again with a dry cloth. Never use alcohol,
petrol, nail polish remover or thinner to clean
leather upholstery.
3After cleaning, regularly treat leather
upholstery with a leather wax. Never use car
wax on leather upholstery.
4In areas where the interior of the vehicle is
subject to bright sunlight, cover leather seats
with a sheet if the vehicle is to be left out for
any length of time.
5 Body repair- minor damage
3
Repair of minor scratches
1If the scratch is superficial and does not
penetrate to the metal of the body, repair is
very simple. Lightly rub the scratched area
with a fine rubbing compound to remove
loose paint and built-up wax. Rinse the area
with clean water.
2Apply touch-up paint to the scratch, using a
small brush. Continue to apply thin layers of
paint until the surface of the paint in the
scratch is level with the surrounding paint.
Allow the new paint at least two weeks to
harden, then blend it into the surrounding
paint by rubbing with a very fine rubbing
compound. Finally, apply a coat of wax to the
scratch area.
3If the scratch has penetrated the paint and
exposed the metal of the body, causing the
metal to rust, a different repair technique is
required. Remove all loose rust from the
bottom of the scratch with a pocket knife,
then apply rust inhibiting paint to prevent the
formation of rust in the future. Using a rubber
or nylon applicator, coat the scratched area
with glaze-type filler. If required, the filler can
be mixed with thinner to provide a very thin
paste, which is ideal for filling narrow
scratches. Before the glaze filler in the scratch
hardens, wrap a piece of smooth cotton cloth
around the tip of a finger. Dip the cloth in
thinner and then quickly wipe it along the
surface of the scratch. This will ensure that
the surface of the filler is slightly hollow. The
scratch can now be painted over as described
earlier in this section.
Repair of dents
4When repairing dents, the first job is to pull
the dent out until the affected area is as close
as possible to its original shape. There is no
point in trying to restore the original shape
completely as the metal in the damaged area
will have stretched on impact and cannot be
restored to its original contours. It is better to
bring the level of the dent up to a point which
is about 1/8-inch below the level of the
surrounding metal. In cases where the dent is
very shallow, it is not worth trying to pull it out
at all.
5If the back side of the dent is accessible, it
can be hammered out gently from behindusing a soft-face hammer. While doing this,
hold a block of wood firmly against the
opposite side of the metal to absorb the
hammer blows and prevent the metal from
being stretched.
6If the dent is in a section of the body which
has double layers, or some other factor makes
it inaccessible from behind, a different
technique is required. Drill several small holes
through the metal inside the damaged area,
particularly in the deeper sections. Screw
long, self-tapping screws into the holes just
enough for them to get a good grip in the
metal. Now the dent can be pulled out by
pulling on the protruding heads of the screws
with locking pliers.
7The next stage of repair is the removal of
paint from the damaged area and from an
inch or so of the surrounding metal. This is
done with a wire brush or sanding disc in a
drill motor, although it can be done just as
effectively by hand with sandpaper. To
complete the preparation for filling, score the
surface of the bare metal with a screwdriver or
the tang of a file, or drill small holes in the
affected area. This will provide a good grip
for the filler material. To complete the repair,
see the subsection on filling and painting later
in this Section.
Repair of rust holes or gashes
8Remove all paint from the affected area and
from an inch or so of the surrounding metal
using a sanding disc or wire brush mounted in
a drill motor. If these are not available, a few
sheets of sandpaper will do the job just as
effectively.
9With the paint removed, you will be able to
determine the severity of the corrosion and
decide whether to replace the whole panel, if
possible, or repair the affected area. New
body panels are not as expensive as most
people think and it is often quicker to refit a
new panel than to repair large areas of rust.
10Remove all trim pieces from the affected
area except those which will act as a guide to
the original shape of the damaged body, such
as headlight shells, etc. Using metal snips or a
hacksaw blade, remove all loose metal and
any other metal that is badly affected by rust.
Hammer the edges of the hole in to create a
slight depression for the filler material.
11Wire brush the affected area to remove
the powdery rust from the surface of the
metal. If the back of the rusted area is
accessible, treat it with rust inhibiting paint.
12Before filling is done, block the hole in
some way. This can be done with sheet metal
riveted or screwed into place, or by stuffing
the hole with wire mesh.
13Once the hole is blocked off, the affected
area can be filled and painted. See the
following subsection on filling and painting.
Filling and painting
14Many types of body fillers are available,
but generally speaking, body repair kits which
contain filler paste and a tube of resinhardener are best for this type of repair work.
A wide, flexible plastic or nylon applicator will
be necessary for imparting a smooth and
contoured finish to the surface of the filler
material. Mix up a small amount of filler on a
clean piece of wood or cardboard (use the
hardener sparingly). Follow the
manufacturer’s instructions on the package,
otherwise the filler will set incorrectly.
15Using the applicator, apply the filler paste
to the prepared area. Draw the applicator
across the surface of the filler to achieve the
desired contour and to level the filler surface.
As soon as a contour that approximates the
original one is achieved, stop working the
paste. If you continue, the paste will begin to
stick to the applicator. Continue to add thin
layers of paste at 20-minute intervals until the
level of the filler is just above the surrounding
metal.
16Once the filler has hardened, the excess
can be removed with a body file. From then
on, progressively finer grades of sandpaper
should be used, starting with a 180-grit paper
and finishing with 600-grit wet-or-dry paper.
Always wrap the sandpaper around a flat
rubber or wooden block, otherwise the
surface of the filler will not be completely flat.
During the sanding of the filler surface, the
wet-or-dry paper should be periodically rinsed
in water. This will ensure that a very smooth
finish is produced in the final stage.
17At this point, the repair area should be
surrounded by a ring of bare metal, which in
turn should be encircled by the finely
feathered edge of good paint. Rinse the repair
area with clean water until all of the dust
produced by the sanding operation is gone.
18Spray the entire area with a light coat of
primer. This will reveal any imperfections in
the surface of the filler. Repair the
imperfections with fresh filler paste or glaze
filler and once more smooth the surface with
sandpaper. Repeat this spray-and-repair
procedure until you are satisfied that the
surface of the filler and the feathered edge of
the paint are perfect. Rinse the area with
clean water and allow it to dry completely.
19The repair area is now ready for painting.
Spray painting must be carried out in a warm,
dry, windless and dust free atmosphere.
These conditions can be created if you have
access to a large indoor work area, but if you
are forced to work in the open, you will have
to pick the day very carefully. If you are
working indoors, dousing the floor in the work
area with water will help settle the dust which
would otherwise be in the air. If the repair area
is confined to one body panel, mask off the
surrounding panels. This will help minimise
the effects of a slight mismatch in paint
colour. Trim pieces such as chrome strips,
door handles, etc., will also need to be
masked off or removed. Use masking tape
and several thickness of newspaper for the
masking operations.
20Before spraying, shake the paint can
thoroughly, then spray a test area until the
11•2 Bodywork and fittings
3261 Jaguar XJ6
personal injury or damage to the airbag
system, DO NOT work in the vicinity of the
steering column or instrument panel. The
manufacturer recommends that, on airbag
equipped models, the following procedure
should be left to a dealer service
department or other repair workshop
because of the special tools and techniques
required to disable the airbag system.
1Remove the steering wheel (Chapter 10)
2Remove the knob from the rheostat
(dimmer) for the instrument panel lights (see
illustration).
3Remove the lower steering column cover
screws (see illustration), then detach the
lower cover.
4Working through the lower cover opening,
remove the four screws securing the upper
half of the cover, then pull the cover forward
and out to remove it (see illustration).
5Refitting is the reverse of removal.
28 Cowl cover-
removal and refitting
2
1Remove the windscreen wiper arms (see
Chapter 12).2Remove the retaining screws located along
the top of the cowl cover (see illustration).
3Lift the cowl cover up slightly, then detach
the electrical connectors and the spray nozzle
hoses from the backside of the cowl cover.
4Detach the cowl cover from the vehicle.
5Refitting is the reverse of removal.
29 Seats- removal and refitting
2
Front seat
1Position the seat all the way forward or all
the way to the rear to access the front seat
retaining bolts.
2Detach any bolt trim covers and remove the
retaining bolts (see illustration).
3Tilt the seat upward to access the
underneath, then unplug any electrical
connectors and lift the seat from the vehicle.
4Refitting is the reverse of removal.
Rear seat
5Remove retaining screws at the lower edge
of the seat cushion (see illustration). Then lift
up on the front edge and remove the cushion
from the vehicle.
6Detach the retaining bolts at the lower edge
of the seat back.
7Lift up on the lower edge of the seat back to
release the clips securing the top. Then
remove it from the vehicle.
8Refitting is the reverse of removal.
11•14 Bodywork and fittings
27.4 Remove the four screws securing the
upper half of the steering column cover
28.2 Remove the screws (arrowed)
located along the top of the cowl cover29.2 Use a Torx bit to remove the front
seat retaining bolts (arrowed)
3261 Jaguar XJ6 27.2 Pull off the knob from the instrument panel light rheostat
27.3 Remove the lower steering column cover screws
29.5 Detach the screws (arrowed) along
the lower edge of the seat cove