correct panel repair procedures?
- This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by .
- Posts
ive been doing bodywork for over a year now and i have never been taught the textbook procedures to repairing panel damage and using filler. majority of my repairs have been coming out straight no waves but when i see waves or imperfections in my panel i dont know what i should have done different being it felt ok to me. typical way i repair damage:
grind enough area to stud weld,
pull and knock down high spots,
DA 180 feather grind marks to show 1/4 in.of each layer of material,
depending how much i need to fill or on vertical surface or not sometimes i will just smear metal glaze,
DA 80 to knock down the mud,
block 180 ,
then 320 on DA to,
and prime then block primer with 320im looking for advice/corrections to this
You might wanna concider using a guide coat on your first coat of filler even though you might not see any waves , after you do your sanding a little high spot might show. It also a good idea to fog some black paint on your primer work for the same reason. :pcorn:
One thing I would like to add for you to think about.When you remove the paint from your damaged area go 2-3 inches larger than you think you need.This will give you lots of room to feel your transition from filler into the undamaged area of your panel.If you do it this way there is no need to feather your paint before you put filler on your panel and waste time.When you think your filler work is close don’t put a bit of putty or filler to try and touch up a few spots,SKIM COAT the whole area.When you are finished your filler work you should have filler/putty,1-3 inches of bare metal surrounding your filler work,then your feathered paint giving you a smooth transition.If you do it this way you will be amazed at how straight and ripple free your work is with out sand scratches.
thanks! those are some things i will be trying, i have known to skim coat whole repair each wipe, but taking off more paint is something i will be trying ,normaly i only grind off just enough to weld studs, i did this because i thought it would be better so i could still see light and reflection in the surrounding paint as a reference to how straight the panel is , guide coating is something i will sometimes do on large repairs it just seems to me that once its all sanded off the panel is not necesarily straight so need to go by feel all the time anyway.
Also when priming, ive heard mixed answers in the shop but i normaly cover the most area with my first coat of primer then 2nd coat i stop a couple inches within the edge of the first coat and so on for every following coat,
is that the proper way? vs. first coat smallest and every following coat overlapping the one b4 that?
3M provides some good support on how to prepare a repair area, videos and such. heres a link to the standard operations page. http://3mcollision.com/library/sops
priming the entire repair area and working your way in is called the reverse priming method.there are several advantages of doing this compared to the traditional priming method.
1. Less overspray on the edges of each coat. (less texture and better adhesion)
2. less potential for solvent trapping that might cause die back or solvent popping
3. edges left open for solvent to escape (faster drying times)
4. An edge that is easier to feather into the surrounding existing finish.
thanks guys preciate all the input
BLOW ALl THE FILLER DUST OFF AFTER SANDING b4 applying more filler.It effects adhesion offollowing filler coats.Use guide coats & use a hard block.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.