Brends4

Fixing your ugly damaged and dented body can take time and can empty your wallet really quickly. Just want to throw some tips for those new to these types of projects.

Things you'll need:
Paint sprayer (you can rent these)
a Heated garage or spray booth
buffer 45$
Premium gold bondo 12$
a dent puller 25$
glazing putty 5$
orbital sander 60$
oem paint 150-300$ < usually the most expensive item
Plenty of sand paper running from 100-2000 grit 10$

Don't waste your money buying aerosol cans anything that says it will look as good, or is a direct match on an aerosol can is lying, The reason so is even if it is a direct match to your oem paint you will not be able to match the smoothness of oem paint with your aerosol, you will most likely end up with an orange peel like texture.

For dents and i cant stress this enough, anything on the quarter panel means you are in the SOL department you will eventually have to use bondo but how much depends on your skill level. Thats why a dent puller comes in handy you can get one fairly cheap and will save you plenty of time and money. How ever when you've pulled as much you can this is where you will have to start applying bondo (If you haven't already sanded to bare metal now is the time) , Use the automotive bondo mixed with the hardener (2 part), and a flat card to apply smooth strokes evening it out with the contour of the body. It can be very frustrating if you don't have a sander even though they are pricey it is worth it. After letting the bondo cure use your sander and with smooth strokes match the contour of the body of the car, don't be afraid to sand outside around the edges of a dent its harmless at this point, smooth the bondo out with 100-300 grit paper until it is fairly smooth and when running your hand across their is no noticeable difference, now follow up with higher and higher grit paper until it is perfectly smooth to your liking the better your sanding job is= the end result. now you may run a air duster over it to make sure there is no small holes, any small holes must be filled with spot putty and hand sanded. Finish until completely smooth with no holes. Now apply an automotive primer to this side of the vehicle similar to your oem paint if possible. The reason being is to compare how your bondo side looks compared to the car it will also help you identify any blemishes you didn't notice before. Now is where your project gets pricey, you have 2 options either look for your honda exterior color code along with the factory letter signified to the code or take a part like your fender to a paint shop they will scan it and give you an exact match, both are pricey, after receiving your paint make sure you get correct information on what to use to thin it out, so you can use it in your paint sprayer. Make sure the whole area is primed and sanded smooth with the finest grit paper. apply the top coat of paint (primer is your base) and let dry for the recommended amount of time before applying the next coat. You will want to use multiple coats but make sure the paint is dry each time. As a side note wear protective gear this paint has some chemicals in it you definitely don't want in your lungs after applying the last coat you will want to give the paint time to dry and cure before applying the clear coat, so in your heated garage or paint booth let it dry 24 to 48 hours or as recommended, Make sure you sand in between coats especially on the final coat, you want no blemishes, apply the clear coat as recommended and fade it into the factory clear coat. after letting it dry its time for some touch up sanding with a fine grit to remove excess clear coat. When thats everything's said and done its time to buff, the whole car to see how your paint looks with along with the rest of the car, you shouldn't be able to see a difference.

Painting this way doesn't just go for bondo, a cracked bumper, a scraped mirror can be replaced and are fairly cheap and even come pre primed, just make sure to take your time I cant stress that enough. A rushed job will reflect on the quality.


Interior Never paint over ugly interior pieces they are different than the exterior and DO NOT take paint very well the paint will crack very quickly. Never try to repair an interior theyre like 20$ at the most at a junkyard.

That last paragraph should be obvious but i've seen so many people "customize" there honda i'm dumbfounded by it.

A few last words:
1) never use spot putty like regular bondo it will not look good and is very soft and weak.
2) never ever paint with aerosol cans to match oem paint
3) be careful when picking your paint the paint code will be on the inside of your door near vehicle specifications under "ext color" there is a 3- 6 digit paint code and in the bottom right corner will be the factory code a single letter or number that will also be the same as the 11th digit of your vin number.
4)Paint wont cure in colder temps so make sure your working in a hot area or heated garage/ booth

Brends4

Never use spot glazing putty like this, this is something my car had when i bought it,





If possible check for damage that cant be seen from the outside, this was a real mess but fixable.

DanPaints

I think there is some helpful information here for touchup jobs on a daily driver or a car you're trying to sell, but there are some things that I do not recommend, especially the way you're painting.

You really don't want to wait 24 hours to let your basecoat dry. Basecoats have an open window and are meant to be cleared far before a 24 hour period. Everything I've painted I've waited 10-30 minutes before clearcoating. That way the clear and base bond together and you wont have problems with de-lamination (Clear flaking off of the basecoat).

Also, you don't want to blend your clear on a panel, it will just come back in a year or two when the sun sits on it. do your repair, prep the rest of the panel with 800 grit, basecoat the area you repaired making sure blend the basecoat into the old finish, then clearcoat the entire panel.

If you know what you're doing you can paint over interior pieces. I've done it for years.

Also, if you know what you're doing you can repair cracked bumpers. No need to buy new panels. Takes like an hour to fix.

I also suggest using a block on your bodywork, not just a sander.

Brends4

Considering you've got paints in your name id say you also do automotive bodywork, any input is welcome man im just throwing out some tips of the process i use.