I then carefully sanded the covers to remove all the damaged original finish until they were nice and smooth.

I used rattle can sprays for the painting. Primer, colour coat (Rosso Corsa 322), and lacquer.
I let that go off hard then buffed up with some cutting compound.

The results for my first attempt were okay, if a little "orange peely".

However, being acrylic paints the durability was poor and it didn’t take long for the finish to chip away - lost instantly actually.

I decide to put the project to one side and have another go when I had sorted myself out with suitable Airbrushing equipment.

Which brings me to now !

Time for another attempt……...

The search for a more durable paint option lead me to Zero Paints.
This product had several advantages, the main being the fact they are cellulose paints which bond much better than anything else.
Other good points are excellent colour match and pre thinned for airbrushing.

So I ordered primer, top coat (Rosso Corsa 322) and clear lacquer.
I then treated myself to a new pressure regulated airbrush and portable spray booth.

This time I removed the badge !

I followed the painting instructions to the letter, but also cross referenced that with some youtube videos of model makers and how they use the product.

The results were superb giving a lovely even finish, almost to the point I didn't need to polish it.

However if you're going to do a job properly..................so I flatted it back with 5000 grit - more to de-nib than anything - and two stage polished it using my Rupes Nano.
Lastly I applied some Meguiars ultimate liquid wax.

And here are the results. Which are night and day compared to the first attempt !

Stero · Aug 8, 2020

They look great! How much are you going to charge to do this for other people..? :wink3:

Tackleberry · Aug 8, 2020

To be honest I hadn't give much thought to that - but...............

Tackleberry · Sep 6, 2020

F430 Key Restoration - Tricolore

Being pleased with the results of restoring my Key I thought I'd try something a little more adventurous for the other - spare -Key.

Again using Zero Paints products (primer, base coat & lacquer). They rather conveniently do a Tricolore Set consisting of the correct shades of Green, White & Red.

Philippine Green
Anti-Flash Wite
Fire Engine Red

As before I followed the Zero Paints instructions to the letter which gives a lovely even finish, almost to the point it doesn't need polishing.

However as before, if you're going to do a job properly..........
I flatted the three parts back with 5000 grit and two stage polished them using my Rupes Nano, first with Meguiars M105 then finishing with M205.
Lastly I applied some Meguiars ultimate liquid wax and buffed to finish.

And here are the results.........................and now my #1 Key !

And the finished pair together

Stero · Sep 7, 2020

Very professional looking job. Great idea.

Tackleberry · Sep 17, 2020

The next thing to overcome is reducing the damage to the Key by the keying.

Pretty much every keyring (fob) you buy these days has one thing in common - the metal ring - which it's seemingly single purpose in life is to completely trash our lovely keys.
Way back when keys were nothing more than a piece of metal, with maybe a black plastic part, the metal keyring were just fine. However these days, and most definitely in the last 15 years, our keys have become more decorative but the good old key ring has remained the same, despite the fact most are leather the ring itself ends up causing unsightly damage.

It is worth noting now that what follows next is of no use if your keyring is all metal, this is only really applicable to leather versions.

After a bit of head scratching this is what I came up with.

First question is, does the ring need to be metal ?
Well actually no, it does not. I imagine most of use only keep the one key - the important one - on said keyring, and you're certainly not going to rappel down a zip line hanging off your key (unless you're possessed by madness !).

So what to use that is both sufficiently strong enough to secure the key to the keyring, but compliment enough so as not damage the key ?
The solution - as you will see in the attached images - was to use the following items:

Rubber (nitrile)or Silicone O-Rings
Paracord
Bayonet End Clasp

The End Clasp needs to be sufficiently large enough in outside diameter so as not to flop around in the end of the leather fob, yet able to pas through the hole in the key.
The ideal size was to take 4mm cord, which meant the outside diameter was 5mm, and thus able to pass through the hole in the key.

The rubber cord - in this case a suitably sized 4mm cross section O-ring - was then bonded in the End Clasps.

Hey presto ! Version 1 successfully made.

However a Black Rubber O-Ring is a little bland, so I tried something else.

I had some 4mm Paracord, and one thing you can do with this stuff is pull the inside cord out so you are left with sheath.
I then used a 3mm cross section O-Ring and passed inside the Paracord outer sheath.

Then as with the Version 1 I bonded the End Clasps on to the ends.

Much better, and a little more decorative.
And of course Paracord comes in many different colours !

So what about strength and integrity ?
I've tugged just about as hard as you want to on the ends and they have not come adrift.
And to be honest how much force do you realistically need to apply to your keyring. It's as secure as it needs be and does not come apart on it's own.

And most importantly - no damage to the Key !

Anyway, the following pics are the fruits of my labour.