ASTON MARTIN DB7 1997 Workshop Manual

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Body and Trim
Body Repair
Precautions
Paint
Ensure that there is efficient ventilation at all times. Paint spraying should be confined to spray booths.
Anyone with a history asthma should not be engaged in any process which involves the use of isocyanates.
Any operator working inside a spray booth where isocyanates are present must use air-fed breathing equipment.
Supplied air to the visor should be fed at the recommended pressure and filtered to remove oil, water and fumes.
Operators involved in handling, mixing or spraying should wear protective clothing, gloves and goggles to avoid
skin and eye contact. A Paticle mask or canister typr respirator should be worn when sanding.
Applied heat
When welding, flame cutting or brazing and so on, goggles, a mask or fume extractor and flameproof protective
clothing should be used always.
It is especially important when working with polyurethane compounds to use air-fed breathing equipment.
Ensure that at all times the appropriate fire fighting equipment isavailableand that personnel are trained in its use.
Metal repair
Wear appropriate eye and hand protection when sanding, drilling, cutting, chiselling, flatting or welding. Wear a
face mask or air-fed visor when sanding or flatting either body solder or
fillers.
When a soldering operation has been

completed,
remove swarf from the work area and wash your hands thoroughly.
General Repair Notes
The following precautions should be noted before any work is carried out:
• disconnect the vehicle battery ground
lead,
taking note of the reconnection procedures
• Make sure that you have read and understood the safety related procedures in this section.
Caution:
Electric arc
welding must not
be
used on the
vehicle as the high
voltages produced by
this process
will
cause
irreparable

damage
to the electrical control and
microprocessor
systems.

All trim and electrical components in the locality of the repair must be removed or disconnected prior to panel
removal or replacement.
Welding and Gas Process Special Notes
Resistance spot welding, MIG welding and all gas processes may only be carried out on bare, unpainted or unplated

metal.
The flanges of panels, which are to be welded together, must be clean, corrosion free and treated as
appropriate with either weld-through or inter-weld sealer.
The resistance spot welding equ ipment used in vehicle repair does not always produce
a
weld of
equ
ivalent strength
to that produced in manufacturing. This means that a single row of spot welds should be spaced on a pitch of 19-
25 mm, which will usually result in more spot welds than found in the original factory joint.
Use a resistance spot weld cutter to remove resistance spot welds. Where a new joint is to be MIC welded, cut the
old resistance spot welds from the panel that is to be retained; the resulting holes are then used for plug welding.
Suitable holes may be drilled or punched as follows:
• 8.0 mm for sections up to 1.5 mm thickness
• 10.0 mm for thicker sections.
Always refer to the welding equipment manufacturers diagrams and tables for the relevant procedure.
May 1996 7-3

Body and Trim
Body Repair ^^
Steel Body Parts - Repair^ Remove and
Replace
Removal

1.
Expose the resistance spot
weld.
For those spot
welds that are not obviously visible use a rotary
wire brush fitted to an air drill or a hand held wire

brush.

9.
Prepare the new panel joint edges for welding by
cleaning to bright metal, both interior and exterior
edges.
Apply weld through primer or inter-weld sealer to
all surfaces to be resistance spot welded.
Where appropriate, apply metal-to-metal adhesive
or sealer in accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions.
Caution: Do not
burn
off undersea I,
use a
'hot knife' or
a

suitable solvent.
2. Cut out the spot welds using aZipcutter or roto-Bor.
At this point it may be necessary to cut out the bulk
of a panel using a pneumatic saw.
Note: On
some
panels,
before removing the bulk of the
panel, brazed
areas
and MIC welded
seams
should be
removed.
3. Separate the spot welded joints and remove the
panel remnants.
Preparing Old Surfaces

1.
Remove the weld nuggets with a sander and 36 grit
disc.

2.
Clean all flanges to a bright smooth finish.
3. Straighten existing panel joint edges as required.
Preparing New Surfaces

1.
Mark off the area of the new panel and cut to size
leaving approximately two inches overlap on the
existing panel

2.
Offer up the new panel or section and align it with
the associated parts.
3. Clamp the panel into position.

4.
Where necessary, cut the new and original panels
to form a but joint.
5. Remove all clamps and the new panel.
6. If required, apply the inner panel protection and or
sound insulation.
Panel Alignment

1.
Align the replacement panel with the associated
panel and clamp it in position.

2.
With certain panels it may be necessary to tack
weld or use PK screws.
Welding

1.
MIC tack the butt joints.

2.
Re-check the alignment and the panel contours as
necessary.
3. Select the correct arms for resistance spot welding
and ensure that the tips are correctly trimmed.
Note: It
is
recommended that
the arms are
not more than
12 in (300 mm) in length.

4.
Test the equipment for satisfactory operation using
test coupons.
In the absence of test equ ipment
a
satisfactory weld
can be verified by pulling the test coupons apart
and viewing the welded condition.
5. Resistance spot weld where required. Note the
presence of zinc coated panels and treat as
previously described.
6. Dress back all MIC tack welds.
7. MIG seam weld the butt joints.
8. Dress all welds as required.
9. Final brazeand lead load as necessary priorto paint
preparation.
7-4 May 1996

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Body and Trim
Body Repair - RTM Body Panels
RTM Body Parts
Certain exterior panels of the vehicle are
manufactured from RTM as shown as shaded areas
in Figure 1. The Front and rear bumpers are made
from
R-RIM

Repair Procedures
Cosmetic Damage
Repair the paintwork using standard procedures.
Substrate surface
Where the defect does not affect the physical
strength of the panel, fill and repaint using standard
techniques.
Substrate Penetration
No reliable repair procedures are possible to correct
major physical damage to RTM panels. Any small
defect which do not affect the intgrity or security of
the panel may be filled and repainted at the owners
risk.
Uote: Becauseof the inherent flexibility of plastic panels,
hard filler may
crack.
Such repairs cannot
therefore
be
guaranteed.
Where the damage affects the security and or the
integrity of the panel, it must be replaced.
Precautions during Paint Operations
When any repair operation is being completed on
the DB7 paintwork, take particular care to protect
the leather upholstery and trim from paint
contamination.
Figure 1.
Damage Recognition
Before any remedial action is carried out the
damaged should be
assessed.
If the cover has been
holed or torn it must be replaced. Repair should be
attempted only if the damage falls into one of the
following three categories.
Cosmetic
Substrate surface
Substrate
penetration
Abrasion to the surface paint
finish
Deep scratches, gouges or
localised radial stress cracks.
Splits not exceeding 100 mm.
Splits radiating from a gouge
and accompanied by localised
stress cracks.
May 1996 7-5

Body and Trim
Body Panel and Trim Removal 5^7
Body Panel and Trim Removal
The following diagrams show the fixings for all
removeable body and trim panels.
Sheet 1. Front Apron
Sheet 2. Front Undertray
Sheet 3. Wheel Arch Liners
Sheet 4. Side Sills (top fixings)
Sheets. Side Sills (bottom fixings)
Sheet 6. Rear Bumper
Sheet 7. Doors
Sheet 8. Door Liners
Sheet 9. Door Liner (components)
Sheet 10. Steering Wheel
Sheet 11. Column Switches
Sheet 12. Instrument Panel (surround)
Sheet 13. Instrument Panel
Sheet 14. Facia Underscuttles
Sheet 15. Glove Box
Sheet 16. Facia Mountings (1)
Sheet
1
7. Facia Mountings (2)
Sheet 18. Console Instruments
Sheet 19. Radio
Sheet 20. Front Seats
Sheet
21.
Ashtray
Sheet 22. Centre Console
Sheet 23. Seat ECU Covers
Sheet 24. Rear Console
Sheet 25. Rear Seats and C Post Trim
Sheet 26. Quarter Panels, B Post Panels, Parcel Shelf
Sheet 27. Headlining
7-6 May 1996

Body and Trim
Sheet 3
Wheel Arch
Liners

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