Repairing dent.

[buildersbutt]

Hi all, have a small dent in car which I have tried to push out, but because of where it is it's pretty much impossible for an armature fix, so am going to fill and paint. My question is, the paintwork is not damaged in any way so do I have to remove paint from inside the dent before I can fill and paint? Thanks for your time!

 

[footprints]

Afraid so body filler does not stick well to paint. I am happy to be corrected if there is some new fangled product around these days, but unless it is VERY tiny, when you might get away with abrading and applying a few layers of what used to be called cellulose putty

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_185835_langId_-1_categoryId_165625

I think you will need to go back to bare metal for conventional filller.

 

[Nozzle]

The trouble with this is the dent has stretched the metal and when you try to push it back it doesn't shrink the metal so you'll get a crease (That is unless you're handy with a hammer and dolly). Being as you might end up needing to use filler anyway.. then better off just to get in there with filler from the outset. This does depend on the depth of the dent. Can you give us a clue?

Nozzle

 

[Mursal]

Just don't jump in with the filler, because it is a quite involved procedure to bring it back to perfection, or even close when you start with filler.

If you can live with the dent leave it especially if the paint is still OK.

But if you have to fill, then yes you will have to at least roughen the paint before applying filler. Whatever size the dent is, it will be at least twice the size before you finish painting.
Have you got a paint code for your colour? Is it metallic (probably), so it will have a coat of clear coat over the colour.

Loads of help on U-Tube, ask if you need more advice

 

[Burnerman]

Before you dive in......have you considered the chipsaway people, who do mobile body repairs?
You could be amazed at what is achievable!
John

 

[Nozzle]

Have you got a paint code for your colour? Is it metallic (probably), so it will have a coat of clear coat over the colour.

An excellent point - if it is metallic it'll also need the correct colour base coat (black, white or grey) and also the lacquer will always show a dry edge where the droplets have fallen on the existing 2 pack lacquer, as it's not one clear sheen. The way around this is to use fade out thinner (http://www.u-pol.co.uk/product-cat/129/s2043-fade-out-thinner.htm) but it is really potent stuff and can make more of a mess of your existing paint that you really wanted. REALLY potent. It softens your 2k lacquer to allow existing and new to meld into the same layer. If you put too much on, it'll make runs and you'll really regret having ever started the job.

Nozzle

 

[greasedmonkey]

If it were me and it was a small dent that is only cosmetic, I would leave it well alone. Trying to blend in paint is a skill and to get a perfect repair that won't be seen is very involved. You will never get air-dry paint to be a perfect match in all lights.

You could try pulling the dent with a slide hammer, but this will damage the paint. Another method if the metal is NOT creased is to drill a small hole in the deepest part of the dent and use a self tapping screw to pull out the dent, then you are only left with a small hole to repair.

Achieving a good result of this type of repair work is a lot more difficult than people think. If it bothers you that much, I would go to a local body shop or try the mobile dent repairers. Filler and rattle cans will just create more work than you want.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Before you dive in......have you considered the chipsaway people, who do mobile body repairs?
You could be amazed at what is achievable!
John

We've used Dent Clinic for a few dents that didn't need paint. It's certainly amazing what they can do, as the photos in the link demonstrate. Maybe there's something similar near to you.

http://www.thedentclinic.co.uk/pics_video.htm