To repair car paint damage you need to start with a clean surface. Clean the area that has the damage and then feel for the damage by rubbing your hand over the surface. Using a crayon or chalk mark the damage areas. If your paint damage is on the door panels you will want to prop the door out slightly to ensure that you don’t go over onto the adjacent door.
Now you are ready to sand the damaged areas down. For safety make sure you wear a mask when sanding. You will want to rub down the area first with a sander than once my hand. After sanding you will notice where the high spots are and the low spots. You will want to take a panel hammer and lightly tap the high spot toward the the low spots. This will even out the panel.
Now you are ready to apply the filler. Take the amount of filler you think will accomplish the job and place it on a mixing board. Apply the hardener and mix together on the board thoroughly. Using a flat edged tool apply the filler to the dent. You can apply it roughly at first then taking the edge of the tool smooth it down over the entire dent. Allow the filler to dry completely. Drying times may vary.
You are ready to sand the primer down. Make sure to wear a mask. Using a coarse sandpaper you start sanding the filler. As the shape starts to get smooth move on to the finer sandpaper. Then when you get down to the repair being smooth except for small scratches you need to move on to the extra fine paper. Use you hands to determine the smoothness of the patched area.
Now you are ready to move onto the primer. You want to build the primer up to create a smooth service. Mix primer with thinner at a 2 to 1 ratio and add prepared mixture to your spray gun. You will need to spray the damaged area with 4 to 5 coats of primer. Make sure the coats dry completely before applying the next coat. The primer will appear rough so you will need to rub over the area slightly with sandpaper before applying a final coat of primer.
Now you are ready to paint your vehicle. Match the color paint to your existing color. Apply the paint over the prepared area lightly. Let the paint dry completely before applying the next coat. Then you will need to apply a top coat to add the shine to your paint.
A dent or scratch in your vehicle is not the end of the world and shouldn’t cost you a lot of money to fix. Most of the time you can do this yourself. Just follow the basic steps and you can have your vehicle looking as good as new.