Hidden Spare Car Key for Emergencies

by masoon in Workshop > Cars

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Hidden Spare Car Key for Emergencies

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This is a sure fire way to insure you will always have an emergency spare on your car. I never liked the design of those magnetic spare key holders, seems like snow and icy conditions could knock it off, and a thief could spot that in a heart beat. *Edited Note- So many people have commented on ways to hide a Rfid key that its worth checking out the comments below. This is what I love about the Instructables community, everybody pitches in to help refine ideas. I will edit this again to include the communities ideas and mention the users names to give them credit. Thanks a bunch!

Materials

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Gaffers tape is about the the toughest, stickiest tape I have ever found, if you haven't tried it get a roll. I've had a six inch strip stuck the road in front of my shop for months, snow rain and street sweepers have not taken it up yet. You'll also need a can of automotive undercoating, and some scissors... and of course your spare.

Pick a Place You Will Remember!

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This trick will make it hard to spot the key, so make sure you remember where you put it. I put mine right under the lock on my driver side door, since nobody will ever see it and that's the easiest place for me to reach should I get locked out.

Cut Out Some Tape and Attach the Key

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Clean the chassis or other surface you choose and let it dry. I just wiped mine down, since its so rusty anyways. You can rip gaffers tape off, but I went a head and cut it nice and straight to help disguise it. Stick the key in the middle of the tape. I used two pieces slightly over lapped since my Toyota has a wide key. You might be able to get away with one strip. When its cut out stick it on the underside of your car on the spot you have picked out.

Cover It With Undercoating.

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Undercoating is sprayed on the underside of most cars, its a rust deterrent and sound deadening material. I will coat more of my underside later (which I really need lol) I only did the area where the key is for this tutorial. Undercoating is a very thick gloppy substance and as such deforms the shapes it is sprayed over, this helps disguise the shape of the key! In the first pic you can probably make out the shape of the key if you look hard enough. if I wait a couple of days I can reapply and that shape will disappear completely. Also as road grime and mud etc builds up the key will be further obscured. The best part is the key is now entombed in a water proof sealed container and when I dig it out it will be good as new. The undercoating never truly "cures" so you will be able to dig into it with your finger nails or a small knife even years down the road. Hope this helps someone one day! Thanks for looking.