Repair Car Dents
A dent can come in all shapes and size. In some cases, a larger dent will require the entire body panel be replaced. In other cases, special pulling equipment is required to straighten the panel. This article will take you through the steps necessary to fix a small dent on a metal panel in no time at all (and for very little money)!
Instructions
Repair Car Dents
1. Have the dent pulled out. Dent repair will entail either pushing it forward from the rear of the dented surface, or if access from the rear is prohibited, pulling the dent out from a level surface to match the surrounding panel.
2. Level out the dent. Access to the underside of the panel is needed to work with the hammers and dolly. Use the proper dolly that will give you the correct contour to level out the dent through hammering. You will be holding the dolly over the dented area from the outside of the panel and hammering onto the area from the underside of the panel. Sometimes you will need to use different size dollies as you begin to move the dent forward. Your goal will be to bring the metal back to it's original surface level, or as close to it as possible. It is important that the dolly be held firmly onto the metal and not jump around as you hammer. A helper may be needed to hold the dolly in place. If you end up hammering the metal too far out and it exceeds the original surface, simply place the dolly on the underside of the panel and hammer from the outside. Hold the dolly on the underside of the panel until you get the metal just right.
3. Drill holes into the dent. If access to the rear of the panel is prohibited then you will need to put on your safety glasses and drill holes into the dent. Start at the center and work your way around as needed, screwing in your screws and pulling the dent back out as flush to the surrounding surface as possible. You may want to work with larger bits and screws for deeper dents. This will offer a better grip for the screw head. You will need to work with filler in any event so don't worry if the section pulled out is not perfect. Be careful not to pull the dent out too far, in which case you will have to grind the area back down or hammer back until flush or "below" the surrounding surface.
4. Sand down any loose paint and rough up the surface using 120 grit paper. Be sure all wax and oils are removed afterwards. Lacquer thinner or a similar product will work nicely.
5. Use your bondo or body filler to press in the remaining dented area. Build the surface a bit higher than the surrounding area. Try to feather out the filler as you move further from the dent onto the surrounding body surface. Allow the filler to dry.
6. Wrap your 120 grit sandpaper over the correct block and sand until you get a nice level surface. The dent should become invisible. You may have to add more filler to get it just right. For smaller sections, a hand block sander works just fine. You will have more control over your sanding. Your finish should be very smooth.
7. Spray the area with a high build primer. Use your Glazing or Spot putty to fill in any remaining pin holes or scratches in the filler. Just a small amount of compound on a putty knife pressed into the flawed area will suffice. Once this dries, use your 120 or 320 hgrit paper to get the surface really smooth. Use more glaze compound as needed, which is also good to build up a thin surface (1/8 inch if done in 2 seperate layers).
8. Sand with 320, then 600 grit paper to prepare your surface for primer sealer. Paint for a dent free professional job!
Tags: underside panel, Repair Dents, will need, work with, area from, dented area
