The body shop that painted my car powder coated all outside door handles and door locks they. I just realized my key won’t open either door, unfortunately after I locked the car. I am 100 % sure the locks are from the car so my question is, could the powder coating screw the locks up, or is there a way to disassemble the lock so I can get at the tumblers. I would even go so far as removing the guts so a dummy key would unlock the car, not like I leave anything in it to steal. thanks Gordon
Power coating adds a thick coating on the face of the door locks. This prevents the key from going all the way in and unable to line-up with the lock tumblers.
Sounds like you need a Slim Jim to slide in next to the window and pop the locks open. Once done you can remove the door panels and either replace the locks or remove the powder coating from your original locks. I’ve never heard of anyone powder coating the door handles and locks. Why in the world would they do that? I would think that replacing the handles and locks with new ones would look just as good (assuming the powder coating was done for cosmetic appeal) and would likely be cheaper.
Does it feel like the key is going in all the way? The powder coating should only be on the face of the cylinder, so if that is the issue, you should be able to file away the amount on the key to add to the depth of insertion... Just a thought. Maybe it's a busy shop and they just put the wrong cylinders on your car? That seems more likely to me.
Max, you are right on. by filing away the flanks of the key to get a longer depth, this should work. I wonder if he powder coated the trunk cylinder too? Vet
We blacked everything out, just the way the project went…It appears the key is going all the way in, the trunk lock works but I may have painted it? Maybe I gave the shop the door wrong locks?
That may well be your issue (Maybe I gave the shop the door wrong locks?) I wasn't thinking you had a number of spare door locks. The thickness of the powder coating process can vary, depending on how much the coater puts on. If this is a professional powder coater, they have measuring instruments that can tell them how much power is has been applied. The normal amount of power coating can range from .002 to .008 on an inch. .002 is no big deal, but for a door lock, .008 is sizable. it's also possible your truck lock is in the .002 range and your door locks are in the .008 range. If the power coater has the measuring instruments (he should have), he can measure the coating thinness between the trunk and door locks while attached to the car. If the coating on the trunk is much less, this will tell you why the truck can be opened, and the door locks can't. My assumption at this point in time. I worked in a shop when we bought our first power coating process. The guys in the shop did a poor job of researching this process and we had a very difficult time, because we had a lot of interference fits. Removing power coating is a real pain to do and labor intensive. Hopefully, you gave them the wrong locks. There is another thing you could do if all else fails, have a top-notch locksmith take a look at your locks. He should be able to pick the locks to open the doors and also tell you what real problem is. At this point, we are all guessing. Wish I could help more. VET (Navy)
Thanks for the help guys, time 2 call the shop that did the car, they are a reputable powder coater/ paint shop but a lock Smith and/or look through my parts stash may be in order... Ps. 69gs 430 wildcat very rare...
Excuse me, ment to write 1BAADCAT. Mr. Dad had a 64 ,Wildcat, that's the car I learned to drive and got my license at 15. Unfortunately I didn't get to drive it very long when he noticed I had burned all the rubber off his rear tires, ops .
I wonder if the shop put the entire lock cylinder into the powder coat oven? If they did, perhaps that melted the pins to not allow them to move enough to turn the key. Just my random thought from (far) in the outfield.
Hum, that could be the cause. The pins are exposed. You would think the power coater would tape the cylinder off.
