How do I repair this...

[joe_90]

First, off this is the wife's car, who decided to use a massive concrete post as a parking sensor.




It will cost about £600 to fix (maybe more), and no doubt, she will tap the car again. We are basically just using this as a family wagon, and will run it into the ground until we get a new car, and she is just not fussed about dings etc.

So, based on this, im going to have an attempt at self fixing. It doesn't need to be perfect, just better than the mess it is at the moment. (including the attempt to hide the scratches with a wetwipe).

This is my plan, and where I need some advice.

1) sand back all the paint in the affected area, (using a metal brush thing on a grinder?)
2) Tap out the dent, which I can get to from inside the wheel arch, bar the bit at the bottom where it meets the sill. (advice on useful tools, not just a hammer)

3) Filler over (advice on the best filler, and mix to hardener), and let dry.

4) Sand down smooth, with progressive grits (advice on correct orders)

5) Mask off and spray with primer, then spray the colour, and then a top coat. Here in lies most of my questions , Can I get online (or a shop) the correct colour (give or take) using the paint code? When I mask off the car, how do I not get lines where the tape has been placed, or a misting effect? I can probably borrow a compressor to spray with. Or any other advice on fixing this.

Thanks for the time, laughs.. and comments to come

[HellDiver]

She broke it, she can fix it, or live with it.

[stuttgartmetal]

Give it a good hard T cut.
Touch in the scrapes.
Job's a good'un

[Silver940]

Don't bother, it will end up looking worse unless you are very good at this sort of thing! By trying to DIY you will also make it harder for a pro to fix it.

[joe_90]

HellDiver said:

She broke it, she can fix it, or live with it.

She is quite happy to live with it.. *sigh*, Cars do not interest her one bit.

stuttgartmetal said:

Give it a good hard T cut.
Touch in the scrapes.
Job's a good'un

I am temped to just do this.. And leave the ripple.

Edited by joe_90 on Tuesday 20th April 16:23

[V6Alfisti]

Personally, I think unless you have experience of doing the painting/filling/dent pushing you are getting yourself into a world of trouble on a section like that.

Dent:- The pro's make it look easy, but to take crease lines out like that will require more than luck and you could actually end up making it worse.

Filling:- This aspect is pretty easy

Painting:- Hard to spray nicely with cans (so definitely a compressor) especially to a finish that doesn't look all barry'd and where do you finish spraying, you can't stop the laquer mid panel you will have to continue up or face a great big laquer line (which in all eventuality will peel)and then you run the risk of ruining the good parts of the panel, thus requiring more work and more £££

I would be tempted by a requote, I can't see that being more than £300-400? I got quoted £200 max to spray a door and 2 adjacent panels once (thus ensuring the correct blend).

If you want the budget option, I would be seriously tempted to.

1) Wash the panel down
2) Get a good rubbing compound like Farecla G3 and see how the panel looks after
3) Any paintwork on the border, sand with 2000 grit paper and then use G3 again.
4) Find a good local dent pusher, they normally charge £40 a panel but due to the size of the dent may not guarantee to get it perfect.

I think that will put you in a better place than bodging a repair.

EDIT: Farecla http://www.carsmetic.biz/product_view.php?id=33 (also loads on ebay and Brown Brothers used to supply as well)

Probably the best ££ I have ever spent on a car product, I bought the 1ltr bottle about 7 years ago and it is still providing sterling service now.

Edited by V6Alfisti on Tuesday 20th April 16:29

[*Al*]

Silver940 said:

Don't bother, it will end up looking worse unless you are very good at this sort of thing! By trying to DIY you will also make it harder for a pro to fix it.

+1 Just as said T-Cut over as some of the marks will come out, the rest touch in. A slab of filler will look terrible!

[S3_Graham]

you may be suprised at the price, a friend of my gf had a similar size/shape dent on a mk4 golf, i did the suck air through teeth - thats gona be expensive - thing. She took it to a random garage and got it fixed for £500!!