# need help with small dent with broken paint



## bigbobbadoobob (Dec 30, 2005)

I rolled backwards into my friend's SUV and below is the damage that was done to my 2001 Sentra. The body shop guy gave me a quote of $800 CDN. That seems stupid so I'd like to try to fix this myself. Is it difficult? What tools do I need? What do I need to do to fix the broken paint? I'd like to try to get away with just re-doing that small area. Is this a good or bad idea? I'd appreciate any help.


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## JRinke (Jan 10, 2006)

That does seem like a rather large estimate for such a small area. Its a lot harder than you think it is though. If you do decide to fix it yourself, you need to buy a sander, a dolley and hammer set for fixing dents, a painter, and the primer, paint, and clear coat. You probably wont be able to use Bondo to fix it without getting most of the dent out first since its on the edge. You probably are best off just finding a shop that can fix it for cheaper or deal with it.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

the tails are shot so you might as well replace those with oem or aftermarket depending if you want to spend the money or not..

the body the reason they quote so much cuz it alot of work involved and paint mixing to get the right color etc.


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## kevtra97 (Nov 15, 2005)

wow i never realized how much people DONT know about autobody (dont get me wrong im not saying this negatively) but what you would have to do is buy a grinder, a grinder disc, a stud welder http://www.etoolcart.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=7393 , slide hammer (comes with the stud welder shown), a body hammer, some body filler, a straight line sander or air board http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...9&R=28119&cm_ven=TL&cm_pla=DF&cm_ite=airtools , sandpaper (80 grit, 220 grit and 500 grit) a airbrush http://www.iwata-medea.com/products/sprayguns/100_info.jsp (spray paint is for model cars and stupid people) 2 pints of primer, 2.5 pints of your diamont basecoat (paint code is on the door jams) 3 pints of clear coat, 2 pints of reducer and, .5 pint of hardener 

Grind all the paint off, then get the stud welder. weld a stud to the panel in the deepest spot you can get to. attach your slide hammer to the stud or studs and pull the dent out be careful not to pull too hard you will pull the stud off and end up with a big hole. (if you do its not a problem you can fix it with the bodyfiller after most of the dent is removed) as you pull on the stud lightly tap on the body around the dent to relive stress. once you get the dent most of the way out you will need to apply body filler with a applicator that comes with bondo if you chose to use bondo. the mixing ratio for body filer to hardener is not a said amount but for every golf ball size of body filer you need one inch of cream hardner. dont spend too much time trying to get that first coat perfect you never will. sand it smooth with the air board never sand with your hand unless your wet sanding it will end up wavy. use the 80 grit sand paper and sand it smooth and apply you next coat of body filer and repeat until you have your desired fix. sand it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper so no 80grit lines are present and back tape the area to be primed (back tapeing is where you put the masking paper over the top of the area to be primed and roll it back so you get a tapered edge. prime that has been masked off. Let dry and wet sand with 500 grit sandpaper until perfection if you will is achieved. once you have finished above steps you now move on to blending the paint this is where it does get tricky as liuspeed said. 1. plan your blend. on a horizontal panel such as a hood or trunk lid blend the basecoat over a crown so the less than perfect match is less noticeable. 2. scuff and prep. scuff up the area around the panel with a scotch brite pad or 1500 grit wetsand paper. apply your base coat with a very thin first layer and thin layers after that to not run the paint. Be very careful to hold the gun parallel to the body at about 4-5 inches away and keep your wrist straight dont fan the gun. allow the base coat to dry for 30-40 minutes tack cloth it down and apply clear coat according to manufactures recommendations apply each coat of clear slightly beyond the last to achieve a tapered edge. MAKE SHURE YOU DONT EXTEND THE CLEARCOAT INTO AN AREA THAT WASNT PROPERLY PERPARED IT WILL PEEL OFF WITHIN A MONTH. 

total cost depends on tools but in the end it will probly be a few hundred dollars cheeper and better to have a professional do it. im only a first year student in my autobody class but im second in the class in quality and employability. Feal free to pm me with questions if i dont know them i can find them out form my teacher.


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