Hey everyone, I'm looking for advice from people who have put in work..not guesses on what to do. I'm sure the advice I will hopefully get, WILL be helpful for MANY others.

Ok, I have a clean paint job. all original, clean clear coat and all. Its been a garage kept vehicle, but I've been driving this vehicle ALOT in the city, so wear on the paint and body is going to happen. I have around 5 door dings on both sides of the car. I would like to repair the door dings myself and not spend $500+ on Paintless Dent Repair. I've gotten quotes.

I want to use body filler. I have matching paint and clear coat, so painting isnt an issue. And im very experienced in spaying, clearing, cutting orange peel down, and all polishing polishing steps there is, myself simply DIY.
Can someone give me a step by step on how to use filler on a body panel and properly fill in the ding and smooth it out? how far outside the damaged area must i sand? example: 10"x10"?
how deep do i sand? how much filler to us for a door ding?
thanks in advanced

 

also is it best to sand down the whole panel and repair them all at once? or can I keep as much original paint as possible by doing one at a time?

 

I dident get much help in my thread asking this question and i guess would still like to know, but i would say your best bet is Youtube. Its filled with crazy good lessons, thats what i have been learning from and so far its not comming out to bad.

 

For your 1st ? the 1st thread in the paint and body explains that and if you don't get it look at youtube like builda'Teg_92 said.Check this link out http://www.youtube.com/user/mcqueenp.../3/DF88S8w8eMI
2nd ?:I just make sure all the edges are featheredged and i cant feel a transition between layers.If I had to guess I think 4 inches past repair area would be safe.
3rd?:To bare metal
4th?:Not alot

 

yeah man, theirs no experienced people on here I guess
I'm on the hunt for as much info as possible

Thanks for the link and info, good videos that guy has

 

when using body filler on metal, you need to grind/sand down below the paint and primer to the bare metal. It is best to either get from behind the dent and tap it out, or weld a stud onto the dent and use a slide hammer to get it out...so that you use very little filler-- however, if it is a shallow dent then you should be ok. I would sand it down with like 60/80 grit down to the bare metal. I would sand around the dent about 2 inches past it, to the base metal. Sand the surrounding paint down with 220 or something similar.

Mix the filler on a mixing board (not cardboard or wood), and mix a correct amount of hardener based on the outside temperature. Try a sample batch to see how long you have just in case you mix it too hot. When you mix the filler, dont stir it, use your putty knife and try and flip it as if you are kneeding dough to make sure you get any air bubbles out. Mix it so that you have a consistent color. I would use a metal putty knife, wider is better.. depending on the size of the dent. Try and fill the dent as cleanly as possible, trying to do one final swipe. This will eliminate any ridges that you will have to sand out.

Wait for it to cure. You will then need a sanding block. Some use durablocks or similar brands, and others make their own. I make my own. I use the pink foam, cut it into different sizes and use either rubber cement or spray adhesive to adhere the sandpaper to the pink foam.

Sand the filler with a long block, at least 10 inches long. The longer the block, the less chance of having ripples in your paints finish. Sand in a X formation, no circular sanding. Start with something low, say- 80 grit to cut through the top layer or filler so that it wont gum up on your paper. Sand in that pattern from 80 up to about 400 grit. I like to use the guide coat technique to find low spots before moving onto primer/sealer/paint.

I hope that helped a bit?

 

another question. I've read in alot of articles and things on the net, that glazing putty can be used ontop paint, clear, primer..can I simply do all methods you suggest, but apply glazing putty on very scuffed clear coat? or take it to base and glaze it? I can tap them out from this inside so very little will be used.

 

paint isnt the best foundation for bodywork if you do use a dual action sander and some eighty grit to feather out the paint. i would take the dented surface to metal though. then i would use picks , hammers , dollys to straighten the metal then a skim coat of metal glaze. 80 grit then 120 then 150 grit/paint prep for primer.

my thread is on my sig, might be some help

 

im not disagreeing with spray2020's technique, because thats how it has been done for years... but with the new bondo technology now a days, they claim you dont always need to go down to bare metal.(although this depends on which brand/line of body filler you choose) but the idea is, you want to avoid destroying the E-coat. BUt in many cases if the dent is deep enough, you do have to try to knock most of it out as much as you can. because bondo too thick can crack. the thickness of the body filler really shouldnt be more then the thickness of a dime. thats why its best to try to knock out the dent as much as possible.

and people still do it, but i really wouldnt use 60grit. you're going to end up grinding the metal too thin if u do that... MY method is 80grit to remove the paint. then remove the 80grit scratches with 150. then lay bondo.(laying it on 80grit is fine but i choose 150 as a personal preference) let dry, rough it out with 80, finish in 150 again and even finish sanding in 220... then lay primer. let dry, block primer, end in whatever grit the sealer requires then seal- base- clear

and u always wanna keep your repair areas as small as possible...so try to use a block size that is adequate for the repair area. u will use less paint and material this way.


if your dent really is just a small ripple in the body or paint, then you can use glazing putty... glazing putty is for really small surface dents that are really shallow, and scratches etc.... u dont have to break thru the paint... u can use a red scotch brite which actually is pretty course (or 220grit)... and scuff it up, then lay glazing putty.

u say you are experienced in painting. so i hope you know how to prep the rest of the panel or do spot n blends, or blends on panels. i hope all this information was "professional" enough for you!

 

Vey useful info! I wasnt looking for perfessionals, more like people who have "put in work" and the people who really got their hands dirty hands-on. Ok, the dings are about a dime thick deep and the paint isnt broken nor cracked. I will take off the inner panels and push the dings out more. I am going to use professional grade Bondo glazing putty. The paint that im using is paint i a rattle can. I have used it on the body before finishing up with clear coat, and it blended in pretty well, after cut and buff.

If i get enough votes, ill post before, during, after pics.