Recommend me a cheap way to self repair my car
Discussion
Hi,
I have a large scratch on the door of my car, and would like to get it looking better. The car isn't worth much and I don't have much money to spare at the moment. So I'm looking for recommendations around what products/ methods I could use to repair it myself. I don't want to spend more than £30 & 30 minutes. Doesn't need to be perfect, just to a standard where you could walk by and not notice. It's right at the bottom of the driver's door.
TIA
I have a large scratch on the door of my car, and would like to get it looking better. The car isn't worth much and I don't have much money to spare at the moment. So I'm looking for recommendations around what products/ methods I could use to repair it myself. I don't want to spend more than £30 & 30 minutes. Doesn't need to be perfect, just to a standard where you could walk by and not notice. It's right at the bottom of the driver's door.
TIA
Edited by EB89 on Monday 8th May 22:48
Edited by EB89 on Monday 8th May 22:49
EB89 said:
Hi,
I don't want to spend more than £30 & 30 minutes.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.I don't want to spend more than £30 & 30 minutes.
For £30 and more time, some touch-in paint and wetsanding will probably do a good job of getting it a lot less noticeable.
For 30 minutes and more money, have a cuppa while a man-in-a-van does it for you.
For £30 and 30 minutes, it'll probably look a bit nasty.
Blue Oval84 said:
Meguiars Scratch-X or G3 compound to see what improvement can be made without paint.
I'll be honest though I think it will need touch in paint, sanding and polishing. If you don't have a rotary polisher, I'd save up and spend £70-£80 getting it blown in properly.
The scratch filler is a good call. As for getting someone to "blow it in properly for £70-80" please can you let me know of the bodyshop that's prepared to put paint in the gun for under £100?I'll be honest though I think it will need touch in paint, sanding and polishing. If you don't have a rotary polisher, I'd save up and spend £70-£80 getting it blown in properly.
I'd use a touchup penm if it were deep, otherwise just scratch polish.
battered said:
The scratch filler is a good call. As for getting someone to "blow it in properly for £70-80" please can you let me know of the bodyshop that's prepared to put paint in the gun for under £100?
I'd use a touchup penm if it were deep, otherwise just scratch polish.
Sorry I probably used inaccurate words when I said "properly".I'd use a touchup penm if it were deep, otherwise just scratch polish.
What I should have said was "find a cheap smart repairer who can blow some paint over it on the cheap which will give a repair much better than you can get with a touch in pen but not as good as a real bodyshop"
Incidentally, my local in Sunderland has put paint in the gun for less than £100 before. £400 will get you three to four panels resprayed.
Blue Oval84 said:
battered said:
The scratch filler is a good call. As for getting someone to "blow it in properly for £70-80" please can you let me know of the bodyshop that's prepared to put paint in the gun for under £100?
I'd use a touchup penm if it were deep, otherwise just scratch polish.
Sorry I probably used inaccurate words when I said "properly".I'd use a touchup penm if it were deep, otherwise just scratch polish.
What I should have said was "find a cheap smart repairer who can blow some paint over it on the cheap which will give a repair much better than you can get with a touch in pen but not as good as a real bodyshop"
Incidentally, my local in Sunderland has put paint in the gun for less than £100 before. £400 will get you three to four panels resprayed.
Because you can't turn out a decent job quickly.
The only way to turn out jobs that cheap is by cutting corners and the easiest corners to cut are in the prep.
Correct prep is the first step to a job that will last.
Correct prep takes time - and time costs money.
Even if the OP were to use a cowboy Smart repairer there should still be some prep put in before priming, painting and finally lacquering and blending.
I'm a Smart repairer (not a cowboy) and I honestly wouldn't get out of bed to do a job for £70-£80.
Taking into account that when done properly there isn't much damage that can be repaired in under 2.5 hours and add in some travelling time and it would work out at £28 per hr.
Take out vat, materials, public liability insurance, van insurance, van servicing, replacement tools fund, etc, etc, etc ......... and I'd be very lucky to be running at £12 per hour - and then there's income tax and national insurance to come out of that.
If that was the case then rather than try and run a business I may just as well go and get a job flipping burgers!
Squiggs, unfortunately that shows that in any downturn the costs for any small business like yours will stay high but the clients will flee. Inflation is a crazy thing and no one is complaining about it.
Anyway, in order not to do threadjack, what would the approximate cost of repairing this?
Anyway, in order not to do threadjack, what would the approximate cost of repairing this?
greghm said:
Squiggs, unfortunately that shows that in any downturn the costs for any small business like yours will stay high but the clients will flee. Inflation is a crazy thing and no one is complaining about it.
Anyway, in order not to do threadjack, what would the approximate cost of repairing this?
I've been trading for nearly 11 years now ..... my costs go up ..... I pass them on ...... no drop off in clients ....but my clients want a perfect repair!Anyway, in order not to do threadjack, what would the approximate cost of repairing this?
I usually work on lease returns or people with OCD over their cars (I've also worked for what was one of the top Detailing companies in the UK - before they started producing their own products that they are now distributed worldwide!
I don't deal with people that want an alternative to DIYing it for £30 in 30 mins!
A repair to that damage ..... on a panel of that size ...... £160 minimum .... if I took it on!
Sometimes it's better to turn jobs down and pass them onto a bodyshop - rather than take something on, make a hash of it, and it potentially damaging my reputation.
I know my limits within 'Smart repairs' .... unlike some that will spray a whole side of car outside (or the bodyshops that do four panels for £400)
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