gareth123 Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Very annoyingly, I put a small but noticable dent and scratch on the side of my car last night going round out tight corner in the village. I manage to wriggle round the same corner everyday but last night I just messed it. Curse and swear. I managed to push it out a bit from inside but will need to do a bit of filling. Fine. When I come to spray it over after careful preparation, is it best to mask off the area, leaving a square line where I have newly sprayed, to rub down later, or not mask and leave a fine spray on the surrounding areas which I will rub down later. Any tips? Thanks Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstring Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Get a photo up buddy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 going on what i have found while mess arsing around with spray , i found with metallics you get a better result if you dont mask off , i done the bottom of my front wing and even after a ruddy good polish you can still see the line (so it will be done again) i found 1500(higher if poss) grit wet n dry around area , fill and sand dent till smooth , then base coat the repaired area light coats near the edge (not the whole 1500 gritted bit), then lacquer over top and get it closer the the edge of the wet n dry bit , leave for a week or so to harden , then wet n dry the repair , followed by compound paste followed by polish and wax , i found this way better as the lacquer has a good keyed surface to bond to , and the cutting compound will then polish up the sanded lacquer back to life nothing little tip after the filler is dry , swack over it with a few coats of lacquer , it tends to fill out the small marks when it hardened , its what i did on my wing , i had nice shiney shiney filler for about a week , but after a quick sand i had a great smooth repair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzzzythedog Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 rub down , fill area , rub down again , fill again , rub down , fill again if needed spray with high build primer , rub back spray with normal primer , rub back now its at this point it cuts 2 ways , a pro hits the car with a base coat then laquars , using a spray can it may or may not be the same depending on the paint you get , so if you need to laquar then so be it and you dont ever laquar to a line but insted laquar to an area thats easy to then cut back and polish in so its not noticeable , simply put you spray a larger area than is needed then hit it will a bit of wet and dry then t-cut then polish and wax to finish , this creates perfect paint and no join visable , only issue is old paint fades to the end finish although cant be great may not blend perfectly due to shade differences , thats life im afraid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks guys. Really helpful. I will post a pic tommorrow for your information. I am not sure knocking the dent out did me any favours as I still have a dent and now some slightly uneven bits around it - though it did push out the dent a bit. I will sort it with your advice. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) Hi there Here are some pics. Not extensive damage but so unnecessary. The denting on the door is really hardly visible -its behind the centre post I need to work on. Will spend a while getting it sorted but will take it steadily. Thanks for your tips so far. I am still so cross with myself. But in the greater scheme of things everything could have been so much worse if I hadn't got the car back into control when I skidded in the rain a couple of weeks ago (subject of another thread) Edited October 11, 2011 by gareth123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe588 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) You need to blend it in like you said. if you just mask a square, you'll end up with a raised square when you take the tape off. sand about 8 inches round your repair with 1500 before you spray, then it will blend in when you wetsand it all and polish up. make sure you use a very high build primer after your filler, if you're just using rattle cans then go to halfords and get the filler primer with the yellow lid. it's pretty good stuff but needs to be put on in very light coats or it cracks, and needs to be block sanded afterwards. block sanding is very important in all sanding stages or it'll look lumpy Edited March 31, 2011 by joe588 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) UPDATE Thanks! I have spent all afternoon on this - rubbing down, filling, rubbing down, filling .... I have now put a primer on it to see what it looks like. Pics below. I am quite pleased. I need to put in some compound paste to fill the little holes but I think I have got the contours OK. Obviously it all looks different when you have the final shiny coat on but I think I am getting there. The last time I did this kind of stuff was filling in old rust heaps in the 1980s and the quality of the filler now is absolutely fantastic compared with then. Easy to rub down, as well. Now, can someone explain in idiots language for me what I do with the final spraying. I got a bit lost with some of your comments. 1) I dry fine rub an area to 8 inches around the damage 2) I then spray with base colour, no masking 3) I then rub down the fine spray that has extended beyond the repair - with rubbing compound or wet n dry paper??? 4) I then lacquer ... again no no masking Is there a difference between UK grades and Europe grades with abrasives? Metric or something??? I cant find anything finer than grade 600 and that is pretty smooth. The filler I used recommended a grade 400 so I am wondering if things are different. Anyway, the results so far look OK (I think). Thanks!! Gareth Edited October 11, 2011 by gareth123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzzzythedog Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 looks and sounds like your doing fine fella id use 800 or 1200 wet and dry ( use it wet every time with a drop of washing up liquid in the warm water ) between the coats , any harsher may leave marks in the paint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 looks and sounds like your doing fine fella id use 800 or 1200 wet and dry ( use it wet every time with a drop of washing up liquid in the warm water ) between the coats , any harsher may leave marks in the paint Thanks. I was surprised myself as to how it is turning out. I guess the final painting will be my real test! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe588 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) Yeah rub round about 8-12 inches with the 1500. you can buy this in halfords. then spray it like a gradient out from the repair. Looking good though! you have the curve spot on you making sure to use a sanding block? Hard bit of wood will do It takes a lot more sanding than you think. As it is in your pics, you'll be able to see the edges of your filler when you paint. Also an essential tip... after you think it's flat, spray a light coat of something a different colour. Then blocksand it again and you'll be able to see the high and low spots take your time, the prep is 90% of the job Remember to sand the full thing including the bit you've just blended it into with the 1500 at the end too Edited March 31, 2011 by joe588 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yeah rub round about 8-12 inches with the 1500. you can buy this in halfords. then spray it like a gradient out from the repair. Looking good though! you have the curve spot on you making sure to use a sanding block? Hard bit of wood will do It takes a lot more sanding than you think. As it is in your pics, you'll be able to see the edges of your filler when you paint. Also an essential tip... after you think it's flat, spray a light coat of something a different colour. Then blocksand it again and you'll be able to see the high and low spots take your time, the prep is 90% of the job Remember to sand the full thing including the bit you've just blended it into with the 1500 at the end too Thanks. I know there is a bit more to do and yes, the prep is always the most important part of the job by far. I did most of the sanding so far with a block of wood I cut to size. The edges, though, I find easier with a finger .. Will report back. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzzzythedog Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 joes 100% correct , hes refering to a dust spray , you spray the finished primer with a dust of a darker colour and then rub back until all the darker overspray has gone away making a perfect surface for the first coat of base coat can i just say that primer is porios , the car can or will start to rust when its just in primer so id advise to get a base coat on it asap rather than run around for a couple of weeks waiting for the right day , you may find rust making bubbles in the filler if you dont , other than this its coming along nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Well, had a hot day here today so I was able to complete the job in the sun. I rubbed down a lot more and filled some small holes. The paint and lacquer went on better than I had expected (cans) and after leaving it in the hot sun for a few hours was able to rub down with some rubbing compound. It could do with a bit more but I will resume again on another day. Verdict? OK for a first attempt I think but not body shop standards. I can see where it is fixed but I don't think it is obvious to anyone in passing. The paint needs a bit more work with rubbing down (T cut) and that will improve it. The colour match is superb (paints 4U.com. If nothing else I have gained some skills and confidence and would tackle other body work repairs now. I have some peeling lacquer over one of the rear arches and I will be happy to sort that out now. Thanks for your help! Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe588 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Looking excellent mate! nice work, it's quite fun isn't it? One tip, the tcut won't get rid of orange peel if there is any. You need to sand with the 1500. Let it dry and see if there is still tiny dimples. As soon as you have something that looks like a blackboard if you know what I mean, then you can tcut You probably know this, but I drew for anyone else interested in trying. This is how to get paint shiny. There is a common misconception that if it's not shiny then it needs more lacquer. This is just assuming a solid colour with no lacquer, or the top coat of lacquer. If you're spraying a solid colour then you should sand it flat before the lacquer too, but metallics can go funny if you sand them. They'll still look alright, but the little bits of fleck become uneven so it's best to spray it as flat as you can. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Edited April 1, 2011 by joe588 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth123 Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Looking excellent mate! nice work, it's quite fun isn't it? One tip, the tcut won't get rid of orange peel if there is any. You need to sand with the 1500. Let it dry and see if there is still tiny dimples. As soon as you have something that looks like a blackboard if you know what I mean, then you can tcut Thanks. Yes, I did quite enjoy it in fact! Very rewarding (if you take it slowly and it works.) Thanks for the orange peel tip - I would always be scared to use abrasive paper (even very fine) on new paint but there you go, you learn something new everyday as they say. A neighbour just asked if I would do his car next - and he was serious. I think I need to learn a bit more on my car first. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe588 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Thanks. Yes, I did quite enjoy it in fact! Very rewarding (if you take it slowly and it works.) Thanks for the orange peel tip - I would always be scared to use abrasive paper (even very fine) on new paint but there you go, you learn something new everyday as they say. A neighbour just asked if I would do his car next - and he was serious. I think I need to learn a bit more on my car first. Thanks again Yeah you're right, the paint needs to be hard, 24 hours should do it though. Just be gentle If you look at my diagram above, you'll see what I mean. Edited April 1, 2011 by joe588 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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