Do it Yourself Auto Body Repair

Doing your own body repair work can save you hundreds of dollars. Not everybody have the extra money to take their vehicle to the body shop so being able to do it yourself will save you lots of money. Simple damages to your cars panel can easily be fixed by drilling and pounding and also filling to bring the panel back smooth again. Now if you have severe damages to your panel like sharp edges or creases, it will be less time consuming if you just replace that particular panel. Which you can find a panel from a salvage yard cause it can get a little pricey going to the auto store to order a new one.You would need to know if your vehicle damages are repairable or replaceable so there are some key factors like if the damages is on or near the edges of the particular panel. Be sure to take a good look to see just how bad the damage is. You will be checking to see how deep it is, if it has sharp creases, and check to see if it can be brought back to it’s normal shape with a little drilling hammering and filling all three is very important. If you would prefer to replace the panel check to see if it can be unbolted or re-bolted or does it has to be cut off and welded back together. Repairing simple dents will cause for you to have tools and materials. You will need a body hammer and dolly, a slide hammer dent puller, a sanding block and sand paper, also a disc sander. All these tools are very inexpensive. When doing this you will need to buy a can of auto body filler which is sold at your local auto parts store. There is also a hardener that usually comes with the filler so no need to buy it separately but you need both so make sure it’s in there. You will also need a putty knife or any type flat surface or whatever you wish to apply the filler on with. Now after the repair is done you will need a primer to spray on the finish area. It may sound like alot but actually the procedure is very simple.

If you can get to the back of the dented panel area you can simply hammer the damage area right back into place. Never hammer to hard or you could reverse the dent and cause a bubble appearing from the outside. The dents that can’t be reached you can drill about one eighth inch hole in to the center of the dent and screw the slide hammer into the hole and than you will be able to pull the dent out. You can also use a dent rod to finish pulling the dent out. Once the metal is almost back to normal then you sand the damaged area out to about two to three inches of the undamaged area with 80 grit sand paper. Repeat with 100 grit paper until down to the metal. Now on a clean surface mix up your filler with the hardener. Clean the damage area and apply the filler over the area quickly. Always apply quickly cause you don’t want it to start to dry. Allow it to dry and once it is sand it down with 80 grit paper. If it has no spots then you are ready to use the 320 grit sand paper to get it really smooth just like the original paint. Be sure to sand until you can’t feel the difference of the paint simply use your fingers. With the area clean again spray a thin layer of the primer. Continue to sand it with the 380 grit paper and finish with a final sanding with the 400 grit paper for a perfect smooth job. Feel free to experiment of spraying the paint yourself with the help of a friend and believe it or not you have just saved yourself hundreds of dollars.