How To Fix Dents in Your Car
- December 20, 2007
- 2,234 Views
Careening shopping carts, flying pebbles, and vengeful exes can all leave their mark. Here’s how to undo the damage.
You Will Need
- A dent hammer
- A dent dolly
- 1/8” drill
- Dent-pulling tool
- Sandpaper - from 36-grit rough to 1500-grit extremely fine
- Body putty
- Spray primer
- Auto paint
- A buffer
Step 1: Access both sides of the dent
Remove whatever interior panels or components are necessary to get to the front and back of the dent.
Step 2: Drill center of dent
Drill into the center of the dent with the 1/8” drill.
Step 3: Pull dent out
Pull the dent out using the dent-pulling tool.
Step 4: Smooth with a dolly and hammer
Place the dolly – a surface for pounding dents – on the rear of the dent and use the dent hammer to smooth out the dent.
Step 5: Remove paint
Use 36 grit-sandpaper to remove the paint from the dent and one inch of the surrounding area.
Step 6: Fill with putty
Fill the entire area with body putty.
Step 7: Sand putty
Sand the putty down until the entire surface is smooth. Start with a 36-grit sandpaper and work your way down to a 120-grit sandpaper.
Step 8: Prime
Prime the area with spray primer. Apply six coats of primer, letting the primer dry between coats.
Step 9: Sand primer
Sand the primer with 600-grit sandpaper.
Step 10: Paint
Apply matching auto paint.
Step 11: Lightly sand and buff
Lightly sand the paint with the 1500-grit sandpaper, then buff the paint to bring up the shine.
In 2002, there was roughly one car for every 11 people in the world.
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