10 Steps to Fix a Small Dent in your Vehicle using Aerosol Touch-Up Paint

10 Steps to Fix a Small Dent in your Vehicle with Aerosol Touch-Up Paint

(D.I.Y. How To Guide)

Have you ever been the victim of a dent and drive in a supermarket parking lot? With this 10 Step Small Dent Repair guide you can have that old jalopy of yours looking great in no time.

This tutorial is aimed for the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) repairman.  Please be aware that if you ask advice from 10 professional auto body technicians you will get 10 different methods of repairs. This tutorial is intended only as a generic how to guide for the DIY repairman. In this guide we will use Aerosol Cans for the Primer, Paint, and Clear.

Materials List:

Dent Puller - There are a couple of types on the market.  Some use weld-on pins that are used for pulling. This is the style the professionals use. The type I’m describing in this tutorial is the type that uses a rather large screw that is threaded into a hole that is drilled into the sheet metal.

Drill – Air, electric, or battery powered.

Drill Bit – Typically a 1/8” bit is normally recommended however check with your Dent Puller kit to find out the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Body Hammer Kit – Not necessarily a necessity however it can make the job a little easier when needed.

Air Sander – Typically a DA (Dual Action) Sander is for removing paint in the dented area and for roughing up the painted surface around the dent so that plastic body filler will stick.

Wet Sanding Foam Block – Use the foam block to prevent finger sand marks. When you don’t use a foam block of some sort to sand with most people tend to press with their fingers which will cause finger sanding marks that can be seen in the finished paint.

Sandpaper – An assortment of grits will be needed.  80, 180, and 320, to fit your DA Sander, 600 and 1500 grit Wet or Dry 9”x 11” sheet paper.

Automotive Plastic Body Filler AKA “Bondo”– There are many different manufacturers that offer various qualities of automotive plastic body fillers such as stain free, tack free, pin hole free, premium adhesion, or all of the above. My advice is purchase the highest quality grade you can find. Price usually dictates quality. You can also buy a fiberglass reinforced filler. They are much stronger and waterproof. The drawback is they are much harder to sand. In this application, (should you decide to go ahead and use a fiberglass reinforced filler) use one that has fine chopped fiberglass hair not the strand type.

Plastic Spreaders – Used for mixing and applying the filler. In this case size isn’t important, it’s just your preference.

Wax & Grease Remover – (Aka: Prep Sol) Basically this is a cleaning solvent that does what the name says (removes wax and grease). This should be used prior to all sanding steps and just before priming and painting.

Masking Material – Masking Paper, Masking Tape, and cover-up plastic are a must to avoid any unwanted overspray from reaching the rest of your paint job and ruining it.

Tack Cloth – A tack cloth is exactly what the name suggests. It used for removing dust and lint prior to paint to ensure a clean job.

Painter Safety Apparel – Always, Always, Always wear lung protection when spraying any type of spray paint. Most aerosol paint cans have a disclaimer on the can that says something to the effect that: “This aerosol spray can may contain substances known in the state of California to cause cancer in lab test rats.” Let me say this to you, It’s not just California and it’s not just rats. Please wear lung protection for your own safety. 3M Company makes respirators that are economical and very effective when used correctly. Safety goggles or glasses, latex gloves, and coveralls should also be worn.

Bare Metal Primer in an Aerosol – This is a good product to use when you sand thru the original paint into the metal beneath. Most bare metal primers have much better corrosion resistance than your typical Sandable primer in an aerosol. Apply according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Sandable Primer in an Aerosol – This will be used to fill any imperfections left from the plastic body filler.

Base Coat Color in an Aerosol – This should be the correct color of your vehicle order using the paint code from your vehicle. (Tip: Never guess using color chips even if it appears to be the only one for your model and year. Always use the paint code. Ford, Chrysler, and many foreign cars the codes are found in the driver’s door. Most GM cars the code is found in the trunk with trucks the codes are found in the glove box.

Clear Coat in an Aerosol – This is a clear protective coating that is applied over the base coat color for protection.

Compounds and Glazes – Used for polishing out minor imperfections in the clear coat and bring out the gloss.

STEP ONE:

Drill a 1/8” hole in the deepest point of the dent. Thread the screw for the dent puller into the hole and hammer the dent out with the slide hammer. Don’t over pull the dent. It should only come up as far as the existing metal around the dent. With a patience and practice you can get it close but don’t worry about getting it perfect. Usually within a 1/8” to 1/4” of an inch is good. Some dents depending on the shape and size may require more than one hole to be drilled.

STEP TWO:

Clean the surface using a good quality wax and grease remover before sanding. Using a D.A. Sander, sand where the body filler will be applied with 80 grit sand paper. Re-clean again with wax and grease remover.

STEP THREE:

Following directions on the can, mix plastic body filler and apply to dented area using a plastic body filler spreader. Build up slightly higher than undamaged surface to compensate for shrinkage. Allow manufacturers dry time before sanding filler. Using 80 grit, sand filler until you’re just a bit higher than the undamaged surface. Switch to 180 grit to refine scratches and continue to level down to match the surrounding original paint. Use 320 grit to further refine the scratches and to feather the existing paint on the undamaged surface surrounding the dented area.

STEP FOUR:

Mask off panels that you don’t want painted. Shake aerosol primer well before use. On the first coat spray the whole area that will be primed. Allow manufacturers dry time between coats. Apply second coat inside the area of the first coat. Try not to go beyond where the first coat was applied to avoid excessive film build which will make it harder to feather out. Spray the third coat within the area of the second coat. This technique is called reverse priming. This will allow easier featheredging and minimizes “ringing” appearance of the primer after the paint is applied.

STEP FIVE:

Pre-Soak 600 grit wet or dry sand paper for 30 minutes prior to use. Wrap the 600 grit sand paper around a foam sanding block and begin to sand primed area. Sand all the primed area and also extend over onto the original paint until you can’t see or feel a transition from the primer to the original paint.

STEP SIX:

Re-clean entire area that will be painted using wax and grease remover. Remove your tack cloth from the package and completely unfold it and then wad it in a ball. Not tight. Now lightly go over the entire surface that will be painted to pick up dust, lint, and other debris.

STEP SEVEN:

Shake base coat color aerosol well before and between each coat. Spray 1 coat of base coat color on the area to be painted. Light coats work better than excessively heavy coats. Allow approximately 20-30 minutes between each coat of paint for flash dry time. Depending on the color you typically will need 3-4 coats of base coat paint but make sure color is completely covered before going to the next step. Allow final coat to dry at least 1 hour but not more than 18 hours before clear coating. Around 3-4 hours would be best.

STEP EIGHT:

After final coat of paint has dried a minimum of 1 hour, shake clear coat and spray. It’s always best to spray clear coat to a break point (edge of panel or molding) in the panel and not blend. If you blend the clear, the edge where you blend the clear into the existing finish will fail in time because it doesn’t have the UV resistance it needs to hold up. Sometimes you may not have a break point to stop at without having to paint a large area. For example, Many cars are made so that rear quarter panels transition right into the top of the car with no breaks. In these instances you can use a specialized blending agent to blend the clear into the existing finish. This is typically not a good idea but sometimes you may have little to no choice. Spray three to four coats of clear for durability.

STEP NINE:

If the finish comes out looking good you’re done. However sometimes you may have dirt, bugs, or orange peel texture that you may need to do something with. For this, (soak your 1500 grit wet or dry sand paper for 30 minutes prior to using and wrap in a foam sanding block) sand away those little imperfections. Sometimes it may be needful to sand the entire area to get uniformity.

STEP TEN:

After sanding with 1500 grit it will leave the finish dull. To remedy this you will need to use a buffing compound and polishing glaze to bring the gloss back out. For some dark color finishes you may need to also use a swirl eliminator glaze.

CONCLUSION:

With a little patience and practice and just ten easy steps you can achieve a professional looking job and save 100’s or maybe even 1000’s of dollars in the process.